Living in Berlin meant that whenever Sophie and Dimitri returned home, time with family and friends became incredibly precious.
When they began planning their wedding, they quickly realised they didn’t want to squeeze everything into a single day, so instead they invited their guests to join them for an entire wedding weekend at Capesthorne Hall in Cheshire, with a rehearsal dinner, their wedding day and a relaxed Sunday morning spent exploring the beautiful grounds together.
With planning led by Love My Dress recommended wedding planner Jessica Sharpe, organising everything from overseas became not only manageable but genuinely enjoyable. Jess also introduced the couple to photographer and filmmaker Jono Symonds, whose relaxed approach and instinct for storytelling made him the perfect fit for a celebration where the priority was simply giving everyone time to be together.
Set against the grandeur of Capesthorne Hall, the styling introduced layers of soft green florals and natural textures that brought a lighter, more relaxed feel to the historic interiors, while thoughtful references to Dimitri’s British-Cypriot heritage were woven into the food and celebrations.
Sophie wore three bridal looks across the weekend, including a Vivienne Westwood dress for the rehearsal dinner and two Watters gowns on the wedding day, and guests were each given a carefully chosen second-hand book to take home, one of many personal touches that made this celebration such a memorable one to share.
I think you’re going to love this one darlings, enjoy!
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The Rehearsal Dinner
Words by Jessica Sharpe, The Wedding Planner
The design of the day was centred around a rich, nature-inspired palette, with layers of lush green tones creating a romantic, forest-like feel throughout the celebration. Set against the grandeur of Capesthorne Hall, the styling was intentionally designed to soften the formality of the venue, bringing an organic, slightly wild edge to an otherwise classic setting.
The design balanced elegance with a relaxed, immersive atmosphere, combining the stately interiors of the Hall with a more untamed, botanical style. This contrast allowed the day to feel both refined and effortlessly romantic, with each element carefully considered to create a cohesive flow from ceremony through to reception.
Overall, the styling focused on enhancing the beauty of the venue while introducing a fresh, modern take through the use of tonal greens, soft textures and an organic, free-flowing approach to the décor.
The Venue & Location
We were quite open to how the wedding could look in the end but it was most important for us to have a wedding that would bring together all the people we love for longer than one day (hence why in the end we had more of a wedding weekend!).
As we don’t get to see our family so often with living abroad, we wanted to make as much out of it as we could. This meant that the venue needed to offer the facilities for this and an onsite accommodation!
As Dimitri is British-Cypriot, it was important for us to have a nod to his background and include food and decoration that pulled this in. Since we are both booklovers we wanted to have a touch of that through the day too (hence the wedding favors being books!).
Dimitri’s grandparents used to take him to Capesthorne as a child which helped us to make the final decision to choose this as a wedding venue. It also visually matched a lot of references we had found on pintrest and was in the 1 hour travel radius of our home town so that family could easily get there.
The Dress
Watters (& Vivienne Westwood!)
I got three dresses for the whole weekend; for the night before / reception dinner, I wore a Vivienne Westwood Sunday dress in white. For the day of the wedding, I wore two dresses that I got from Watters.
My favourite shopping experience was at the Vivienne Westwood shop in Manchester. I got my reception dress the day that I did our engagement shoot and was in the city. The team there really went above and beyond to secure my size (which was sold out everywhere) and help me curate jewelery for the look.
The Vivienne Westwood look was a nod to my Nana Jean, who went to the same school as Vivienne. Since being a young girl, I have loved her so much and what she stands for as a designer. It is also a super comfortable dress, perfect for eating lots of food and hiding a potentially bloated belly. I also shared the unboxing of my Vivienne Westwood dress on my TikTok account.
I got my main dresses for the day of my wedding from the Ivory Edit. Their chapel-like venue is sooo beautiful. I loved going there and was worth the drive from Glossop (1.5 hours!). Overall it was a very lovely experience and all the stylists were very nice.
On the day I loved that my mini evening dress looked like I had chopped the skirt of my main wedding dress. My main wedding dress called to me with its intricate and breathtaking details in the skirt. It had the wow factor and in the end I chose it because it called to me as something in typical style with a more unusual skirt.
I wore a veil which I got from the Ivory Edit. I don’t remember which kind now!
I got my shoes from Steve Madden for the night before which were silver sparkles and for the day I got two pairs from Rainbow Club.
My mum and I found the brand at John Lewis after a long day of last minute wedding shoe shopping at the Trafford Centre in Manchester. Just when we were about to give up I tried a few pairs on and they were some of the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn.
I got one pair with pearls on the toes and another pointed more classic looking pair.
My bridesmaids got their dresses from Azazie. I liked the brand as they have so many designs that are size inclusive and are a good price. My bridesmaids were asked to find their own shoes in gold. Some wore shoes they already had.
Dimitri wore two suits both from Moss Bros in Manchester.
The Ceremony
My dad walked me down the aisle, to the sound of ‘Wildest Dreams’, by Taylor Swift, played by a string quartet.
Our Registrar, June Tarpey, officiated our ceremony. She was amazing. She said the most beautiful and fitting words and suggested some great feminist readings for the ceremony.
We used the standard wedding ceremony vows and complemented them with readings by some of our closest people (one of my best friends, Miriam and Dimitri’s Mum), who helped us make it clear how we define love! While we did not do our own vows, we both gave speeches.We did two readings which we chose due to how they depicted marriage as a mutual agreement that makes both parties shine brighter.
We wanted pieces that did not uphold traditional conservative splits in marriage (where the woman is subservient). Our readings were ‘Marry Your Best Friend‘ and ‘The Wedding Poem’, by Whitney Hanson.
We got our rings from the same shop where Dimitri purchased my engagement ring in Berlin, Antique Jewellery. It came on the recommendation of our dear friends Chloe and Andrea who had got their engagement ring from the same shop.
For us it was important to have something pre-loved. We did not care much about brand or cost.
We found our photographer who was also our videographer, Jono Symonds, thanks to our planner, Jess! We wanted a more editorial look with our wedding photos which was the first filter that brought us to his studio.
Jono was absolutely incredible and in the end was the supplier we saw most on the day as his philosophy is to build photography seamlessly into the wedding schedule. He is absolutely lovely and was a pleasure to work with. My husband is rather shy with photos, but Jono managed to prompt us and curate our experience so we were laughing and smiling (or kissing) the whole time.
He knew exactly the right moment when we might need a break from our guests to have some us time. He also knew when it was enough photos and has such a creative eye to catch the energy of the moment and the beauty of the location. We hope to work with Jono again and again for our future photograph needs!
We could not believe how beautiful the wedding film was. It brought almost everyone who watched to tears.
How They Met
We met on Tinder during the Christmas holidays in 2018! But we knew each other as we both attended St Bede’s College in Manchester. I (Sophie) ran a debate club where I met Dimitri’s younger brother Mario. Mario always spoke so highly of his older brother who was very smart and was studying law at university. This influenced me to swipe right.
We met for our first date in the Oakwood in Glossop and we had a fabulous first date talking about European politics. After a few months of meeting up when i was back home for the holidays of meeting up and having interesting conversations we started dating. After four-tive years of dating, and moving to Berlin together in 2020, we got engaged in July 2023 and around two years after that, we got married!
We planned a longer engagement so that we could organise a big wedding from abroad.
The Reception & Flowers
We knew from the start that we wanted to have some very big floral and greenery pieces. Jemma Khan’s work speaks for itself and instantly caught our eye!
Our caterers were Cheeky Chilli Events, who provided the most amazing food which our wedding guests still complement us on. For our reception dinner, we wanted to include cuisine from Cyprus and they made us a special mezze for this!
We also were very taken care of the whole time with drinks delivered to us as soon as our last ones were finished. The staff were so nice!
We chose a basic Victoria Sponge cake from cake maker, Pink Cocoa. This was mainly so that we could ‘cut the cake’. I don’t think we had any of the cake because we were too busy dancing.
The taster set was delicious and we are considering ordering our wedding cake again so that we can enjoy it sober and in peace, haha!
We googled and googled and hated all the suggested ‘first dance’ songs. We ping ponged around with ideas, but nothing quite fit us. Then after hearing it again and again on the radio I suggested ‘Ordinary’, by Alex Warren. Dimitri said no since he did not know the song. Then after also hearing it on the radio again and again he agreed the words spoke very true to our love story!
When it comes to favourite moments, looking back now, it was the whole day! There were so many beautiful moments for different reasons. Getting ready in the morning with my girls, my mum putting on my dress, my dad walking me down the aisle and the big moment of exchanging the vows.
We had been very nervous about our first dance but in the end it was such a highlight. We danced so naturally together and even did a wow moment drop. We did not practise much and had no routine but we fooled our guests that we did. People asked us after how long we had been practising.
Straight after the band started with Unwritten and the dance floor was so so full and the energy was electric. From our deep deep love, to the love of all our family and friends who uplifted us both and made our love possible. The two moments one after another were magical!
Words of Wedded Wisdom
If you have the budget and want an entirely stress free wedding, HIRE A WEDDING PLANNER (and more specifically Jess!).
Trust your gut on what you want and do what is right for you.
There is a lot of advice out there on who you should and should not invite, for example that friend or family member who you have not seen for 3 years. In the end only you know your circumstances.
Our day was really perfect, so these things are very small nitpicking:
• At some point I put my wedding bouquet down and then I never saw it again. I wish I had made a better plan for what to do with it and perhaps taken it home!
• We didn’t eat our cake, because we were too busy dancing (and maybe a little too drunk to remember). I would recommend to save some to the side for the next day!
• Dimitri wishes he had watched me walk down the aisle as the timing was a bit off and he turned around as I was half down the aisle and had a jump scare!
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