I have to confess that its very rare for me not to fall in love with the dresses in the features I write up for Love My Dress- even if the gown wouldn’t suit me in a million years or isn’t really my personal style, I usually end up adoring it anyway, because they’re always so beautiful and suit the bride so very well.
Today’s gown though is a completely wow of a dress and I want it for myself! The whole day is lovely but the dress definitely steals the show. Megan and Jamie, both radiographers, married on the 1st of September 2017 at the gorgeous Lyde Court in Hereford. The couple met at work and went on to get engaged at Reading Festival, in the middle of a Mumford & Sons set. Their day was laid back and beautiful, with a profusion of flowers.
“We both wanted a very relaxed, fun and laid back barn wedding. I love anything country-style so our house was already full of jugs and teapots and we started collecting more. It wasn’t until I found my dress that the real styling happened though (in secret of course as no one knew what it was like).”
Images by Oobaloos Photography
Megan wore an incredible gown from the ‘Untamed Love’ collection by Charlotte Balbier (who, I am thrilled to say, she first discovered via Love My Dress), which she purchased at The White Boutique in Leamington Spa. As we all know, a dress, any dress, with pockets, is most excellent!“I loved this dress the moment I saw a close up of the pattern on Charlotte Balbier’s bridal Instagram. I knew it would fit our day perfectly and suit me before I even saw the whole thing. I had to wait for it to be released into the boutiques for what felt like an eternity. It was the first dress I tried on and even has pockets.”
“Our florist was the lovely Jenny Fleur. I had seen some of her previous work on Instagram and absolutely loved her rustic country style with big arrangements in milk churns and on bicycles.”
“We wanted flowers that looked like we had picked them from a field that morning and they all suited the venue perfectly.”
“As a wedding present my best friend and bridesmaid bought my shoes. She had found a pair she liked and we both went to the Rachel Simpson showroom together as she wanted me to try a few on and see if we picked the same ones (we did).”
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In her hair, Megan wore a flower crown by florist Jenny Fleur, while for scent she chose Aura by Thierry Mugler. Her earrings were a previous Christmas gift from Jamie.
The bridesmaids looked lovely in structured pink dresses from Chi Chi Clothing, paired with shoes from ASOS and necklaces from H&M, while the little flower girl looked gorgeous in a gown from Monsoon.
Jamie looked very smart in a suit from House of Fraser, worn with a waistcoat and tie made by his talented mum and shoes from Ted Baker. His cufflinks were a present from Megan and featured a picture of her and the couple’s cats.
Megan was accompanied down the aisle by her stepdad and her two brothers to the fabulous musical choice of the theme tune to Jurassic Park by John Williams, played on the guitar by her uncle.
“My stepdad was in a serious motorbike accident a few years ago so he now isn’t very good with steps. The walk down to the aisle involved several big stone steps so my two brothers walked me down the steps and then handed me over to our step dad who then walked me down the aisle.”
Megan and Jamie chose two readings, read by Megan’s sister and cousin.
“The first reading was Joey’s speech from Friends and was just brilliant. My little sister goes to an acting school so she is well known to our family and friends. When she started it, only the people who love Friends got the joke and started laughing whereas some people just thought she had written a terrible reading but was really trying her best! It was one of the best decisions and it really made people laugh.”
We are gathered here today on this joyous occasion to celebrate the special love that Jamie and Megan share. It is a love based on giving and receiving as well as having and sharing and the love that they give and have is shared and received and through this having and giving and sharing and receiving, we too can share and love and have and receive”
“Our other reading was ‘I’ll be there for you’ by Louise Cudden which Jamie found on Love My Dress. We both love this one as we aren’t the smushy lovey dovey type of people.”
To cement their vows, Megan and Jamie exchanged rings from David Christopher.
Today’s photography is the work of Sheryl Fish of Oobaloos Photography. Sheryl has featured on Love My Dress only once before, for a styled shoot so we’re thrilled to be showcasing her real wedding work as well.
“I cannot put into words how glad I am that I found Sheryl; she was my knight in shining armour at my only stressful point of the wedding planning stage. I found her Instagram and knew her style of photography would suit us perfectly. We did not want staged photos and she had a very sneaky way of getting us to pose. She made everyone feel as ease, relaxed and our guests all commented on how wonderful she was. I can not thank her enough for giving us such wonderful photos.”
“My stepdad made all of our decorations- a signpost that acted as our order of service, a confetti pallet that we pegged bags of petals (from Shropshire Petals) onto, the cake stand, centrepieces, table plan and place name holders.”
“Anything to do with wood he made it. His garage turned into a wedding work shop and the tree from the garden was no more.”
The couple hired light up initial lights from Penny Lane Vintage Hire and extra signs and decor were from Live Laugh Love and Nuala Hussey.
Catering came in the form of afternoon tea and a fish and chip van, both provided by Lyde Court- this sounds like my perfect day!
“My bridesmaid made our cake and we also had a cake of cheese supplied by Lyde Court.”
“For favours the men had a football bet rolled up on a glass bottle (Jamie is from Northern Ireland and they were playing in a world cup qualifier the same day) while the girls had a blend of tea in a glass cork bottle from The Spice Kitchen via Not On The High Street.”
“We had the brilliant Boutique Disco to provide dancing music. They were amazing and also doubled up as a photographer and videographer for the night time.”
“It’s so hard to pick the best moment as it was the perfect day, it was relaxed and fun and just lovely to have everyone together. I loved seeing Jamie at the bottom of the aisle and his face when he saw me is something I will never forget. Jamie’s favourite moment was we had signed the registry and it was all official and we were actually married.”
Words of Wedded Wisdom
“Be as organised as you can be up to the day before the wedding then just enjoy it, there is nothing you can do at that point so just go with it.
Remember it’s yours and your husband-to-be’s day so don’t worry what other people will think of your choices.”
“Make sure you find time in the evening to be with your husband. We sat outside the back of the barn on our own for ten minutes just reflecting on the day.
Lastly surround yourself with good suppliers, they will take the stress away for you as you know they will do a good job.”
Wise words from Megan there. Huge thanks to her and Jamie for sharing this gorgeous day. Take a peek here for more brides in Charlotte Balbier gowns and here for Charlotte’s own fabulous wedding, which we featured a couple of years ago.
Much love,
Shona x
