Inspiration

Get ready to swoon and sigh your way through this charming wedding folks, as you are about to be transported to the English countryside, for true fairytale magic and wonder. Everything is timeless, elegant and incredibly romantic to boot, with the soft pastel blooms, the refined fashion and the breathtaking Dauntsey Park manor house location adding to its charm. Bride Jessica looks effortlessly chic in 'the' Suzanne Neville Camelia bridal gown, a firm wedding dress favourite of ours and yours with it's beautiful lace bodice, long sleeves and billowing skirt. And capturing all this dreaminess is Imogen Xiana, whose fine art photography style was perfect for this whimsical wedding.

Wedding

Imogen Xiana the Photographer: Stuart and Jessica married last summer at the wonderful Dauntsey Park, a manor house perched next to a picturesque river bank in Wiltshire. Mixing elegant Georgian architecture with a grand and picturesque landscape. This unique 18th century house was the perfect setting for this couple’s classically elegant style.

Ceremony

Stuart and Jessica shared their ceremony with their nearest and dearest at the adjoining Church of St James the Great, their ceremony was lighthearted and full of emotional words of wisdom from family and friends. The grounds of Dauntsey Park are situated on the banks of the River Avon and are adorned with stunning lawns, river walks and flower gardens, you can even see rare breed Wiltshire Horn sheep graze in the orchard and Oxford Sandy and Black pigs forage in the woodland. We explored the park and house capturing portraits with Stuart and Jessica as the warm September sun set.

Reception

Their reception was held in the house; in the beautiful, listed Edwardian drawing room where four enormous french windows overlook the south lawn. With delicious food served by world class caterers Eat5Star, the happy couple and their guests made toast after toast as each one celebrated this beautiful wedding.

Decor

Stuart & Jessica's wedding was full of romance and undeniable British charm! The perfect mix of tradition and modern elegance. It was such a joy to photograph such a creative and warm couple!

Our Story

Jessica the Bride: We are both doctors and met in medical school. After dating for few years Stuart took me on a surprise trip to Paris as an early 'birthday' present. We had an amazing day, the weather was gorgeous with bright sunshine and clear blue skies. We saw all the main attractions; the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumph and Notre Dam. In the evening we enjoyed a romantic dinner in a classic Parisian restaurant and he proposed!

Venue

We wanted to marry locally and Dauntsey Park House was just down the road from my parents home. We fell in love with the house and all its character and charm! We decided to marry in the Church situated in the Dauntsey Park grounds. Stuart said his favourite part of the day was watching me walk towards him down the aisle. The whole ceremony was full of joy! The organ player had us all crying with laughter as he eccentrically played the 4 verses of ‘Amazing Grace’ that we had planned, 12 times! Apparently it was his first day on the job, but we loved seeing all our loved ones giggle as they repeated the lyrics again and again! After photos and the most delicious food we had our first dance to Elvis Presley's 'Can't Help Falling in Love' performed live by our wonderful band! We wanted to use seasonal flowers that also suited the interior of the houses’ drawing room where we would enjoy our reception.

Flowers & Decor

Our bouquets, buttonholes and table centre pieces we’re beautifully designed by Treez Flowers. Our idea was to keep the style of the day natural with a classic British vibe. We wanted to carry this theme on through to all aspects of the day. We handmade our stationery and bottled homemade gin for each of our guests to enjoy as favours.

Wedding Attire

I fell in love with a delicate, lace Suzanne Neville wedding dress and my three bridesmaids wore lilac floor length gowns. Stuart, his groomsmen and our dads wore ties made with the Maxwell family tartan. Shawls were also made for the ladies of the Maxwell clan, just to add a little family charm to our day!

Photographer

When we started planning our wedding we knew the things that were important to us – one of them being a Photographer that could create beautiful images for us. We chose Imogen because we really liked the natural, un- forced look of her pictures. When we got in touch she was incredibly helpful, and knew exactly what we wanted. Her support before and during the wedding was invaluable. On the day she was fantastic. Her team arrived early, and instantly made friends with all of us, including our guests! She also managed to photograph everything all the while keeping seamlessly behind the scenes! The photos we received are an amazing collection of mementos of the day, photographed on timeless photographic film! Imogen was brilliant, I would definitely recommend her to any bride!
Lorna Shaw

Written by Lorna Shaw

Dress Designer: Suzanne Neville - Camelia | Bridal Boutique : The Mews | Bridal Shoes: Kurt Geiger | Hair & Makeup: Beauty Call | Bridesmaid Dresses: TFNC Wedding | Grooms Attire: Howick | Catering: Eat5Star | Florist: Treez & Flowers | Cake: Bake My Cake | Band: Red Stone Collective

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