Eliza Jane Howell for an Elegant and Fun Summer Garden Party Wedding

Good afternoon lovely ones, I really hope this finds you well and enjoying a lovely Saturday. The weather is crisp and cold but utterly beautiful up here in the North East of England – Jack Frost had visited by morning and we were awake early enough to see a most glorious sunrise.

It brings me such pleasure to share this wedding with you today. Bride Faye, Manager of weddings and events at Woodhall Manor married Neil, a Royal Engineer in the British Army, at Woodhall Manor itself, located in the heart of Suffolk, on 12th August this year. The wedding was one gorgeous laid back garden party, complete with lawn games, old-fashioned drinks stations and beautiful sunshine! The couple appointed Purple Pear Tree Photography to capture these images and turned to the talents of Boutique Wedding Films to create this lovely film – I hope you enjoy.

Film by Boutique Wedding Films

It’s such a delighted to see yet another Eliza Jane Howell wedding dress gracing our pages this week. This isn’t the first dress by this 1920’s and 1930’s era inspired designer we’ve seen looking beautiful on one of our real brides.

“I didn’t want a traditional dress, but didn’t really know what I wanted. The Daisy dress by Eliza Jane Howell was the first dress I tried on and instantly I knew this was it! The girls made me try others on, but my face had said it all with this dress.”

“We knew we wanted a relaxed garden party type wedding with lots of music, games, fun and laughter. With Faye being a simple Suffolk gal, straw bales, and wheelbarrows were essential additions. With a little animal print and faux fur dotted around the garden as well.”

“In keeping with the story of how we met, Neil asked for my hand in marriage, in a pub. After eating dinner, he snuck off to ask a staff member to bring the ring out with the bill. When the waitress brought out the bill she just sort of stood there and waited for the proposal like some voyeuristic fiend. Neil asked, she said yes, everyone in the pub was chuffed!”

“Contrary to modern day methods, we met in a real life pub with real beer (which probably helped). It was my birthday and Neil asked for my phone number which she scribbled in eyeliner on a receipt (for real). It took months of courtship (over text) before I was summoned to taxi Neil home from a 6 week snowboarding trip – Neil never left – and here we are today!”

Faye wore a back necklace, another purchase from the boutique MiliMili bridal and a pair of simple pearl stud earrings from notonthehighstreet.com.

“I knew I wanted a hair piece, a friend sent me an image from Instagram of one of Olivia the Wolf’s designs, and that was it – I had to have it. We then found out it was from Canada – luckily the company were incredibly accommodating and sent it to me immediately arriving just in time for the day.”

“I have no idea what perfume I wore on the day – it was something I over looked – so I ended up having a quick squirt from one of the bridesmaids scents. In fact I think they had to unclasp my hand from it – nerves had set in and I was spraying quite a lot!”

“With five bridesmaids, it was difficult to find one dress to suit both our wedding style and each girl. These dresses from ASOS worked perfectly. The girls chose their own shoes in a mix of navy blue and nude.”

 

“I wasn’t too worried about shoes, but my navy blue Dune court shoes were the perfect addition to the day. Cost effective, very comfortable and I will certainly wear them again.”

 

“I have worked at Woodhall Manor for eight years, it was only fitting that being part of the furniture the special day would be held here. The venue was the perfect choice to host the relaxed family fun affair that we had planned.”

“Woodhall has its own planning team to help and guide you throughout the process and are on hand at all times to ensure the planning is as stress free as possible.”

“Our florist was Beverley from Jades Flowers – I always knew Bev would be the florist for the day. I left it completely in her very capable hands, knowing she knew exactly what the day was about and knows me very well – she nailed it totally!”

“My Dad, Graham accompanied me to the ceremony to the sound of ‘Five Years Time’ by Noah and the Whale – a fun and bouncy tune.”

“We didn’t tailor the vows, the registrars offer such a selection we both chose our own from this so said different vows to each other that were appropriate to us and worked very well.”

“We had two readings including ‘Maybe’, read by Neil’s sister Lisa. We chose this as we really connected with the words and final sentence in the reading is something we can all learn from; ‘Maybe love is not about finding the perfect person, it’s about learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.'”

“Edward, a close family friend, read a seprate more comedic poem called ‘He always leaves the seat up’ by Pam Ayres. This one had lots of laughs yet again many of its words are true to us – particularly the closing verse!”

He’ll be more than just her husband
He’ll also be her friend
And she’ll be more than just his wife
She’ll organise him -till the end!

“Neil wanted to buy a suit as an investment and a memory for him. He chose a navy blue suit with a slight check and a more casual sky blue tweed waistcoat. Neil also wanted to acknowledge his career with a subtle tone, so added a maroon tie and socks to his suit which much to Faye’s and the Coes personal shoppers astonishment worked! He added a Pegasus broach to his lapel, and military parachute wings as cufflinks.”

“The venue, and its grounds are so beautiful we didn’t want to take away from that. So kept things very simple, bunting, tissue pom poms and willow dotted around. With straw bales, as seating with blankets and wooden crates. Although we were incredibly lucky with the weather.”

“Thankfully we had a stretch tent from Suffolk marquees which as well as providing much needed shelter from the heat looked so beautiful as a backdrop for the day.”

“The little ones wore their choice of dress, but had a gysophila crown to wear too.  The young gentleman had their own style as well, but a lovely hydrangea buttonhole.”

 

“Being in the industry, I am quite lucky to have a head start when it comes to suppliers. I knew Lesley-Anne of Purple Pear Tree Photography was the photographer for us.”

“A couple not one for photos, we just knew we would feel completely at ease and she would capture the relaxed fun feel to our day. Her talent with a camera is unprecedented and the natural light captured suits us both.”

“Warren and Scott of Boutique Wedding Films were amazing, and again, captured the fun feel to the day.”

“We had Pete Hepworth, a very talented friend, to welcome guests, before and after the ceremony.”

“My very super talented cousin and bridesmaid Abi who makes the best sponge cake was the only choice when it came to our wedding cake. With help from the Woodhall Manor chefs, and other bridesmaids the cake was built on the day. We wanted something very casual and opted for a naked victoria sponge adorned with lots of fruit and flowers.”

“Wed loved all of our day and had the best day ever, better than we ever could have imagined it would be. We were incredibly lucky with the weather, but the food was incredible, the drinks stations worked so well and the guests all enjoyed the garden games and entertainment. It was the perfect party for our family and friends, with the added bonus of a wedding thrown in as well.”

“In our eyes, everything was perfect. Even the great british weather was on our side. Our guests looked like they were having the best time, and we definitely had the time of our lives!”

 

“We chose ‘You Are The Best Thing’ by Ray Lamontagne for our first dance – a real soulful track that wasn’t too slow and we could have some fun with on the dancefloor. The first dance was something neither of us wanted to do, but after hearing this song just knew we would enjoy it.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Be yourselves! Don’t get swept away with what you should or shouldn’t be doing. Make new traditions, by doing what you want to do. Choose a venue that will embrace your ideas and run with them. When we started we didn’t really know what we wanted, but we knew what we didn’t want. Soon enough it all just fell into place – and our guests all commented on how very ‘US’ it was.”

What an absolutely lovely afternoon – so laid back and relaxed and charming. Huge congratulations to you both Faye and Neil, it’s been such a pleasure to share your wedding with our community today.

Love Annabel xx