An Ethical Wedding Dress by Rolling in Roses For A Henley on Thames Bride & Her Intimate & Casual Barn Wedding

Writing about all of our amazing real weddings is a source of real joy for me, and I know how lucky I am to be doing something I love.

Today’s sweetly intimate, cosy, and relaxed celebration is no exception; an autumn wedding at an atmospheric sixteenth century thatched barn and coaching inn, filled with seasonal flowers  – oh, so many lovely dahlias!

We also have a beautiful bride in a dress by Little Book members, Rolling in Roses, too, who design and create the most magical eco-friendly, ethical and sustainable dresses. Together with her new creative team, LMD Collective, Annabel recently interviewed the label’s founder, Hayley Neal.

Taylor Hughes Photography + Follow

This is the wedding of Molly and Mark, who together run their own creative studio (graphic design and photography), Moyo Studio. They were married on the 20 September 2019 at The Crown Inn, Pishill, near Henley-on-Thames.

“We knew we wanted a small, intimate, and casual wedding with just immediate family and a few friends. We loved the idea of getting married in a rustic barn, and so that was what we set our sights on.”

Hair and make-up artist Charlie MacGregor was a gentle, reassuring presence for Molly on the morning of the wedding, and created a wonderful, boho look for her, with softly tousled hair and gorgeous, smoky eyes.

“Not only was Charlie an amazing hair and make-up artist, but she quickly became a friend, and was there to reassure me, moments before people started to arrive, and I was beginning to feel overwhelmed. I couldn’t have imagined not having her warm and kind presence there on the day.”

“Mark and I never wanted a big wedding, and we’d often talked about eloping somewhere to a faraway place, just the two of us! In fact, I think our parents expected us to just that, so I think it came as a bit of a surprise when we announced that we are actually going to get married – and have a wedding, too!”

Rolling in Roses + Follow

When she first began to look for a wedding dress, Molly was worried she’d left it too late to find something she liked, but fate intervened, and one day, our Little Book members Story of My Dress got in touch to offer her an appointment at their boutique after a last minute cancellation.

“Somewhat naively, as a shy shopper, I thought that I could casually stroll into a wedding dress shop, try on discreetly, and be on my way! I had no idea that you’d have to make an appointment, and that the process for fittings, etc., could be so long.”

“I never had any dream dress in mind, and to be honest, I was a little terrified of the whole process of choosing one. I knew I wanted something vintage or bohemian inspired, and so I had a few designers and boutiques in mind that I liked. I ventured the seven hour round trip to Story of My Dress myself. I didn’t have the luxury of time when it came to choosing a dress, and having it made to size, but as luck would have it they had three sample dresses available.”

The first dress Molly tried – the ‘Hydra’ by Rolling in Roses, was the one she fell for, and it’s not hard to see why, with its delicate, web-like star lace across a deep v-neck and keyhole back bodice, falling to a lovely train.

“The team at Story of My Dress were so lovely. Rolling in Roses design and create ethical and eco-friendly wedding dresses, and make them by hand in Yorkshire. So, that was that! I think it was truly meant to be, and I walked out with that dress, and carried it on the train home with me that day. It was such a relief!”

“My dress had a simple, graceful cut, and had intricate star lace details, so I didn’t want the rest of my outfit and accessories to take away from that.”

“As I was going for a boho inspired look, I decided that I wanted to wear a full sized flower crown, which was made by our incredibly talented florist Juliet, of Babylon Flowers. It was absolutely perfect, and I couldn’t have asked for more.”

To accessorise her look, Molly chose simple and elegant, vintage inspired earrings and a necklace, sourced via Etsy (sadly, no seller details supplied). On her feet, she wore blush pink T-bar heels from Next.

 

“My original engagement ring is a vintage ring, but on the day I chose to wear my Grandma’s ring. Sadly she is no longer with us, and she was a very big part of my life, and so I wanted to wear something of hers that day. It was incredibly special to wear her ring, and it gave me great comfort that day to know that she was with us.”

In keeping with their relaxed, rustic barn day, Mark and his groomsmen wore mix and match outfits, with brown tweed jackets and waistcoats by Harry Brown, chosen at Slater Menswear, paired with skinny black trousers, white shirts, and shoes from Topman. Blush pink ties came courtesy of Slater Menswear.

“Fortunately, the staff at Slaters were brilliantly helpful, and were able to very quickly resolve some last-minute sizing issues we had with suits. In the end, everything fit everyone perfectly, and the guys looked so handsome in their matching outfits.”

“Our nephew, Aiden, was our page boy and we found him an outfit that matched the rest of the boys, with a brown tweed-like waistcoat, and pink bow tie.”

Finding a local florist who used seasonal, British, homegrown flowers was an important consideration for Molly and Mark, and Babylon Flowers proved to be the perfect choice.

“Our wedding was at the end of September, and so my vision was to have warm, blush tones that were ‘on the turn’. Juliet gave us some fantastic insight as to what type of flowers were available in September, and that guided our choice of blooms and foliage.”

The couple bought buckets of flowers and greenery from Babylon Flowers, which they then arranged in vases borrowed from Molly’s mum, as well as charity shop finds, and Kilner jars. Dahlias are amongst my most favourite flowers, and there were so many breathtaking beauties filling the venue.

“Creating the floral decorations was actually quite a big task, which we spent the day before the wedding arranging. Fortunately, as we were going for a rustic theme, this was quite forgiving! Florists we are not, but we felt really proud that we had created the floral decorations ourselves, and so we felt it made the day even more personal.”

Molly and her bridesmaids carried incredible, rustic and wild bouquets of roses, dahlias, grasses, ferns, and turning autumn leaves, tied with dusky pink, hand-dyed silk ribbon.

“Pinterest was such a huge help when it came to communicating our floristry ideas, and Juliet was able to capture our vision absolutely perfectly. The flowers were one of my favourite aspects of the wedding, and honestly, I couldn’t have been happier.”

The flowergirls each chose their own blush pink dress, and flowergirl Fynn chose a particularly splendid leopard print dress, which she wore with metallic trainers.

Molly and Mark first met in their hometown over 13 years ago, as teenagers. They actually attended the same school and college (with Mark in the year above Molly) but didn’t know each other at that time. They met one summer, and have been together ever since.

“We actually got engaged 4 years or so after getting together, but there was never any sense of urgency to get married. We were very happy as we were, and to be honest, the years passed so quickly! It wasn’t until after New Year’s in 2019, for some reason, we both suddenly felt that the time was right. We both just got a feeling, and so in February we decided that 2019 would be the year, and we set our date for September that year.”

Molly was accompanied down the aisle by her father, and chose Hard Sun, by Eddie Vedder, from the soundtrack to the film, Into The Wild, as her entrance music.

“This was a special song to us that reminded us of our travels. For a year, we lived and travelled in Australia, which included living in a beaten up Ford Falcon, and travelling 18,000 km in our home on wheels. This song was one of many that became the soundtrack to that time living on the road.”

The couple’s ceremony was uniquely personalised, and conducted by Molly’s Uncle Patrick, who amazingly also married her parents, too.

“We wanted a personalised, non-religious service that truly reflected us both. This was more challenging than we initially thought, but once we had written the service, we were really pleased that we had. It was only about 12 minutes long (we kept it short and sweet!) but it said everything it needed to – nothing more, nothing less.”

For their vows, Molly and Mark began with a few mutual points, but then wrote their individual vows themselves, and kept them a surprise until the moment they made them.

“This was our chance to say just how much the other person meant to us, and so whilst it was nerve-wracking in the lead up to the wedding, it was absolutely worth it, and we’ll cherish those words forever.”

As they made their vows, the couple also exchanged rings, and they each chose simple, minimalist bands from different Etsy makers. Molly’s was a ring of recycled, hammered gold by Francesca Abram, whilst Mark opted for a matte finish titanium ring from Jim at Catlogix.

“For the readings, we chose [I carry your heart with me] by E. E Cummings, and an excerpt from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres; Love is a Temporary Madness.”

“We chose [I carry your heart with me] because it was a reading that my sister read at my Grandfather’s funeral, and was therefore a special and meaningful poem to my family, linking to people that could sadly not be there. It was read by our gorgeous nieces Lily and Isla who were our flowergirls, and they read it beautifully. My maid of honour Robyn read the Captain Corelli’s Mandolin excerpt, which touches upon the idea of love beyond the heady, initial stages. Something that we felt was truly fitting to the commitment of marriage.”

“Of course, my favourite part would have to be us exchanging our vows to one another. It really is a once in a lifetime experience; a shared moment of both vulnerability and strength that we will remember for the rest of our lives.”

“For the bridesmaids, we wanted the girls to pick their own dresses so that they felt confident and comfortable on the day. Mark and I were living in Spain, and some of our bridesmaids were coming from the USA and Australia, as well those in the UK, and so trying to coordinate something that everybody felt happy with seemed like a tall order.”

“All we said was that we had picked a dusky pink theme, and the girls then all chose their own outfits. They all looked absolutely incredible, and I loved how their dresses were different, and reflected them all as individuals.”

After the ceremony, everyone enjoyed drinks outside in the beer garden of The Crown Inn, flanked by the thatched roof barn and beautiful, red brick coaching inn. Molly and Mark were able to book exclusive use of the inn and barn, as well as an overnight stay in a lovely on-site cottage, too.

“As our wedding was at the end of September, we had been anticipating bad weather. As luck would have it, we had the luxury of a heatwave, and so it was like a summer’s day! The venue, the gardens and the surrounding scenery looked absolutely stunning.”

“Just outside our hometown of Henley-on-Thames is the most beautiful countryside surrounded by rolling hills. The whole venue is beautifully kept – a British pub at its best! The staff at The Crown Inn were absolutely fantastic, and they went above and beyond to make the day perfect. In the run up to the day, they were incredibly helpful and accommodating, and made the whole process very easy. We couldn’t have asked for more.”

The barn was transformed into a beautiful, rustic dining space, with garlands of hops strung with fairylights hanging from the timber ceiling beams. Wooden banqueting tables and folding chairs were rented from Linda’s Vintage Hire, and the couple used recycled apple crates, and second hand frames to display flowers and treasured photos.

“We wanted the decorations to be as personalised as possible, so we created a photo montage of us from Polaroids strung across a frame we bought from a charity shop. Instead of a guest book, and in homage to our love of travel, we provided postcards for people to write on the back of.”

Lanterns were sourced from eBay, and there were hoops of dried flowers dotted around, which Molly sourced from another bride on Facebook Marketplace.

“As graphic designers ourselves, we chose to create all of the wedding stationery including the invites, place cards and all the signage. I really enjoyed this, as it allowed us to really personalise the day.”

“The invites were the most challenging, as I’d decided to create a vellum wrap, and seal them with a wax seal, which is definitely harder than it looks! Mark has much more patience than me, and so he took on that responsibility, and so now he’s a bit of an expert!”

The team at The Crown served a wonderful wedding feast of slow-cooked beef brisket with seasonal vegetables, followed by delicious sticky toffee pudding. This was followed by cake, which was made by Beryl, who is a neighbour of Molly’s Mum and Dad.

“Each of the tiers represented some of the countries that we have lived in, which included lemon (for Spain), coffee (for Vietnam) and coconut (for Thailand). For the decoration, we added some leftover flowers from our decorations, and some fresh rosemary picked from Beryl’s garden.”

“Again, somewhat naively, I thought that a naked cake would be a simple option, but we soon found out that that’s far from the case! Unlike a traditional fruit cake that can be made and iced in advance, a naked cake is assembled and finished on the day. Our amazing cake maker Beryl had never made a naked cake before, and she really did the most fantastic job!”

Before the evening reception, Molly and Mark took some time for a golden hour walk in a beautiful field discovered by photographers Jade and Jack, close to the venue.

“Having some time to ourselves, and to get some photos of us two was something that we didn’t expect and was one of our highlights. It was such a nice moment to just have some time away from the hustle and bustle and to soak in getting married. We feel forever grateful to Jack and Jade for this.”

As photographers themselves, the decision on who would capture their day was a significant one for Molly and Mark. They were thrilled with the work of Jade and Jack from Taylor-Hughes Photography, who did a wonderful job with this magnificent collection of sensitively captured images, filled with golden, autumn light.

“A husband and wife team, Jack and Jade are truly some of the most talented people we know. Their timeless photography style is the perfect mix of refined and adventurous, and they have a magical skill of capturing intimate moments beautifully.”

“Prior to the wedding we met up together and discussed the type of images we were hoping for, and they were able to give us some fantastic suggestions, which in turn also helped us to plan the order of the day.”

“We had such amazing communication in the run up to the wedding, that by the time it was the big day, Jack and Jade weren’t just our photographers, but they were our friends too. Not a natural photo poser, normally I would do anything to not be in front of the camera. Luckily, Jack and Jade have this incredible dynamic and way of making you feel completely relaxed, and their casual and sensitive approach to photography meant that we felt at total ease the entire time.”

“They were completely unobtrusive on the day, yet their calming and friendly presence was a total gift that we felt truly thankful for. When we received the final photos we were absolutely blown away. Jade and Jack did the most incredible job of capturing the day. Their attention to detail, and their stunning execution is second to none.”

“They really did provide a personal service that felt so right for our day. Choosing Taylor-Hughes Photography was one of the best decisions we made. Not only do we have an incredible collection of photos to reflect on, but we also formed a special friendship, too.”

The festivities began with the couple’s first married dance together, and they chose a favourite song to mark the occasion – a cover of Deftones’ Change (In the House of Flies) by Emma’s Imagination.

“Music is such an integral part of our lives, and so we know that we really wanted a live band to play at our reception. As soon as we heard Rockit, we knew they were the band for our wedding. They had an amazing set list to choose from, and were fantastically accommodating, with us being able to pick some of our favourite songs.”

“Their communication prior to the wedding was brilliant, and they honestly were one of our highlights of the day! They had a fantastic energy on stage, and we received incredible feedback from our guests about how great they were – and we couldn’t agree more.”

“The entire day was so special; to have our close family and friends all together in one place. People had come from the USA, Australia, and across the country, and so we felt incredibly grateful to all those who came to share our special day with us.”

“Another highlight was actually towards the end of the night, when it was just a handful of our friends left standing at the end, all singing and dancing. We felt so grateful to have these amazing people there with us, which is after all, one of the most special things about a wedding day: Sharing a special moment of your life with the people you love.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“If we could give any advice, it would be to not sweat the small stuff. Even though I thought I was pretty relaxed about the whole thing, as the day got closer, we got ever more anxious, worrying if we had we done enough, fretting about the smallest of details. In the end, it didn’t matter at all.”

“On the day, our thought out seating plan for the ceremony, and our timing schedule kind of went out the window, but it really didn’t matter in the end.”

“The only people who notice are you, and to be honest on the day, it’s the last thing you’ll be thinking about.”

“Also, I would recommend only to do what feels best for you. Don’t feel obliged to please people, or feel as if you have to invite your long lost aunt’s best friend just because ‘that’s what you do’. This is your wedding, and a celebration of you two, so follow your instinct for what feels right.”

Wow! Well, wasn’t that just cosy and all-round lovely?! Molly and Mark, congratulations and many thanks to you both. Huge thanks to Jade and Jack from Taylor-Hughes Photography, too – what a treat these images were.

With love,

Laura