A Blush Hayley Paige Dress for a Romantic + Whimsical English Country Garden Inspired Barn Wedding

There’s something about a frothy, lighter-than-air tulle skirt that I absolutely love, and if you do too, then you’re in luck today, because we have a dream of a dress to share with you. This is also a celebration inspired by the magic of an English garden in summertime, and is filled to the brim with exquisite flowers.

Meet Mr and Mrs Elleston; Graphic Designer Eliza, and Adam, who is a Website Developer. They were married on the 11 August at the lovely Long Furlong Barn in Clapham, Worthing, in the idyllic West Sussex countryside.

Images by Olivia Judah Photography

“We just completely fell in love with the barn, the beautiful views, and how helpful and encouraging the staff were when we were shown round. We’re both local to the area, so wanted somewhere fairly close by for family and friends. The barn is located overlooking the most beautiful fields that we’ve often driven past. I also think that a lot of it was just down to a feeling we both got – we’d seen a few venues, but something about Long Furlong just felt like the perfect place.”

Eliza’s hair was curled and braided beautifully by Charlotte from Polka Dot Hair & Make-up, and her make-up included wonderful, shimmery gold eyeshadow.

Eliza first caught sight of Hayley Paige’s bridal designs in magazines, and just knew that she would find the perfect dress from amongst her collection. At Love Bridal in Crystal Palace, she discovered ‘Pepper’, from Blush by Hayley Paige, with its form fitting, embellished sweetheart bodice, and cascading tulle skirt.

“I just think Hayley Paige’s designs are so magical and whimsical – everything I was looking for. I’d initially seen a dress I loved online, so went to the shop to try it, and a few others on. I loved my original choice but once I’d tried this dress on (‘Pepper’) I was just fully in love. I knew straight away this was the dress for me, and it’s honestly my favourite thing I’ve ever worn.”

“It gave me such a magical, butterfly feeling every time I wore it for a fitting. I never once doubted my choice. The beading for the bodice was really unusual. I loved the thin, dainty straps, with the skirt trim making it just a little bit different. It had drama, but was also soft – basically just everything I’d ever wanted.”

To complete her look, fresh flowers were added to Eliza’s hair, and she wore a 126-inch single layer tulle veil by Joyce Jackson. All that remained was to add perfume, which was Jo Malone’s Myrrh and Tonka Cologne Intense.

Eliza’s shoes were ivory satin Mary Jane block heels, which she found at Paradox London, and she also wore a bracelet and necklace by Alex Monroe, and earrings by Jennifer Behr.

“I really wanted a lovely mixtures of pinks, peaches and greens, and I based most things around my love of massive, fluffy garden roses. These were the main inspiration for the colours and everything else really, as I wanted an English garden vibe.”

“This mixed with gold accents without constraining everything too much, as I wanted it to all feel quite natural.”

“We were introduced by a mutual friend before becoming housemates. I always say that I’ve never met anyone before Adam that I’ve felt so passionately about having in my life, even when we were just friends. We had an instant spark, but never even realised ourselves how much we got on until further down the line. Luckily, a game of poker helped us reveal our true feelings, and as they say, the rest is history.”

“We became engaged in February 2017 on a romantic weekend trip to Venice. A few friends had asked me before we went if I thought Adam might propose, so perhaps the seed was planted a little in my mind. Adam then proceeded to spend the next few days stopping us on gorgeously romantic bridges, professing his love for me as I waited with baited breath, just for him to then carry on our walk. By the end of the weekend I felt foolish for even thinking it, convinced I’d imagined it all in my head.”

“I was getting undressed for bed on our last night, and turned around to find Adam down on one knee with the most beautiful and perfect ring I’ve ever seen. I honestly wouldn’t change a thing, because by this point, I was so not expecting it, having convinced myself I’d misread the signals! I didn’t even mind that I wasn’t wearing trousers.”

To the sounds of Wagner’s Bridal Chorus, Eliza and her dad made their way down the aisle to begin the ceremony. Adam was waiting, wearing a smart blue suit with a pale pink tie, from Hugo Boss, together with a belt and cufflinks by the same designer.

During their exchanging of vows, Eliza and Adam gave each other rings, which they chose at family jewellers Number Ten, in Brighton.

“We chose the lyrics to the song Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce (read by Adam’s dad) as the sentiment spoke so loudly to us. It also turned out that Adam’s dad had a real emotional connection to the song, which made it even more perfect.”

Maid of Honour Hannah read the couple’s second piece, called Anywhere, Anytime, by Beau Taplin, which they chose for both its lovely overall sentiment, and the fact that the final line captured the essence of the moment at which they took the leap from friendship to – as Eliza says – ‘forever’.

“We both have the same favourite moment, which is walking back down the aisle together after getting married. We did it to the song All I Want Is You by Barry Louis Polisar (you might know it from the film Juno) playing, which we had picked to be a bit silly and funny. After all the emotion, and knowing that we were married, it was the perfect happy, joyful tune to just cement the biggest grins onto both our faces. I also loved seeing all our beautiful friends and family for the first time as we walked down.”

“This is closely followed by walking down the aisle towards Adam with my dad. It was such a special moment for me; everything I had dreamed it would be. Before the day everyone had joked about Adam probably crying, but it was actually me that was overcome with emotion.”

Some of Eliza’s favourite details from the day were the post-ceremony signature cocktails, served with flair by Circa Events. On the menu were Raspberry Mojitos and Palomas, decorated with edible glitter and flowers, as well as striped straws, sourced by Eliza.

“I had three words I used as my main inspiration for the style and vibe of the day. My family made fun of me for it, but I think they really helped me to stay on course and ensure I got a nice balance of them all. They were: Fun, elegant and whimsical.”

The couple’s lovely flowergirl wore a white tulle dress to complement Eliza’s, from La Petite by Hayley Paige, and discovered at Willow & Grace Bridal.

Eliza’s bridesmaids wore pale pink dresses with beautifully ruched bodices by Kelsey Rose via Nabbd, with pink and gold shoes from Head over Heels at Dune. On the morning of the wedding, Eliza gifted them each with their own Alex Monroe necklace.

In keeping with the whimsical, playful English country garden feeling she wanted to achieve for the day, Eliza’s bouquet, by The Good Florist, was filled with brightly coloured and sweetly scented Old English roses, and also included ripening blackberries – such a lovely idea!

“Roberta was amazing, because she took my rough ideas and found the perfect flowers to complement the garden roses I was so obsessed with. I wanted a really lovely mix of pinks, peaches and greens, with pops of brighter colours balancing out the more muted shades.”

“I could not have been happier with the finished bouquets – honestly everything I could have dreamed of. I also loved all the buttonholes, as each one was different. This was such a lovely touch, as it gave all the guys their own unique detail, which I thought was really nice.”

Table flowers were held inside bottles, as well as gold pyramid shaped terrariums, which also included air plants, as well as bright summer blooms.

“I’d had this image of our long tables, filled with bottles and terrariums, which would bring the lovely gold touches. I loved the terrariums being used for flowers instead of succulents, as I think it gave it a really unique look.”

On one side of the room there was a sweet table with jars of treats, as well as a guestbook and Fujifilm Instax camera for guests to snap with.

“There’s nothing more exciting than two massive boxes of sweets turning up at your house! Within this we included a letterboard sign with a phrase from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang(‘Perfection in Sugar Confection’). I loved the detail this table added to the venue, especially where it was, situated across from the cake table.”

As cocktail hour concluded, it was time for the wedding feast, dreamed up, cooked and served by Circa Events.

“They were everything we could have dreamed of, from the signature cocktails after the ceremony, to the pizza van in the evening. The best and most amazing service and running of the day – they made everything work so perfectly. All of the food was just incredible.”

Eliza and Adam’s wedding cake – in fact, their entire epic dessert table – was made by the talented Ellie, from Bunston Bakes. The three-tier, white buttercream iced cake consisted of a layer of raspberry and lemon, almond and lemon, and a top tier of chocolate.

“We didn’t want to stop there, so we added loads of other amazing goodies, from rose and pistachio meringues to gold leaf brownies. Everything Ellie made was just incredible, better than my wildest cake fantasies.”

“These were laid on a collection of my own cake stands and plates that I collected ahead of the wedding. Roberta from The Good Florist then supplied some of the most stunning flowers for the main cake, along with the table itself.”

As a Graphic Designer, Eliza created all of the wedding stationery herself, including a welcome sign and table plan, which matched the invitations, and were adorned with garlands of gorgeous flowers by The Good Florist.

“As favours, we wrapped up a scratch card for each guest in some beautiful pink and gold floral wrapping paper we bought from Paperchase. This was then wrapped with gold ribbon with a black name tag attached. We also included a sixpence for people to scratch them off with. Next to this, we also placed a sugar mouse, as they are one of our favourite sweets. A few guests had never even seen a sugar mouse before, so it was a definite excellent addition.”

Capturing the vibrance, colour and fun of the day was photographer Olivia Judah, whose work we’ve shared before on our pages, and with whom Eliza and Adam were thrilled.

“From the second we found Olivia, we just knew she was the perfect choice. Every photo she takes is just absolutely gorgeous, plus she manages to capture the wonderful little magical moments that we really wanted. We just loved her natural style of photography, where you can tell everyone is just having an amazing time!”

“On top of her talent, Olivia was an absolute ray of sunshine on the day, and I cannot tell you how many people have commented on how great they thought she was. She captured everything from our special day with such care and detail, and we love the end results so much.”

After dessert and speeches, Eliza and Adam made their way over to the dancefloor for their first dance, and what a fantastic song choice they made – L-O-V-E, by Nat King Cole, followed by an evening of music from Sound Division.

“This is the song played during the wedding scenes at the beginning of The Parent Trap, one of my all-time favourite movies. For me, it completely sums up that magical wedding feeling, plus has such beautiful, timeless lyrics. We wanted something that felt timeless, and this was perfect.”

“I wouldn’t change a thing. I thought it was cheesy when people said this before our wedding day, but it truly was the best day ever.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Try not to get too bogged down in the tiny little details. There was one fateful sunny day that I spent completely inside, researching confetti from dawn until dusk. I now know everything, from how likely confetti is to stain, which falls faster out of petals and paper, and everything to consider for getting the perfect confetti shot. It did end up being perfect, but I definitely could have probably spent less time on it.”

“The other advice I’d give is when you’re down to your last few weeks, just stop planning and enjoy it. I planned and planned and planned, but by the last bit I closed everything down, and just decided to be excited for getting married. It meant shelving a few unfinished details, but I’m so thankful I did this as it really allowed me to wind down and relax beforehand, and made the day so much more enjoyable – plus we really didn’t miss them.”

Eliza and Adam, thank you so much for sharing your beautifully vibrant, country garden day with us. Many thanks to Olivia Judah for her enchanting collection of images, too.

Until next time!

With love,

Laura