Tuesday 12 May 2015

A English Country Garden Wedding with Pretty Vintage Details

There's something uniquely romantic about a military wedding - they have the weight of history behind them, and everyone loves a man in uniform! Groom Andy is a captain in the army, so when he and Catherine left the church, they walked under a fabulous guard of honour, complete with shiny swords. Stunning! The happy couple planned their wedding in only four and a half months, but didn't scrimp on details - this big day is packed with stunning ideas. I love the English country garden theme, the vintage crockery, the gorgeous bridesmaids in sage green, and the beautiful barn venue. Don't miss the fantastic reception pictures in Part 2 - huge thanks to Sarah Relf at Lawless Rose Photography for capturing every detail.


We celebrated our wedding on Saturday 19th April at St Mary the Blessed Virgin Church in Brabourne, Kent. Our reception was at The Thatched Barn in Farthingloe, and we had an English Garden wedding theme.


I perhaps was not a 'normal' bride, I didn't even think about my wedding dress until about a month before the wedding. I thought I'd like a lace, fish-tail style gown, but in the end I chose a very classic full-length, 50's-style satin number. 



I tried on a few dresses in the shop, which were all lovely, but just didn't have that wow factor. My mum asked the assistant whether they had any dresses that were named 'Audrey', as this is the name of my granny. When 'Audrey' was bought out, I was dubious but agreed to try it on. As soon as I put it on I loved it. The fit, the shape, the style, the way it made me feel - at that point, my mum cried! The designer is Phoenix Gowns.


I had six bridesmaids, they wore a floor length pale sage green dress, with capped sleeves and high necks, with a flower detail on the shoulders. They came from Debenhams - they fitted my theme perfectly and suited the various shapes and sizes of my bridesmaids.


Other than my dress, all I wore was my veil, a beautiful 'Joyce' design with lace flowers, and my mum's vintage pearl drop earrings. My shoes were by Pink by Paradox at Debenhams. My friend Rachel did my hair and my godmother did my make-up. I was going for an unstructured, natural look. 


My husband and the best man wore military uniform, and we had an usher who wore a morning suit with a blue tie. There was also a guard of honour of ten soldiers, who were also all in uniform.


Andrew proposed to me in bed, hungover after a work Christmas party {very romantic!}. He was going to do it on Christmas Day whilst taking the dog for a walk but did it three weeks earlier as it just 'felt right' {probably still drunk!!}. We met online!


I knew Andrew was 'The One' after about three months of meeting him. I put up with monsoon style rain, camping and an 18 mile cycle ride – it must have been love!


We were only engaged for four and a half months, so planning our wedding was quite a rush. We partly chose our venue based on what was available at such short notice, but The Thatched Barn was a beautiful venue, which fitted perfectly with our theme.


Our wedding florist was Sharon Foreman Flowers. They were English country garden in style. We included gypsophila, eryngium {for a Scottish feel} small pink roses, eucalyptus, and a whole load more. I wanted it to look like I’d gone out in the garden and picked them, and then shoved them in jam jars, wellington boots and various teapots and jugs. Nothing too formal or structured. They were wonderful.


Our wedding photographer was Sarah Relf at Lawless Rose Photography. She's an old friend who has a fantastic flair for capturing beautiful pictures.


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