Inspiration

This gorgeous Autumnal wedding feels like the perfect wedding to be sharing with you today, the dark and moody colour palette lends itself beautifully to Jess Soper's atmospheric photography. Bride Alice looks ridiculously cool in Bouret separates and a pair of burgundy caged heels, which look gorgeous peeping out from underneath her skirt. I'm also loving the deep navy, almost black shade of the bridesmaids dresses, so chic and sophisticated...

The Bride

Alice the Bride: My dress was the third one I tried on. As soon as I put it on I felt completely comfortable and like myself, which was the most important thing for me. It’s by a Spanish designer Bouret from a fab shop called Rock the Frock in Chelmsford (other ones are popping up across the country too). My shoes were L.K. Bennett but we both changed into converse for the evening. My make-up was done by Amy Jane Prior and hair by Fai Archer and I couldn’t recommend them both more! I wanted my hair and make-up relaxed and not too bridal, which is exactly what I got.

The Groom

I was there when Sam got his suit from Reiss but it was always going to be his choice, no one could tell him what to wear! He actually saw the Grenson brogue boots first and knew he wanted them. Then he couldn’t resist the white shirt from The Kooples with the skull buttons to finish it off.

The Wedding Party


We really wanted to keep the wedding party relaxed and comfortable. The adult bridesmaid’s dresses were from Reiss, mini bridesmaid’s dresses from Next and the groomsmen suits were from River Island. Simple, but looked great altogether.

The Venue

We got married in All Saints Church in Brentwood. Both of my sisters and my parents got married there and I wanted to keep the tradition going, aside from the fact it is a beautiful church. Our reception was at Old Brook Barn in Navestock. I loved the look and feel of the barn and knew it would be amazing in Autumn. It is a lovely family run venue, which only does a limited number of weddings a year, which made it feel extra special. When Lisa, the owner said we could have floating candles in the little stream outside both my mum and I actually made an embarrassing girly squeal!

The Food

I think you should eat all your favourite food on your wedding day and that’s exactly what we did with the help of Limeberry Catering in Chelmsford. We ditched a starter for extra canapes and went with sausage and mash and sticky toffee pudding and ice cream. We carried on the pub grub theme with homemade pies in the evening. My mum made our wedding cake which I wanted quite simple with a marbled icing layer and some fresh greenery. We had classic fruit cake, carrot cake and salted caramel flavour - all delicious she is an excellent baker!

The Flowers

One of my bridemaids’ oldest friends Cat Finch (@finch.flowers) is the best florist. I completely trusted her so just asked for dark greens, creams and a dusty pink, and let her go with it. I couldn’t have been happier - relaxed, autumnal and they look amazing with the Hendricks bottles I collected (big gin fan). My flower crown was also perfect!

The Photography

We knew we didn’t want a standard wedding photographer and came across Jess Soper online. We loved her style and pictures straight away. The final pictures are exactly what we wanted and completely captured the day. Jess is also so lovely and made us feel completely relaxed.

The Transport

We had a fun red camper van for our wedding car. The driver was great and let us stop off at a pub for a drink on the way to our reception (the only time we really got to speak to each other all day!) We hired a vintage routemaster bus to transport the guests from the church to the reception. It even managed to get down some very tight country lanes!

The Music

We had a string quartet playing modern music through drinks reception and dinner, which was lovely to have in the background. We had a singer after dinner and asked each table on the day to choose a song, she was amazingly talented! We went for a DJ for the rest of the evening...with a clear ban on certain cheesy wedding songs.
Fern Godfrey

Written by Fern Godfrey

Bride: Bouret | Boutique: Rock The Frock Bridal | Shoes: L.K.Bennett | Make Up: Amy Jane Prior | Hair: Fai Archer | Groom: Reiss | Bridesmaids: Reiss | Groomsmen: River Island | Venue: Old Brook Barn | Food: Lime Berry Catering | Flowers: Finch Flowers | Camper Van: Camper Bug | Vintage Routemaster: First Choice Wedding Cars | String Quartet: Niche London | Singer: Jen Armstrong
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