A Lace Stephanie Allin Gown For A Farmyard Inspired Wedding

Now it feels like such serendipity that almost a year ago to the day I shared this beautiful wedding among the bluebells – of the owner of­ The Bridal Boutique of Jules.

Yes, I know, eye-wateringly gorgeous! Now for the serendipity part. Today I’m delighted to be sharing the celebration of Jennifer and Russell with you all, a love-filled occasion documented by none other than Olegs Samsonovs and our beautiful bride wore a divine lace gown purchased from Jeska at The Bridal Boutique of Jules.  All of the feels!

Jennifer, a dairy farmer, wed husband Russell, an agricultural contractor, on 20th May this year at St Anthony’s Church in Alkham, Kent, followed by a reception at  Solton Manor in East Langdon. Our lovely Mrs and Mrs Morgan said their vows in the same church where Jennifer’s parents and grandparents had been married before her.

“We are both quite traditional. We knew it was going to be a church wedding and then on to somewhere for the reception. If I’m totally honest I did have a little box known to me and my friends as my ‘wedding box’, which I had been putting bit and bobs in over many years. I used all the stuff I’d collected as inspiration; I knew I wanted no dark or heavy colours and for it to feel fresh. We ended up with a sage green and dusky pink colour scheme and the style was country fayre mixed with vintage, and a farming theme running throughout.”

Photography by Olegs Samsonovs

Jennifer chose a full-skirted Stephanie Allin design, layered with pretty lace and finished off with bridal accessories from two of our Little Book for Brides darlings – her heavenly veil came from British heritage brand Amanda Wyatt, while her picture-perfect heels were from Rachel Simpson Shoes. All of this gorgeousness was supplied by one place – The Bridal Boutique of Jules.

“The Bridal Boutique of Jules is an amazing place and has the best customer service. Jeska, who owns and runs the shop was fantastic. She made me feel immediately comfortable and I didn’t pressure me into making any decisions. I loved my dress, it pulled me in and hung in the right places. The lace over the top was just amazing – we added the shrug as I felt going completely strapless was a bit much for me, but I basically had multiple dress. I also opted for a high neck line with a bow at the back.”

Our bride wore sliver heart earrings that were a gifted to her as a bridesmaid for her sister-in-law. Her garter was a present from one of her own maids, with a little blue charm as her something blue.

A spritz of Blooming Bouquet by Miss Dior, Jennifer’s favourite, was the perfect finishing touch – especially as it’s something Russell always get’s her a bottle of at Christmas.

“Russell and I must have crossed paths many times over the years looking back. We first really noticed each other one day when we were both working; I was moving cows around the yard ready to start milking and Russell was filling his tractor with slurry ready to start spreading it on the fields. So basically our eyes met over a crowded cow yard! He asked for my number from a colleague, plucked up the courage to text me one night, and we went on our first date to the local pub for drinks.”

“It went from there really. Russell popped the question while we walking along the cliffs on holiday in Yorkshire on 7^th November 2015, so we had 18 months between getting engaged and walking down the aisle.”

Mr and Mrs Morgan chose Emily & Me to arrange their fresh blooms, florist Sam totally understanding our bride’s vision after their consulation. I adore Jennifer’s pretty bouquet, studded with roses and structural foliage. Their stationery for the day was all provided by Paperchain Wedding Stationery.

Lauren Elle took care of Jennifer’s big day beauty, crafting a soft up-do for a headpiece redolent with meaning and memory along with her peachy make-up.

“The head piece I wore in my hair was my something old from my mum. She wore it in a tiara style on her wedding day and I had always admired it in photos I had seen, I was over the moon when she said to use it as my something old. It did need a bit of jazzing up as 35 years sat in the loft had taken its toll, so Jeska from the dress shop added some lace around the original flowers.”

“Basically she worked her magic and made it look as good as new and it was perfect. I loved it and mum approved as well.”

Jennifer travelled to church in a Rolls Royce belonging to her dad’s friend, while her bridesmaids were transported in her cousin’s boyfriend’s Range Rover. Her girls looked sugar-sweet in pretty sage frocks from Little Mistress, paired with their choice of pearl-beaded sandals from Dorothy Perkins or sliver heels from New Look.

Their outfits were finished off with personalised heart charm bracelets, gifts from the bride. Russell meanwhile looked dashing in a tweed suit from Slaters, paired with a dusky pink tie and an oh-so adorable page boy to match, in an ensemble from Roco Clothing.

“I walked down the aisle with my dad to Handel’s wedding march and Russell and I exchanged the traditional vows and had a poem and a chapter from Genesis as readings. My auntie chose the poem and we let a friend of ours choose the reading.”

Our lovebirds exchanged rings from Goldsmiths; Russell’s a simple band, and Jennifer’s in keeping with her vintage style engagement ring, before casually hopping onto Russell’s tractor to take them on to their reception at Solton Manor.

“We looked at quite a few options but in the end we settled on Solton Manor because of the secluded location and the general feel of the place. Herd Garden Catering provided the meal and our cake was by Helen Campbell. We wanted the farming theme to come out in this so it was covered with cows and bundles of wheat straw, and a tractor cake topper. The bottom layer was chocolate, the middle vanilla and the top was fruit. All delicious!”

I just adore the beaming smiles on the faces of our very nearly newlyweds – Olegs Samsonovs has captured such total uninhibited joy and excitement during the ceremony. Russell hadn’t even turned round to see his beautiful bride before the most dazzling smile lit up his face.

“Olegs and Rita were amazing. We had a package that included an engagement photo shoot and we were both a bit anxious about it as neither of us are overly confident in front of the camera. But straight away they made us feel completely at ease with it all and that carried on to the wedding day as well.”

The couple made their own favours in keeping with their farming, vintage style. They filled old style milk bottles with love heart and milk bottle sweets, topped with a hessian patch and decorated with personalised stickers.

In the same style, Jennifer and Russell decorated their reception venue with rustic hessian bunting and paper pom poms in pink and green.

 

“We had a live band, 80s Babies, who were fabulous, and our first dance was toMcFly’s Love Is Easy. I’m quite a big McFly fan, much to Russell’s dismay. But I also love the wording and it just all makes sense to me and Russell. And it was upbeat, which I wanted.”

“I absolutely loved every single part of the day. There was one point when we were having our photos done and I looked over at our guests stood drinking Pimms in the sun and thought, we’ve actually done it! Another stand out part was the evening – the dance floor was full and everybody was just having a good time. The one thing I wanted was a dance floor that was used, and it certainly was. I can honestly say I wouldn’t change a thing, I loved every single second and would love to do it all over again.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Now everybody said to me to don’t let it all go too fast but it is impossible to slow it down believe me I tried! You have just got to embrace every moment and make some amazing memories. On the lead up to the day I was pretty chilled and didn’t get too panicked, but I definitely had my moments. But I just had a list to work through and amazing support from my mum, mother-in- law and most of all, my bridesmaids.

Do share the load, they are there to help, so use them.”

That just leaves me to say a huge congratulations and thank you to the new Mr and Mrs Morgan, and of course to the über-talented Olegs Samson’s for these lovely images.

Em x