An Elegant Essense of Australia dress for a Charming Cotswolds Tipi Wedding

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How would you like to head to the glorious Cotswolds today, for a lovely church ceremony with a wonderful family connection, and a waterside tipi reception filled with the sweetest details?

Meet our couple, primary school teacher, Louise, and Matthew, who is a head of project management. They were married on the 4 August 2018 in a ceremony at their local church, followed by a reception celebration at Hadsham Farm, Horley.

“We chose Hadsham Farm because their tipi stays up all year, and everything you need is there – not forgetting the wonderful setting. It’s a blank canvas to dress up as you please, get your own caterers, and there’s no corkage fee.”

Photography by S2 Images

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From The Bridal Boutique in Henley-in-Arden, Louise chose a dress of pure, elegant simplicity by Essense of Australia. I love the gown’s clean lines, from the cap sleeved bodice with its low scoop back, to the skirt with a sweeping tulle train, and just a touch of embellishment at the waist.

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“I began wedding dress shopping with an open mind, and was willing to try on all styles. I tried on around 25 dresses in total, and could not find fault with most of them because they were all beautiful. I quickly found though, that I felt most special in the plainer, simpler dresses. Detailed dresses with lace and applique didn’t seem to look right on me.”

“Originally we wanted an elegant and modern looking wedding with candelabras and quite minimal and classic detail. With our venue, my vision changed, and I found that what I had originally wanted really wasn’t very ‘us’ as a couple, and I am so pleased that we styled it the way we did. Flowers (and lots of them) were a huge must for us, so that really was a huge part of our styling. We wanted a beautiful but elegant and summery, colourful look, and luckily we bagged the weather to go with it.”

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Gorgeous make-up (including an amazing rose gold eye palette) was created for Louise by Chloe Coleman, and her pretty asymmetrical braided updo was styled for her by Linzi Loops, with the addition of a crystal hair vine from Sabina K Design, and a waist length, satin edged veil from Joyce Jackson.

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“When I tried on the dress I eventually chose, I cried and could not explain why, but it was the only dress that had that effect on me, and I found I kept thinking about it when I tried on further dresses. It was simple, elegant and timeless, and something I will look back on and still love in years to come.”

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On her feet, Louise wore gold glitter ankle strap heels from Kurt Geiger, and for her bridal perfume, Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel.

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Matthew wore a fantastic three piece suit, with a blue jacket and trousers, and contrasting grey waistcoat from Peter Posh, with an ice blue bow tie and pocket square from Mrs Bow Tie, and classic brogues by Loake.

“I’ve been friends with my Best Man since Year 3 of school. He flew all the way from Australia to be there on our wedding day. We had three ushers – a cousin, brother-in-law -to-be, and a long-term friend.”

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Louise’s bridal flowers were summery pastel perfection, filled with scented stocks and garden roses, by The Flower Girls.

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The bridal party made their way to the church in great style, in a blue vintage Volkswagen Campervan courtesy of Fifties Chic. Both the outside and inside of the church were decorated beautifully, with large pedestal arrangements by the doors, filled with contrasting textures, from classic roses and delicate gypsophila, to architectural eucalyptus and poppy seed heads.

The bridesmaids wore lovely blush pink wrap dresses by Sorella Vita, which they wore with shoes from Office, a necklace and earrings from River Island, and delicate sprigs of gypsophila in their hair.

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To The Cinematic Orchestra’s Arrival of the Birds, Louise and her dad walked down the aisle to begin the ceremony.

“We were very lucky that Matthew’s sister Michelle is a vicar, so she was able to conduct our marriage at our local church with the help of the local vicar. This was hugely special to us and to her, and was something that we felt made our wedding stand out from the crowd, as she made it very personal and lighthearted, and all our guests commented on how much they enjoyed the service. She opened with the line ‘It is not every day you wake up and say, today I’m going to marry my brother’.”

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The couple first met through a mutual friend at a birthday barbecue and bouncy castle party (say that quickly, I dare you!) in August 2010, and became engaged at the top of the Rockefeller Centre in New York City in May 2016.

“We had a Bible reading, which we allowed Matthew’s step father to choose, as he was the person reading it, and as a church goer felt he would choose something meaningful and appropriate. We also chose an extract from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, which was read by Louise’s step mother – chosen mainly for the beautiful words and sentiment within it.”

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During the ceremony, rings were exchanged, which had been chosen at Tiffany & Co., partly to match Louise’s Tiffany engagement ring, and partly due to where they became engaged.

“My mum is part of a local choir who sang for us at the church, and this again, made our service so memorable and extra special. They also performed during our signing of the register, a personal favourite being One Day Like This by Elbow which some guests commented had given them goose bumps.”

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“The wedding ceremony at our church was our favourite part of the day. We’re biased, but it was the best wedding ceremony we have ever been to (and we’ve been to a lot) because we were so lucky to have opportunity to be able to make it personal to us by including our families, and to make a statement to our guests. It was the part of the day that we look back at the most and say ‘Wow, that really was amazing!’.”

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Louise and Matthew were delighted with their choice of photographers, and it’s easy to see why. S2 Images did a marvellous job capturing their day and all its lovely moments in the bright summer sunshine.

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“As the old saying goes, ‘You can’t be in two places at once’. With S2 images, we had just that, with two photographers, Sonia and Simon. Sonia joined up with our bridal party and Simon our groom’s party at the crack of dawn to capture every special moment from the pre-wedding preparations to our first dance and beyond.”

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“Photographers may be deemed as just another thing to arrange, but you should not forget that when the vows have been recited and the honeymoon is over, the only thing you will have to look back on are your photos to remind you of the best day of your life.” 

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“Sonia and Simon will most certainly deliver you excellent wedding photos; but more than that, they added moments to our day and captured photos which no amount of money can buy! Fortunately, Louise’s sister has booked S2 Images for their wedding next year and we get to spend another day together!”

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The large and impressive tipi at Hadsham Farm was a statement in and of itself, and so Louise and Matthew kept styling to a minimum, with one large hanging garland of flowers and foliage, and tables decorated with posies of pastel coloured blooms.

“I wasn’t very specific with the flower types – I was quite happy for Emma from The Flower Girls to share ideas she thought would work in the tipi, and to get the summer garden feel that we wanted.”

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There was a touching photo memorial gallery using Polaroid style prints, and laser cut wooden table place settings to match the other rose gold accents throughout the tipi, and in Louise’s bridal outfit.

“We also had trailing ivy and little sprinklings of confetti to add a bit more detail, as well as rose gold balloons that matched with the cake and our table names.”

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Favours were pin badges from the British Heart Foundation, in memory of Matthew’s dad, with a thank you card for each guest attached, printed via Vista Print.

“We were lucky to know a lady with a talent for art and creative design, so she kindly created chalkboard pieces for us, such as our order of the day sign, table plan, welcome sign and table names, which all came together really well to make a statement on the day.”

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Guests enjoyed ice cold drinks in the sunshine, with live music from Tap That. The lead singer is Louise’s cousin, Simon Grace, with box drum and backing vocals by Chris Wright, who is Matthew’s cousin. It’s so lovely to read about so many family members being involved in all aspects of Louise and Matthew’s day!

“Having never played together before, we asked Simon and Chris if they’d play at our wedding and they did not disappoint – we saw this as another opportunity to make our day personal to us, and involve our nearest and dearest in yet another element of our wedding.”

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A wonderful, laid back wedding feast was served by The Wild Oven, with sharing starters served on maple boards, wood fired meats and colourful salads.

“Our cake was made by an amateur baker who was recommended to us. As my dress and other wedding accessories had rose gold hues, we asked her to incorporate this along with our initials. As much as we love cake, it was a summer wedding so we were not willing to splash out hundreds for something that would most likely melt in the heat, but it was delicious and hit the spot without breaking the bank.”

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After dinner and speeches, Louise and Matthew took a sunset stroll together in the beautiful Cotswolds countryside, and made their way to the dance floor for their first dance together as husband and wife.

“We had an early evening acoustic set and evening entertainment from Fraudio. They were phenomenal (lots of guests commented that they were the best wedding band they had ever heard). Our first dance was Feel So Close – Calvin Harris.”

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Not a classic first dance song, but the words were perfect and we wanted to be able to properly dance to something rather than just awkwardly swaying! Fraudio learnt the song at our request. It’s now in their regular repertoire.”

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Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Don’t sweat the small stuff. It all comes together on the day! Also, remember it’s your day, so stick to your guns and decide what’s most important to you as a couple.”

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Louise and Matthew, thank you so much for this chance to glimpse your charming and idyllic wedding day, it’s been brilliant. Thanks also go to S2 Images for their wonderful photography.

If you’d like to see more graceful gowns by Essense of Australia, there are lots more real weddings to read by heading here.

With love,

Laura

Credits & Thanks

Laura Callan

Laura Callan View all Laura's articles

Laura is a freelance writer and content creator who loves telling stories. She has keen eye for photography and art, and lives with her husband, cats, and huge amounts of books.

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