Abi & Andy

Super hot Bridal party alert!!! How stunning do all of the ladies look? Bride Abi's 'Petra' Vera Wang gown with it's blush bow is just perfection and it's lovely to see Bridesmaids looking chic - that one-shouldered fuchsia pink dress with the ruffle detail is gorge and each lady looks lovely! And the excellent sartorial choices don't end there - the boys look rather dapper too. We always love navy suits and Andy's addition of a polka dot tie and a sharp Lanvin tie clip completely makes the outfit. AND there are some adorable little ones dressed in Monsoon's finest - such cuties. Decor wise, Abi decided that she didn't want to over-do it and so chose just to focus on fresh flowers, with a really pretty flower motif stationery suite - the whole look is bright, colourful, fresh and not at all over styled, which Abi really wanted to avoid. It's a beautiful wedding, filled with beautiful happy people! Enjoy lovely ones.

The Bride

Abi the Bride: Being somewhat indecisive, choosing one dress was always going to be challenging for me but I always knew I wanted to be a Vera Wang bride! After a few visits and deliberating between different styles I eventually fell in love with the Petra gown which was a brand new design, so the fact I hadn’t already seen it on anyone else helped me make my final decision. The Vera Wang blush grosgrain ribbon and chapel length veil were the perfect additions. One of my favourite shoes are the Jimmy Choo Lance sandal so I knew this would be the ideal bridal shoe, I picked nude patent for a soft, pastel look.


The Groom


Andy’s favourite suits are slim fitting so after trying and being unimpressed with some ready-to-wear designer styles, he was very quick to decide bespoke was the way forward for the wedding. He was recommended to try Anthony Formalwear in Essex where he chose a custom navy three-piece to match the brown Oliver Sweeney shoes he picked and similar slim fit styles for his Ushers and Best Men. His look was completed with a Lanvin tie clip and cufflinks.


The Venue


I grew up in Wimborne, Dorset and although we now live in London, most of our family and friends are still local to Dorset. We had always imagined that we’d get married abroad but realising how difficult it would be for many of our friends and family to travel we decided that close to home would be our best choice. I wanted somewhere different to the usual hotel wedding venue and Andy wanted somewhere we could have the ceremony and reception together so knowing Deans Court would be our perfect venue, we didn’t even look anywhere else! Jonathan was the most brilliant and hard-working events manager and knowing how wonderful his team are, we couldn't have hoped for a better venue, the backdrop of the gorgeous house and pretty lake were also reasons why we loved it there.


The Decor

Since we were lucky enough to have such a beautiful setting for our day I wanted the decor to be floral only and very simple - no chalkboards or heavily over-styled Pinterest-type look! I’ve always loved pink so was naturally drawn to fuchsia tones, soft pinks, greens and whites for the theme of the day which was also mirrored in our wonderful bespoke stationery. The marquee tables were also decorated with individual bags of Miss Marshmellow’s marshmallows for our favours.


The Flowers


I picked Jennifer Poynter for our flowers as she is so passionate about floristry! She knew exactly the look I wanted and her amazing attention to detail meant we had the most gorgeous displays for our lakeside ceremony and marquee centrepieces. My favourite peonies are sadly out of season in August so our bouquets were David Austin roses and garden roses for a full, sumptuous look. I absolutely loved the adorable flower-girl wrist corsages - so sweet!


The Wedding Party

My four bridesmaids all liked different style dresses so we settled on something they were all happy with; one shoulder and fitted, in a pretty raspberry pink colour which they wore with the Monica Vinader bracelets I’d given them all that morning. The three gorgeous flower girls all wore white Monsoon tulle dresses and pink pumps with a bow. The Best Men, Ushers and Father of the Bride all wore navy 3-piece suits for a classic look.


The Ceremony

Celebrant Diana Saxby conducted our ceremony which she composed especially for us with our chosen vows and readings, and the wonderful Alani Quartet played for us during and afterward. It felt like the perfect English Country Garden wedding, which was exactly what we wanted.


The Entertainment

We had lawn games for our drinks reception where everyone enjoyed champagne and Pimms in the sun whilst listening to our wonderful quartet, followed by our wedding breakfast. For the evening reception we picked our favourite local DJ, Danny Milano who played so many favourites to get everyone dancing - it was definitely a party to remember!


The Food

I couldn’t have wished for a more perfect wedding cake so when I saw my gorgeous four-tiered spectacular delight for the first time I was so impressed! We had picked a naked cake to follow our floral theme and it tasted as delicious as it looked. Our caterers were recommended to us and they created the most delicious menu for us based on our favourite things. Canapés were - prawns with lime and chilli, cucumber cups with Dorset crab and dusted with paprika, whipped stilton on a mini oatcake and port wine jelly, smoked salmon with horseradish and dill, tomato with mozzarella and basil oil on focaccia and cocktail sausages with rosemary infused dip. Andy chose the menu for our wedding breakfast so it was a culmination of his favourites. We had slates of Parma ham, Milano salami and bresaola with olives, pecorino cheese, hummus and flatbreads to start, then rolled aged sirloin of beef, dauphinoise potatoes, broccoli florets and roasted provencal tomatoes, finished off with not one but three puddings as we both have a sweet tooth! 
The evening menu was a treat too, we had a BBQ fired up and guests enjoyed wonderful meats and salads with not only the wedding cake but a cheese table too.


The Photography

Our absolutely fantastic photographers, Big Bouquet Photography, were recommended to us by the venue and when we looked at their lovely website we knew their colourful, relaxed shots were exactly what we wanted. Meeting Emma and Ian, they were so friendly and calm which definitely helped us feel less stressed in the run up to and on the day. The final collection of photos were better than we could have hoped for and a perfect way to remember our day, we'll treasure them forever.