Inspiration

A constellation inspired wedding was always going to be right up my street, as I love all things cosmic. From the cufflinks, to the stationery, to the table names - Lizzie and Rob truly brought their celestial theme to life. And so even the mystical Larmer Tree Gardens with it's murals and festoon lights was the perfect venue for them. Lizzie looks ravishing in Pronovias, the gorgeous lace leaf design on the train is stunning and adds a lovely touch of boho to proceedings. Images come from Green Antlers Photography and they show that rain on your wedding day really isn't that big a deal...

The Bride

Lizzie the Bride: I’ve never really been particularly ‘bridal’. I knew I wanted my dress to be something special that I felt comfortable in, but didn’t really have a clue what would suit me! After poring over countless wedding magazines and making several deflating (and expensive) visits to wedding dress shops around London, it became clear that I wasn’t really the type of girl who was going to have a ‘wow’ moment with a dress. Once I’d accepted that, it all just came down to what I liked the look of, what suited my personality and what I felt complemented my figure the most (I’m quite a self-conscious shopper!) The Pronovias Niebla ticked all the boxes and I just felt really happy in it. It also had the most beautiful leaf lace design that I felt gave it a lovely bohemian vibe. The wonderful Charlotte Tillyer did my hair and make-up on the day – she was also a lovely calming influence on what turned out to be a bit of a stressful wedding morning (where does the time go!?) I got my silver shoes from ASOS (I contemplated spending a fortune on some Jimmy Choos but these were actually the ones I liked the best!) and wore an antique silver and sapphire bracelet that my twin sister wore on her wedding day. Finally, I wore a hammered silver ring belonging to my late father on my right hand so he’d be there with me walking down the aisle.

The Groom

We hired Rob’s suit and the ushers’ outfits from Moss Bros. His shoes were from Walk Tall (one of the only places we could find wedding brogues in a size 14!) and he wore a grey spotty tie from Jasper Conran at Debenhams with a matching pocket square from French Connection at ASOS.

The Venue

We saw three venues in one day and just fell in love with Larmer Tree as soon as we stepped foot into the gardens. As well as its roaming peacocks and resident macaws (they sealed the deal for me, if I’m honest!) it also offered the most beautiful grounds and spectacular backdrops that we knew would look fantastic in our photographs. We had originally planned to have our ceremony outside but in the week running up to the wedding, as the heavens opened, it became more and more obvious that it wasn’t going to happen. I was really upset, I won’t lie – for a whole year I’d envisaged getting married outside in the sunshine – but actually, our plan B (Larmer Tree’s inside space, The Jubilee Hall) ended up being absolutely breath-taking. The venue’s wedding co-ordinator Nicki (who is the most organised, lovely and on-the-ball woman you could possibly meet) helped us string gold, blue and white paper lanterns and hang them from the ceiling, and filled the room with masses of greenery and flowers. In the end, it was so beautiful, plus we didn’t get any guests complaining about having to sit outside in the cold!

The Décor

We knew we wanted a celestial theme as we love the outdoors and the night sky. I’d also, by chance, picked up a pack of celestial illustrations while on holiday in Australia a couple of years before the wedding that we used for inspiration, and they also ended up acting as our table names. I made the table plan myself using a map of the stars, some gold bungee string, gold pins and a few hours battling with the scanner. I remember feeling quite overwhelmed when looking through Pinterest and thinking that a wedding is only beautiful if you personalise everything. Obviously, this is just not achievable! So I focused on one thing and got the wonderful Jenna Russell Smith to illustrate our place names, which I then dipped in bronze paint. We finished the tables off with antique books and vintage cameras and binoculars, and used one of my favourite Albert Einstein quotes for the front of our orders of service, which we printed off ourselves at home.

The Flowers

I really wanted a wild look for the flowers – nothing too ‘done’ or manicured – and knew I wanted a soft palette of eucalyptus, soft pink and white. And plenty of ivy everywhere! Rachael at Flowers By Rachael did the most amazing job of the bouquets, button-holes, corsages and table flowers and also made the fresh flower hair clip that I felt finished off my bridal look really beautifully.

The Wedding Party

I didn’t want the bridesmaids to be too ‘matchy matchy’ so ended up just ordering four dresses online from ASOS and Quiz clothing in various shades of grey that I happened to like! Luckily, I had the most laid-back bridesmaids who all chose different favourites and they all looked absolutely amazing on the day. They got loads of compliments on their dresses and the grey shades looked so beautiful against the lush green of the gardens.

The Ceremony

My father passed away when I was 19, so my wonderful older brother Tom walked me down the aisle to Arrival of the Birds by The Cinematic Orchestra. Rob and I didn’t want any particularly mushy readings, so we had I Like You by Sandol Stoddard (read by Rob’s cousin Pip), Marry Your Best Friend (an anonymous poem, read by my Uncle Ian) and He’s Not Perfect by Bob Marley (read by Rob’s sister Claire). We walked back down the aisle as a married couple to Carly Rae Jepson’s ‘I Really Like You’, which got everybody smiling!

The Entertainment

Aldo from Disco Wed was absolutely brilliant. From filling any ‘downtime’ with mellow music, to reading the room and keeping the party going into the small hours, he was so full of energy and good vibes. We chose Chandelier by Sia as our first dance as it’s one of my favourite songs and we knew we wanted something high-energy and fun to spin around to. I think we would have felt too awkward doing a slow, romantic dance!

The Photography

Sam and Diana at Green Antlers were recommended by a friend and we fell in love with their nature-focused, folky style as soon as we set eyes on it! I knew straight away that I wanted them there on the wedding day. They also happen to be the loveliest, calmest, most good-natured people and were able to capture some beautiful portraits as well as the more candid, emotional moments without making even the slightest bit of fuss. I’m not a natural in front of the camera but they were so patient and kind. They are just incredible and we’re so pleased we got to have them as our photographers.

Advice

It’s normal to stress about the weather, everyone does it, but try not to take things too far (like I did!) I didn’t get any sleep the night before the wedding (I mean ZERO hours of shut-eye) because I was awake and refreshing the BBC weather app every hour. Ultimately, it did rain for a bit on our wedding day but we still had the most fantastic day filled with love, laughter, happiness and smiles – and the sun came out eventually! Everyone’s supporting you and willing you on, a few drops of rain won’t make a difference in the end. Promise.
Fern Godfrey

Written by Fern Godfrey

Bride: Pronovias | Venue: Larmer Tree Gardens | Bridesmaids: ASOS | Groom & Groomsmen: Moss Bros | DJ: Disco Wed | Make Up & Hair: Charlotte Tillyer | Illustrations: Jen Russell-Smith

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