An Essense of Australia Bride and Maids in Ghost for an Effortlessly Elegant English Country Wedding

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As winter is almost upon us, and Christmas just around the corner, I’m winding back the clocks to June to hold onto that summertime feeling just a little longer for the utterly gorgeous nuptials of Rachael, a children’s oncology nurse, and project engineer Ben.

They married on Friday the 30th of June 2017 in the stunning Leicestershire countryside at Mythe Barn for their effortlessly elegant summer wedding with a rustic/country feel. The beautiful bride donned a Stella York Essense of Australia gown found via The Bridal Boutique with the most exquisite train.

“I loved everything about my Essense of Australia dress – the keyhole back, the lace detail and the neckline, I just loved it all. It wasn’t your typical ivory wedding dress and I felt it was more complimentary to my skin tone then the other ivory and white dresses I had tried before. When one of the girls in the boutique laid out the train behind me, I literally gasped, completely fell in love and started to tear up. I finally had that feeling that all brides talk about!”

Photography by Lisa Carpenter

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Ben and Rachael’s day was beautifully captured by the creative eyes of Lisa of Lisa Carpenter Photography, who were so impressed with her work and felt without a doubt it was the best money they’ve ever spent.

“I was just browsing Instagram for wedding bits and pieces and came across this beautiful wedding photo of a couple in a corn field – the amazing photo captured the moment perfectly. I then did some clicking and found it was one of Lisa’s. I went exploring on her website and when I showed Ben we both knew instantly that is the photographer we need. After meeting up with Lisa for the first time our decision was made.”“Lisa was so lovely, friendly, professional and quick to reply to any queries or questions we had. Ben was probably most nervous about this aspect of the day and about all the photos we were going to have, but Lisa put us completely at ease. When we got the wedding photos back we were lost for words and full of so many emotions, Lisa had captured every moment and person perfectly.”

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The bridesmaid dresses were the ‘Salma’ dress from Ghost in the colour Oyster, also via The Bridal Boutique.

“I saw these dresses on Instagram and instantly fell in love. They were a bit more than we wanted to spend but I just had to have them. They’re so simple but elegant and I knew they would fit perfectly with the look we were going for. This style is actually the exact same dress worn by the main female lead in the film Spectre, which is an interesting fact and quite cool to think your bridesmaid dresses are worn by a Bond girl.”

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The girls wore a large pastel pink rose pinned in their hair (via the florist), their own heels in a neutral colour, and the bride gifted each of her gorgeous maids with a thoughtful present.

“I made the girls each individual gift boxes full of little treats. One of these was a delicate pearl necklace from Accessorize that I thought would go perfectly with the dress and colour scheme and also matched my earrings – and they all chose their own delicate bracelets and earrings.”

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Rachael chose a short veil from The Bridal Boutique so as not to take away the attention of the incredible train of her dress. She added court shoes from Rainbow Club, a pretty bridal hairpiece from Debenhams and a spray of Burberry ‘Brit Rhythm’ and kept it simple with her accessories.

“I decided not to wear a necklace as I thought the neckline of my dress had enough detail not to need one. My earrings were special as they were a gift from my parents when I graduated from university in London. They are a very delicate diamond stud with a pearl drop below.”

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“I can be really fussy and don’t trust many people with my hair so it was important to me that I found a good hair stylist. Natalie Bishop at Bridal Hair Specialists was amazing; she made me feel really at ease during the trial, her bubbly personality is just what you need when you’re nervous on the morning of your wedding. My hair looked just how I imagined in the end. I couldn’t believe how lovely the bridesmaid’s hair was considering they didn’t have trials. Nat is great at what she does!”

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“My friend was a bridesmaid at a wedding and Rebecca Frances was the makeup artist and she recommended her. Rebecca was so friendly and she is so talented when it comes to makeup. I explained what I imagined my makeup to be like and she nailed it first time on the trial. She’s amazing! It lasted all day and the girls looked stunning too. Everyone commented on how stunning the bridal party styling looked. Two of my friends have even booked her for their weddings next year!”

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“I came back to visit home one weekend from London and me and my friends were on a night out. My friend introduced me and Ben to each other and I remember him being really shy at first and I was apparently just talking for England as usual. After a few more vodka sodas, embarrassing dance moves and drunken conversations, we had a little kiss. After that night I went back to London and we continued to talk.”

“A couple of weeks later it was the royal wedding of William and Kate and everyone and anyone I knew was going to watch and celebrate afterwards. However, I was probably the only person on a train out of Euston and going back home. This was of course to go and see Ben. My mum still to this day moans about how I missed a momentous occasion in history, but we just laugh and say that maybe I wouldn’t be engaged/married now.”

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“We were together for four years and then went on a two-week holiday to Florida. Three days into the holiday after a day at Universal, Ben had booked us a table at a beautiful five-star fish restaurant on a boat at Disney Springs. We had a drink and whilst waiting for the table we went outside on the deck and were watching the light display on the lake, I was too busy looking at the display and heard Ben coughing loudly and eventually he had to ask me to turn around … he was down on one knee asking me to marry him.”

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“My Dad accompanied me down the aisle to the tune of ‘How long will I love you’ by Ellie Goulding. I love the words in this song. We exchanged rings from Diamond Heaven in the Birmingham jewellery quarter.”

“I was the most nervous I’ve ever been before walking down the aisle. It’s a strange feeling because I didn’t know exactly why I was nervous. However as soon as I saw Ben waiting at the end of the aisle with a beaming smile but also looking slightly nervous and emotional too it put me at ease. It’s such an exciting and amazing feeling when you’re about to marry your best friend.”

 

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“When Hannah Ricci from Bloom Fleuriste arrived at the venue with the van stacked full of flowers I was so so excited! She came upstairs to where we were getting ready and presented me my bouquet and I was speechless. They were just what I wanted and even more beautiful than I imagined. When I went downstairs to see how the venue set up was going, everything smelt amazing and so fresh and full of flowers. We did spend quite a lot more than I ever thought I would spend on flowers. But I do not regret that whatsoever as they really complimented venue and they looked and smelt gorgeous.”

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“Ben and I had an extract from ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’ by Louis de Bernieres. This is one of my favourite romantic readings; we both read through some readings and knew we wanted this one. The words are really special and really true about marriage and what it means to have a loving and lasting relationship.”

Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your root was so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. that is just being in love, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.”

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“We knew we wanted live acoustic music for the wedding ceremony as I just think it makes a lovely romantic atmosphere, so we arranged for Laura from Something Acoustic to entertain during the wedding ceremony and drinks reception.”

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The groom wanted to add a personal touch by making elements for the big day. He made all of the stationery, the table plan ladder, and an easel for the welcome sign to go on. The couple cleaned and spray-painted wine bottles to match the theme, which Hannah the florist then decorated with eucalyptus and white and pink roses.

They also had gorgeous wooden painted signs from ‘Painted by Katie’ via Etsy in white painted wood with gold writing.

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“The food by Galloping Gourmet, the caterers at Mythe Barn, was delicious! It was perfectly presented and tasted amazing. The beef we had for the wedding breakfast completely melted in your mouth. We had a lot of comments from guests about how good the food was and how it was the best food they’ve ever had at a wedding!”

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“Our wedding cake was really special to us as it was a wedding gift and made for us by my amazing godparents, which we were so grateful for. It added a really personal touch to the wedding. Hannah our florist then added a couple of floral touches to each tier.”

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Matt Pantling from Dancefloor DJ’s and Events was recommended by the venue and kept the crowd dancing all night long.

“We had ‘The One’ by Kodaline for our first dance song. This has always been a favourite song of mine, the lyrics are beautiful and when Ben heard it he loved it too and agreed that the lyrics were really fitting for the day.”

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Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Try not to get too caught up in the planning process and don’t let yourself get too stressed. It can be so easy to get wrapped up in everything wedding related that you forget about everything else going on in life. In the end what it comes down to is that this is going to be a day you’re going to marry your best friend and the person you love the most. Nobody on the day is going notice the tablecloth not matching the chair cover, or that you were two minutes and 45 seconds late to walk down the aisle.”

It’s also important to take a moment on your wedding day; just the two of you away from everybody else, to take everything in. Your wedding day goes by in a flash and when you look back it feels like a whirlwind. You want to be able to have a moment away from everything where you can really pause and appreciate each other and the vows you have just taken and how happy and excited you are about life ahead.

I love the real wedding section of Love My Dress. It’s great to see the different variety of colour schemes, themes and ideas that everyone has. It definitely helps to look through real life weddings when you’re just starting off planning your own, especially if you don’t already have an exact picture in your mind, so it’s great for inspiration.”

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Thank you lovely Rachael for these very kind and very wise words. We do love to inspire our readers and I’m certain your fabulous day has got them making inspiration and mood boards for their own upcoming celebrations. Also a very big thank you to Lisa for their divine images of all the happy, heartfelt moments.

Stay warm lovelies!

Love Jo -xo-

Credits & Thanks

Jo Singletary

Jo Singletary View all Jo's articles

Jo hails from and lives in sunny Australia, is currently working towards her dream of being a career coach and a few of her favourite things are watching the sunrise over the ocean, morning walks on the beach, butterflies, and supporting the guide dogs charity.

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