A Margaux Tardits Dress for Bohemian, Relaxed and Romantic Wedding in the Cotswolds

Picture me this; romantic, pink roses trailing across a quaint cottage, a whimsical, ethereal gown in lace, an airy, stone-built barn, and miles and miles of open fields. It’s the quintessential English scene, and the setting for a wedding that I’m delighted to bring to you lovelies today.

This is the wedding of fashion buyer Jess and Jack, an illustration agent, who wed on 18 July 2019 at Stone Barn, near Burford in Gloucestershire. A gorgeously relaxed and bohemian vibe infused the day and the rustic, barn venue, which was close to Jess’s family home. Cue plentiful foliage hanging from the ceiling, a soft, romantic colour palette of peach and green and a herbal theme running through the place names.

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The relaxed vibe of the day matched perfectly with the natural, documentary style which Emily & Steve Photography do so well. Full of joy and movement, they discreetly catch every emotion, too.

“We absolutely loved having them shoot our wedding. They were so natural and made us feel completely at ease – it was as if they were part of the wedding party. We love how natural the shots are, as well as the light that they captured and the slightly quirky and unusual angles. Their touch is just beautiful. We genuinely feel we are re-living the day when we go back through the professional photos.”

Jess’s relaxed personality called for a suitably boho gown, and she found the perfect design for her at The Mews Bridal in London. Her Margaux Tardits gown is so exquisitely cut and feminine with its floral tulle cut-outs panelling and movement-filled, silk chiffon skirt.

“I got my dress from The Mews Bridal in Notting Hill. It was the first shop I went to, and having tried half a dozen other retailers this came out miles on top. I knew I wanted a non-traditional and more bohemian-style dress and I really felt that they were the only bridal shop in London to cater for this.”

“They were so pleasant to work with and I cannot recommend them enough. I also had a great experience with Sewn Right (their recommended alterations company) who I also recommended to another friend getting married this summer.”

“I fell in love with the bohemian style and the gorgeous lace detailing from the moment I tried it. Nothing else even came close. It felt just like my style and the silk chiffon fabric was so incredibly light.”

The bride’s light-as-air veil was her ‘something borrowed’ and she slipped on a pair of strappy L.K.Bennett sandals as well as a Missoma bracelet, a gift from Jack on her thirtieth birthday. Her blonde hair was twisted up into a relaxed, feminine up-do by Victoria Ralph, adorned with the prettiest floral hair pins from Jennifer Behr. To finish, Jess was made to glow by make-up artist Beth Cox Beauty Therapist.

“We absolutely fell in love with Stone Barn. It was the perfect balance of a beautiful old barn with a rustic touch (corrugated iron roof!) and amazing food with the largest indoor BBQ.”

Jess’s bridesmaids dressed in sage green gowns from Monsoon whilst her super-talented aunt hand-made the flower-girls star-spangled dresses in green and white.

They all carried hand-tied, seasonal bouquets of eucalyptus, foliage and white and peach flowers, which were styled by Go Wild Flowers.

“Go Wild Flowers do most of the weddings at Stone Barn. Their vision was perfectly aligned with ours; the bouquets and flower displays were beautiful, a little loose and wild and used flowers that were in season. The circular wreath hanging in the ceremony room was a standout and amazing centre-piece.”

Jack selected his modern, two-piece suit at Hugo Boss, adding a contemporary paisley tie and a discreet buttonhole.

“We met at university eleven and a half years ago. We got engaged in Paris just after our ten year anniversary and were married just over a year later.”

Come ceremony time, the bride’s father drove her from the beautiful stone cottage to Stone Barn before walking with her down the aisle to ‘Cinema Paradiso’ by Ennio Morricone.

“My dad drove me in our Land Rover Defender which has been in the family almost two decades.”

In a serviced led by Gloucestershire Registrars, the couple exchanged vows that they had written themselves.

“We wrote our own vows, a much more personal touch. We chose family members to do three readings; ‘Love Is A Temporary Madness’, ‘Dance Me To The End Of Love’ (a Leonard Cohen song) and ‘The Apache Wedding Blessing’.“

The Stone Barn’s courtyard, with its countryside views stretching for miles, was the perfect place for the wedding celebrations to begin. As well as fluttering confetti, there were urns of fresh and bright flowers for a pop of colour.

After the drinks reception to classical guitar music from Chris Harper and, for the little ones, lots of running around in the fields, the party headed inside for the wedding breakfast.

“Jack’s mum and grandma helped with the table displays, with Jack’s mum dedicating so much time to sowing and growing sweet peas, lavender and purple sage… hence the inspiration for our table names.”

“Our favours were Cotswold wildflower seeds sourced from our local garden centre in Herne Hill.”

There were more flowers adorning the simple and elegant, semi-naked cake.

“Cake Day Dreams made a lemon and elderflower sponge cake with naked icing.”

    

As the sun set, the newly-weds slipped away for some time alone and some romantic, timeless photographs to remember the day by.

“I loved it when we took a moment to step away from the party and spend some time together, just the two of us.”

“We ended the night sharing a bath and reminiscing about the day from each other’s perspectives which was such a special way to end the day.”

Jess and Jack chose an alternative entertainment idea to kick off the evening party.

“We had Bandeoke for the start of the night. It was absolutely hilarious to see our friends and family take to the stage and was so much fun), followed by Cotswold DJ i.am.Will.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Enjoy every moment. Take some time to be just the two of you away from the madness of it all.”

“Book your taxi for the very end of the night. You won’t want to leave while the party is still going…”

I so love the fresh and pretty summer colours in these beautiful flowers, and of course the relaxed, laid-back vibe of your gown Jess. Thank you, Jack and Jess, for sharing with us today and, Emily & Steve Photography, it’s always such a pleasure to feature your work. For more pretty summer wedding inspiration, why not explore these other weddings?

Have a lovely day

Ele xx