A Botanical Inspired and Sophisticated Outdoor Wedding

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a good weekend? I spent some time researching venues for one of my best friend’s hen-dos next year. Exciting times! We’re getting your week off to a wonderfully stylish start with today’s wedding of Mr and Mrs Garnham.

Back on 6 August 2017 the couple married in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in the elegant surroundings of Middleton Lodge, Richmond, North Yorkshire. A nude colour palette with fresh white and green botanicals and rose gold accents created a sophisticated and stylish feel, in keeping with the historic setting.

Mrs Graham works at the Head Office of fashion brand Hobbs and her new husband is an actor and owner of an entertainment company. The bride’s excellent knowledge of fashion is clear in her choice of gown; a modern and totally beautiful long-sleeved Oleg Cassini design. The slim-fitting Champagne slip was topped with an intricate lace overlay, the long-sleeved design given an edge by the open back.

“I loved the white ‘tattoo lace’ and non-traditional Champagne colour. It also reminded me of my old ballroom dancing dresses. It was the fifth ‘wild card’ dress I tried on at the fitting. It was then discontinued and I sourced the last one in the UK. Lucky or meant to be?”

Photography Stan Seaton Photography

These emotive photographs were captured by Stan and Jane of Stan Seaton Photography.

“Their honest and real photos captured the day better than we imagined. Jane and Stan both took our ‘look’ and everything on board that we wanted. It was a dream day, with dream pictures to have as memories for life.”The beautiful little flowergirls wore short white dresses with full sashes found on Amazon, whilst the page boys had Next suits. Mrs Garnham chose ASOS gowns in nude for her grown-up bridesmaids; such an elegant, simple look. Their statement rose gold earrings were from Accessorize and they had charming initial bracelets in rose gold from Bloom Boutique.

The bride’s sophisticated make-up was applied by Yasmin Whitelaw, whilst Wayne Fitzsimmons created the bride’s lovely golden waves. Her hair was caught back with a sprig of white gypsophila, a lovely fresh contrast to her gown.

The bride’s choice of veil mirrors the gown’s detail with its white lace edging, and its longer length balances the slim gown very well. She added a rose gold ear cuff and earrings, and slipped on a pair of Sophia Webster shoes in rose gold.

When it came to flowers, pure white roses, hydrangeas and gypsophila were combined with lots of greenery and eucalyptus, and the bouquets were tied with flowing ribbons in nude shades.

“Anna Hunton Florist came recommended through the venue due to my previous florist dropping out at the last minute. It turns out she was incredible and created the whole day around a botanical, fresh theme. I wanted the rose gold accents to stand out so all the flower stands, table numbers and accessories were sprayed rose gold and copper.”

The couple planned their day with the assistance of Anna from Middleton Lodge. They chose their venue for the beauty of its Yorkshire setting, and made use of all its facilities over the wedding weekend.

“The venue was incredible and covered all bases. It wouldn’t have been the day we had anywhere else. We used the lawn for the ceremony and the drawing room for canapés and botanical-themed Champagne to toast, then on to the marquee.”

“Fireworks, more fizz, dancing, then the cellar bar underneath the main house. After dancing in the cellar until 3am, guests then stayed over for the night in their own tree-named room in the main house, waking up to beautiful sunshine and the rolling Yorkshire moors. We then went downstairs to the pantry for fresh homemade breakfasts, pancakes, salmon and eggs.”

The groom donned a custom-made suit, adding Lanvin cufflinks, a custom-made tie-pin and a Daniel Wellington ‘York’ watch – a wedding gift from his bride. The groomsmen looked super-smart in their bespoke waistcoats worn with their own blue suits and tie-pins given to them by Mr Garnham.

The groom donned a custom-made suit, adding Lanvin cufflinks, a custom-made tie-pin and a Daniel Wellington ‘York’ watch – a wedding gift from his bride. The groomsmen looked super-smart in their bespoke waistcoats worn with their own blue suits and tie-pins given to them by Mr Garnham.

The bride looked radiant as she made the short journey over the lawn with her father to Nat King Cole’s ‘When I Fall In Love’, played on the harp. The ceremony pergola was decorated with swathes of foliage and white hydrangeas, in keeping with the botanical theme.

The couple shared vows that they had written themselves, and exchanged bespoke rings from P&A in Hatton Gardens, London. They selected ‘He Always Leaves The Seat Up’, a poem by Simon Schofield, as their reading.

“Seeing everyone’s faces as we turned back down the aisle once married was very special.”

The newly-weds took advice from friends and spent some time together in the Lodge’s gardens which were overflowing with summer flowers and shrubs.

‘The best advice was to take time together throughout the day to step back and just pause for a second – take it all in. We did this and we felt that the day didn’t go too fast.”

Middleton Lodge provided the wedding breakfast which was served in the marquee. I love its styling with the fresh foliage and pure white flowers. The rose gold touches add such a glamorous finish and the whole effect is crisp and sophisticated.

The semi-naked cake was baked by the very talented Adele Marshall of Sweet Charlotte Cakes and decorated with fresh foliage and a lovely cake topper.

“We attended an amazing cake tasting with my family at her home in Yorkshire to sample flavours and talk through the style and inspiration. We chose chocolate, white chocolate and raspberry, and lemon and poppy-seed.”

The newly-weds’ choice of first dance was inspired by their engagement story.

“We were engaged in New York at the Empire State building at 11pm looking out over NYC to a jazz player playing ‘Moon River’. Our maid of honour Samantha Barks, a professional actress, sang this for our first dance.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Take time throughout the day with your new husband to step away, whether it be in a room, a five minute walk or even at the side of the marquee as we did,  just to look at everything you have planned and created and enjoy the beauty of the best day of your life!”

I hope that you’ve been inspired by this beautiful and sophisticated wedding. I really like the pared-back colour scheme with its simple and fresh rose gold accents. Thank you so much Mr and Mrs Garnham for sharing your day with us, and also to Stan Seaton Photography for your work. If you’d like to see more botanical-inspired weddings we have a lovely selection for you to enjoy here.

Ele xx