Inspiration

The first thing you'll be blown away by is the gorgeous blush blooms by Joanne Truby, who bride Victoria found on our recommend supplier directory The List. She also found photographer Frances Sales on the list which has resulted in me pinning the gorgeous feminine florals and rustic calligraphy signs like a mad lady. What a gorgeous combination. I don't think we've ever featured a gown from designer Flora before... But I say keep 'em coming as they are stunning and 'Bella' worn by Bride Victoria looks absolutely gorgeous. Unbelievably pretty wedding at Hubbards Hall in Old Harlow, Essex. Also know as That Amazing Place. Says it all really. Enjoy.

The Dress

Victoria the Bride: I was quite open minded about the style of dress that I wore, but when a friend told me about Flora, a relatively new Israeli designer, I absolutely fell in love with her dresses. The wonderful Louise from Churchgate Porter had a range of her dresses in stock and I opted for the incredible ‘Bella’. It was sophisticated yet fun without being too over the top which suited the style of our wedding perfectly. I wore classic open-toed Aquazzura shoes, which were surprising comfortable and lasted me all night. My jewellery was very minimalist, I wore my Mums simply diamond studs (my something borrowed), and a delicate Tiffany & Co. diamond bracelet that my lovely Bridesmaids bought for me. I wanted the dress to be the main focus.

The Grooms Fashion

Joel had his suit custom made from Suit Supply and finished the look off with a classic bow tie and Todd shoes.

The Venue

It was really important for us that our wedding guests didn’t have to travel too far to get to our wedding, we wanted the day to be as easy and fun for everyone as possible. After looking at a few venues in the South East area, we found Hubbards Hall (That Amazing Place B&B) and I knew straight away that it was the venue for us. The beautifully refurbed 15th-century monastery was the perfect blank canvas for us to transform, and it offered 14 stunning bedrooms so all our family could stay with us the night of the wedding- it really felt like a home away from home. Our reception was held in a stunning marquee on grounds of the venue, overlooking the gorgeous lake- and thankfully the sun shone for us!

Colour Scheme/Décor

We didn’t have a colour scheme, but blush pink ended up being a key feature throughout the wedding unintentionally. The overall theme of the day was relaxed, minimalist & elegant, letting the venue and flowers speak for itself. I’m a sucker for Calligraphy so our beautiful stationery (created by my amazingly talented designer friend Alex Gill) and wooden directional were all written in calligraphy.

Flowers/Florist

The amazing Joanne Truby was truly incredible and completely understood our vision for the day. I was conscious of the ceremony room and marquee looking quite bare, so we heavily featured foliage in the arrangements alongside white and blush vintage roses, peonies, astilbe and sweat pea. I couldn’t recommend Joanne enough, she was a dream to work with and managed to create the most perfect atmosphere.

The Wedding Party Fashion

My beautiful bridesmaids wore floor length, blush pink, chiffon gowns from Joanna August which looked elegant and effortless. I wanted them to feel as comfortable as possible, and to look like their beautiful individual selves, so I ask them to choose their own designs. As a thank you present for all their help, we bought them matching Monica Vinader bracelets with pale pink gem stones. The groomsmen wore navy Marks and Spencer suits with black bow ties and shoes- they looked incredibly dapper.

Entertainment

We spent a long time looking for the perfect band to entertain our guests- having a packed dance floor was really important to us. After months of searching, we found the super cool ‘White Keys Education’ and booked them immediately. They were definitely the highlight of the wedding and kept everyone dancing from their first song to their last. We also entertained our guests the vintage garden games and of course an obligatory photo booth! Our wedding favours were cigars for the men and macaroons for the ladies, these too proved to be very popular!

Food

We worked with Magpie Catering for the canapés and wedding breakfast- their staff was super attentive and so lovely. Me and Joel are huge fans of Mexican food, so we used Urban Food Fest to offer our guests Mexican street food as a late night snack- everyone loved it!

Photographer

When we were looking at photographers, we got quite overwhelmed- there were so many to choose from. RMW’s was my inspiration throughout the entire planning process and The List proved super helpful for finding the perfect suppliers- especially Frances Sales. Frances’s style is super natural- exactly what we were after, considering we both aren’t too confident in front of the camera. Frances was a true professional and managed to go incognito throughout the day, she also made us feel really relaxed when taking couple portraits which has resulted in truly beautiful photos that we are a little bit obsessed with.

Advice

Don’t stress the small stuff! I must have spent hours deciding on the colour carpet in the marquee and whether to use plate chargers or not- it really wouldn’t have matters either way. Repeat after me…it will all be okay!
Charlotte O'Shea

Written by Charlotte O'Shea

Dress Designer: Flora - Bella | Bridal Boutique: Church Gate Porter | Bridal Shoes: Aquazzura | Grooms Suit: Suit Supply | Grooms Shoes: Todds | Bridesmaid Dresses: Joanna August | Venue: Hubbards Hall | Florist: Joanne Truby | Catering: Magpie Catering | Urban Foot Fest | Cake: Little Bear Cakery | Band: The White Keys | Photo Booth: Victoria Lily Events | Marquee: Herts and Essex Marquees | Stationery: Alex Gill | Hair Stylist: Essex Wedding Beauty | Videographer: Bar Wedding Films

Inspirational articles you may also find useful