How we met...
We met at a party when we were sixteen.
The proposal...
As we hadn’t gone out for dinner on Valentines Day, Jack offered to make a reservation a few weeks later. It was a Thursday night and he’d booked a table in one of the small side rooms at Kilworth House, so we had the room to ourselves, and it was where we had celebrated other big family events, so it was a room I really loved. He managed to make it through the starters but said that there was no way he would have been able to eat the main course without getting the proposal off his chest! We rolled it into a mini celebration weekend and spent the next couple of days in the Edgbaston in Birmingham drinking fancy cocktails.
Our vision for the day...
My grandad had a farm, and I was hoping to capture a bit of that spirit on the day. The flowers everywhere and the smell of roses and lavender felt really nostalgic. We just wanted a really relaxed day where people could drink and dance and eat lots of good food! We just really wanted to create a happy environment for people to catch up with people they hadn’t seen in a long time.
The outfits...
Jack went for a classic Moss Bros suit, and I had two wedding dresses! The first one was a monsoon find, altered by Noble and Wright atelier to fit perfectly, and the second was my grandmother’s wedding dress, which I got changed into for the evening. Noble and Wright worked their magic – they took my grandmother's dress apart and put it back together in a slightly more modern silhouette. And I had a veil, because when else can you wear a veil?!
The food...
Food was really important to us – I live in fear of being a bad host and people being hungry. We went with lemon zest for a delicious three course meal after the ceremony, where we had pate and brioche, then a roast (it was the menu item that came with the most carbs!) and then a duo of desserts: chocolate orange mousse and verbena lemon cheesecake. And extra gravy! The food was amazing and the portion sizes were really generous. We also had evening pizza: Italian stallion made wood fired pizzas that were so delicious and were really accommodating around certain dietary requirements. We had a wonderful cake made by Lo Bakes which was SO delicious and looked absolutely beautiful! We made sure to try all three tiers!
Our favourite part of the day...
The ceremony – it was so much more emotional than either of us expected! Our registrar was a delight – so lovely and funny, and seeing all of our close friends and family gathered there was really special.
The idea we felt worked well on the day...
We turned our ceremony backdrop into a backdrop for a polaroid, that our amazing stylist Tara Knott put together. Also the florist Emily Robbins worked absolute wonders – the backdrop had little rose heads suspended in glass baubles and she hung roses from the light installation in the main barn, which looked magical.
Where we feel our budget was really well spent...
The venue, the food and the drink. Dodmoor are the reason we had a great day – the staff were so helpful, so reassuring that we would have a great day despite things maybe not working the way we expected, and so helpful at making the day flow perfectly. Huge shout out to Kathryn who really made the day run like clockwork, and was so, so lovely. We also appreciated the no corkage aspect of Dodmoor, and all our suppliers who put on some wonderful food.
Personal touches that reflected us as a couple...
All of our confetti was rose petals dried by friends and family! And our favours were the polaroids which people could take home a reminder of the day.
Suppliers we used and loved...
All of them! Our suppliers were all really lovely, and so talented.
Dress Alterations: Noble and wright atelier https://www.nobleandwright.co.uk/
Flowers: Emily Robbins flowers. https://emily-robbins.co.uk/
Stylist: Tara Knott https://taraknott.co.uk/
Hair: Hannah Blinko https://www.hannahblinkohair.com/
Makeup: SC Makeup Artist https://www.scmakeupartist.co.uk/
Photographer: Chris Bunce standing in for Aden Priest (edited by Aden) https://adenpriestphotography.co.uk/https://www.chrisbunce.co.uk/
Cake: Lo Bakes (Liverpool) https://www.facebook.com/LoBakes/
Day food: Lemon Zest http://www.lemon-zest.co.uk/
Evening food: Italian Stallion https://www.theitalianstallionpizza.co.uk/
Rings: Marlowe’s Diamonds Birmingham/Tom Payne Hinckley https://www.marlows-diamonds.co.uk/http://www.tompaynegoldsmiths.co.uk/
Signage: PollyandMe https://www.pollyandme.co.uk/
Finally, if we could give a tip to other couples...
Invest in great suppliers. We chatted to all of them and felt we knew them well and trusted that they would make the day flow well, and they were all absolutely amazing. Really lovely people who are amazing at their jobs.
Special thanks to Louise and Jack for sharing their story, and Aden Priest Photography for the photos x
Comments