Rousham House Wedding with Marquee Reception & Jenny Lessin Dress

Photography by Jason Mark Harris

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What Made Our Day Unique

We looked at loads of venues, initially thinking we would get married abroad, then Cornwall, then Devon, then the entire south coast before we eventually started looking closer to home... We found Rousham which is just outside Oxford where I grew up and fell in love with the gardens immediately. It has so many beautiful parts to it; the rose garden, the orchard, the lawns, the hidden statues and then the house itself looking over the river. We would have loved to get married at home if we had any space but at Rousham it felt like having a wedding in somebody's beautiful garden rather than an actual venue! We were so lucky with the weather, it happened to be the hottest day of the year and most people were desperately trying to strip off layers rather than huddle under umbrellas as I had been envisioning. I feel like I had something to do with it because of the week before I had 'panic hired' two huge heaters for the marquee... But the heat meant we could have the marquee open and people could wander in and out to the garden between courses and ultimately it gave us the atmosphere of being abroad that we had looked for.

Alice & Theo

Inspiration & Styling

The vibe was something along the lines of "Mediterranean walled garden meets English country wedding". The styling was provided by Ann who was in charge of the venue and created the gardens herself all year round. Ann had worked with Suzan from Croxfords and together they created and styled the Marquee to fit with the gardens and make it a continuous space. When we realised how hot it was going to be on the day we gave back all the umbrellas we had rented and bought a collection of over 40 cheap Panama hats from ASOS that were well used! In terms of outfits, I fretted about bridesmaid’s dresses for weeks and couldn't decide on one style or even colour that all of the girls would like so, in the end, I asked them to pick something summery and neutral that they might actually wear again. I think they looked incredible and loved that they were all unique!

Alice & Theo

Written by Imogen Read