A glorious country real wedding…

A stunning country real wedding in the Cotswolds… Bride Nat tells us how she knew her colour scheme the day after she got engaged, while still on holiday!

How did Carl propose?

“In June 2015 we were on holiday in beautiful Pula, Croatia, and decided to go for a walk along a private beach near our hotel on the first night. While I was taking lots of pictures, Carl got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! I said yes, and we celebrated by drinking lots of champagne!”

What dress did you wear?

“I wore a beautiful Madeline Gardner dress. It was a lace A-line with a heart-shaped illusion back. It had a pearl and diamanté belt and a long train. I fell in love with it as soon as I tried it on!”

And the accessories?

“I wore small pearl earrings and a pearl and crystal bracelet by Jon Richard, which my mum had bought me as wedding presents. All of my best friends had chipped in to buy me a Joma Jewellery bracelet too, which was my ‘something blue’.”

What did the groom wear?

“Carl wore a three-piece tailored grey-checked suit, which he had specially designed for the day. It was from Clements & Church and it actually cost more than my wedding dress – I couldn’t believe it when Carl told me how much he had spent! He looked great though. The date of our wedding was stitched inside, with ‘C&N’ stitched under the collar, which made it extra special.”

Who were your bridesmaids and where were their dresses from?

“My bridesmaids were three of my best friends: Hayley, Laura and Becks. I chose a friend from each of my friendship groups, which worked nicely. I got their grey bridesmaid dresses online and they all looked beautiful.”

What was your theme?

“Grey and peach, which I decided on the day after we got engaged! I remember sitting on our hotel balcony in Croatia and making an immediate start to my Pinterest wedding board (which all brides do, right?!). I have lots of friends who have had weddings before me, so I wanted to pick colours that were different from theirs. I like the colour grey and I thought peach complemented it well. We got married in a barn so I stuck to rustic décor, with things such as log centrepieces with steel jugs and flowers. We had an amazing florist and stylist  in Lilyfee Floral Designs. I did a lot of the work myself, which saved money, but this was also because I enjoy crafts! I spent many hours putting together names on champagne corks; a table-plan crate, and mini jar favours, among many other things.”

What was the highlight of your day?

“The highlight of my day was being able to spend time with everyone I loved. It’s so rare that you get to have a day when you can get all of your family and friends together, but a wedding can achieve this! I was getting ready in the morning and I looked out of the window to where everyone was seated, all hushed and waiting. My friend said to me, “Everyone out there is waiting for you!” That was such a strange feeling. I felt so lucky to have so many amazing friends and family. Our wedding day was very relaxed so it was great just to have a laugh and enjoy time with all of these wonderful people.”

What was your best buy?

“I think it has to be my wedding dress! Most people dream about their weddings and what dress they want. I was not one of those people, so I didn’t have the ‘luxury’ of really knowing what I wanted.  As soon as I tried this dress on, however, I just knew… When I wore it on the day I loved it even more.”

 What’s your saving tip?

“Work hard and don’t play too hard! We both did additional hours at work to help fund the occasion – I’m a nurse so it was easy to get extra shifts. You have to cut back on your usual spending, too (which meant not going out as much)! It’s all worth it though, knowing you’re going to have a fantastic wedding day. We were lucky to have been given some money from our parents, which was so kind of them, but even without this gesture you can still budget; you just have to be strict and save in advance. We gave ourselves two years to plan our wedding.”

The Details:

Date: 25th August 2017

Venue: Hyde Barn, Stow-on-the-Wold hyde-house.uk

Photographer: Noel Hibbert, Cotswold Pictures cotswold-wedding-photographer.co.uk

Nat’s dress: Madeline Gardner madelinegardnernewyork.com

Carl’s attire: Clements & Church clementsandchurch.co.uk

Accessories: Jon Richard jonrichard.com, Joma Jewellery jomajewellery.com