Atelier Pronovias Lace For a Romantic Summer Wedding Beneath an Arbour of Flowers

Dear Readers, this wedding is a heady English summer romance full of the most dreamy flowers and an outdoor ceremony beneath a magical arbour adorned with blooms.

Meet Mr and Mrs Ratnage – Samantha works in operational restructuring and Samuel is a wealth manager. They were married on the 23 June 2018 at the stunning modern barn venue Millbridge Court in Farnham, Surrey. Ash Videography was on hand to capture the day on film, and Mr and Mrs Ratnage requested she film their vows so they were able to relive the moment.

“After seeing 9 other venues, Millbridge was our tenth and we fell in love. It ticked all the boxes and the arbour to get married outside was a winner! The venue was our biggest inspiration; living in London, the outdoor space, the greenery and the style of the barn was all the inspiration needed.”

Film by Ash Videography

“We met in London four years ago. We got engaged whilst we were on safari in Kruger, South Africa. After a successful morning of game drives, we had chill time during the day. On our balcony overlooking all the wildlife Samuel got down on one knee; it was a complete shock! The ring was so beautiful and sparkled in the sun and we had the most amazing 2 weeks in South Africa celebrating.”

Images by Kit Myers Photography

For her wedding gown, Samantha visited Pronovias’ flagship London boutique on Bond Street and chose an incredible lace design with a beautiful illusion bodice from Atelier Pronovias and paired it with a cathedral length veil from the same collection.

“After trying on multiple styles I felt this dress best captured the relaxed feel of the venue, but still with enough glamour. It felt classical, but with modern twists, like the lace and the split.”

Carolanne Armstrong created a classically beautiful make-up look for Samantha, and styled her hair into an elegant chignon. On her feet, she wore heels by Christian Louboutin, and for accessories, a bracelet and earrings gifted to her by her fiance. For her wedding day perfume, Samantha wore Jo Malone’s Peony and Blush Suede.

“I had peonies in my bouquet and wanted a scent to match the outdoorsy vibe of the wedding.”

The bridesmaids wore pretty, off-the-shoulder dresses from Coast with gold sandals from ASOS. Samantha also bought them personalised rose gold necklaces from Not On The High Street. The lovely flower girl wore a lace and tulle dress from Debenhams.

Chairs were set out in front of a beautiful arbour at Millbridge Court in readiness for the ceremony, and the arbour was filled with gorgeous flowers and foliage by the talented florist.

I also can’t get enough of the glorious, untamed bouquets Hannah created for Samantha and her bridesmaids, too.

Samuel wore a blue suit with contrasting pale pink waistcoat and tie from Moss Bros. To secure his shirt cuffs, his bride gifted him a set of engraved cufflinks with their date and time, purchased from Not On The High Street.

Samantha walked down the aisle with her dad, Jon, to the song Turning Page by Sleeping at Last.

“Walking down the aisle is an absolute highlight for different reasons for us both, but both pure joy and love.”

“We wrote our own vows to add a personal touch to the ceremony… Our vows centred around our promises to each other and to remain equals in our marriage.”

The couple also exchanged rings during their ceremony, choosing them from Hatton Garden based Diamond Palace.

“We got to design a matching band for my engagement ring and Samuel went for something simple.”

The couple chose talented photographer Kit Myers, who beautifully conveys the emotion and beauty of the day.

“We found Kit on Instagram; we fell in love with a shot taken at our venue with confetti outside. That was our ‘what would we frame and cherish’ moment. He was so friendly and chilled, and we knew he’d blend in well with our guests, but still capture everything.”

“Everything he did on the day was fab! He captured all the special moments whilst keeping it all natural. Having the engagement shoot was a really good chance to get to know him a bit more and get comfortable in front of the camera. We would really recommend having an engagement shoot.”

“We chose our florist, Hannah Berry Flowers, because we had seen her amazing work at Millbridge previously. Speaking to her we knew she completely got our vision; on the day she delivered even more than we could have possibly hoped for.”

“We told Hannah our flower scheme and picked flowers based around that; focusing on English roses, peonies and eucalyptus. Her arbour was out of this world and got so many compliments on the day.”

The stylish on-the-day stationery, with pastel hues and marble motif was the work of Amanda Michelle.

As the ceremony came to a close, Estilo String Quartet played the newlyweds out, and later played during the reception, too.

Guests enjoyed drinks and canapes out on the lawn, with all catering provided by the excellent Kalm Kitchen.

“The food was amazing! Completely recommend them, from the canapés to the evening burgers! And their Patisserie Bar is a real show stopper. The canapés were fab, presented on boards, mirrors and cages; beef carpaccio, hoisin duck wraps, smoked salmon, parmesan puffs, lamb loin and tempura prawns.”

“The menu was pea and parmesan arancini, carve at the table sirloin of beef and the patisserie bar for dessert (Eton mess, lemon posset and chocolate ‘mess’). In the evening we had a cheese board and burger and chips going round!”

In the light and airy dining room, balloons from Bubblegum Balloons bobbed around in the rafters, while down below on the tables, there were pretty floral centrepieces and vases of single stem flowers.

Samantha and Samuel provided favours in the form of homemade strawberry and prosecco jam in mini jars!

The best man’s mother made a delicious lemon and elderflower naked buttercream cake for everyone to enjoy.

Later in the evening, the couple made their way to the dancefloor against the backdrop of giant light-up ‘Love’ signage, courtesy of The Word Is Love, and there was music from DJ Chess Disco, as well as a mirror selfie booth from Shutterbox Photobooths.

“We danced to God Only Knows by the Beach Boys. For us, it was a feel good, happy song that we would always look back on and think it was a classic.”

“Our first dance was amazing too because everyone came onto the dancefloor by the end it was filled with everyone we loved. We wouldn’t have changed a single thing, to us our wedding day went perfectly.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Really enjoy the planning, it’s meant to be enjoyable, not stressful so remember that. When we look back planning meant taking time out of our busy schedules to spend time with each other and focus on the wedding, which we really appreciated.”

“In the build-up spend as much time with all your nearest and dearest as they are a huge support and they are all there for you. On the day just live every moment; take time out with your other half to step back and watch your guests and admire all the suppliers’ hard work that you shaped. And don’t sweat the small stuff; towards the end that motto really helped us making decisions.”

Congratulations, Mr and Mrs Ratnage, and thank you for sharing your idyllic English country day with us. Huge thanks also to Kit Myers for such beautiful photography. Take a look at more wonderful weddings with amazing food by Kalm Kitchen, here.

With love,

Laura