We’ve shared literally thousands of weddings over the past 13 years, all of them I love very much, but there are some weddings that leave a beautiful, indelible mark, simply for the sheer and utter joy they represent. This is one of them.
Harriet’s smile says it all in these gorgeous images that capture all the love, joy and celebration. Here wedding to Johnny was held at Aswarby Rectory in Lincoln on 12th March this year. That utterly perfect puff sleeved gown is by our all-time fave designer, Sassi Holford and we are in deep love with the gorgeous, thoughtful floral design by absolute mega talent, Hattie Shackleton of Honour Farm Folk.
By the way you can enjoy lots more real weddings with Sassi Holford brides here on Love My Dress.
Enjoy folks…
Aswarby Rectory Wedding Venue
Originally, we’d always thought we wanted a wedding in somewhere like a forest or somewhere in the wild as we love the outdoors and long walks out in the countryside but when Jonny found Aswarby Rectory there didn’t seem to be anywhere other than there for our special day.
We’d recently finished a big renovation on our house and so to hear that the venue was a renovated rectory, and a venue that was truly unique and only did a select number of weddings a year, it provided the inspiration for it to feel like a big intimate party in a beautifully decorated space.
The colour palette of burnt orange and greens was still in keeping with the earth tones of the outdoors, whilst also nodding to elements of our home that we’d recently built together.
We had no Event Planner or Stylist – the venue were incredible with helping make everything look gorgeous. We supplied the table linen, plates and flowers and they put it all together on the evening before the wedding.
A Sassi Holford Puff Sleeve Wedding Dress
My dress was by Sassi Holford, from The Dress bridal boutique in Teddington. There were always two things I knew I wanted; puff sleeves and a big headband, the rest was open.
I made some mood boards when I started my search and magically, the dress I ended up with was exactly what I had in my head from day one, I loved the puffy sleeves and the headband.
A modern twist on a classic look – it was amazing feeling like a princess for a day.
Shoes & Accessories
My shoes were by ASOS Design and my headband was from NativeMixStore on Etsy.
Zara Ebony Wood is a perfume that I’ve worn since our engagement and a smell that Jonny knows so well.
The Engagement
Jonny had a dark blue woollen suit from Cad and Dandy which he had tailor made on Saville Row in London.
Jonny and I have been together for 8 very happy years, meeting on Tinder (when that first became a thing it seems).
We got engaged on a snowy mountain top in the Lake District in December 2020 in the middle of the pandemic, which made celebrating with friends tricky which is why we wanted our wedding to feel like a big party rather than a traditional wedding – we wanted to have all our friends and family together in one intimate space to celebrate us and our life to come together as we grow old.
The Photographer
Sara Lincoln of Lincoln Pictures was the photographer for one of my work colleagues a few years ago – and when I saw her photos I knew that if that day ever came that Jonny and I would marry – there was only ONE thing I wouldn’t budge on, and that was to have Sara.
Her photographs are stunning, her style is so unique and the way she told the story of our day was more amazing than we could have wished for. She managed to capture the smallest of moments. We didn’t want formal wedding photos, we wanted the smiles, the tears and the atmosphere. All weddings should be shot by Sara!
Bridesmaids
I didn’t want the bridesmaids to feel they’d been forced to wear a dress they weren’t comfortable in on the day, they all have their own style and that’s I love them all!
ASOS Design bridesmaids dresses come in the same fabric but in different styles to suit different tastes/body shapes and heights and so it was amazing that all three of them naturally gravitated towards a style that suited them. I ended up with three dresses, in the same fabric but all slightly different, which I absolutely loved.
Flowers by Honour Farm Folk
Hattie Shackleton of Honour Farm Folk is a good friend of ours, and a very talented florist. Her floral arrangements on the day were stunning and guided us through every step leading up to the day.
I gave Hattie a few suggestions of the type of flowers we wanted, whites and greens and she managed to source such unusual flowers that made up a unique display up the stair cases and across the fireplaces in the venue. She also picked the stem flowers for the tables too.
Reception
The napkins were sourced from a fabric shop in Shepherds Bush in London and then my mum ripped the material to create the torn effect napkins for all 80 guests, after the venue we gave 8 to each of our closest friends so we can continue to enjoy them together at dinner parties together in the years to come.
Favourite Moments
The whole day was a total dream come true apart from one small sadness – both my brothers tested positive for Covid the night before our wedding, so weren’t able to join us inside the venue.
As I walked down the aisle, I turned to my left and saw them both at the window in their masks cheering us both on – that was so special to have them with us, albeit at a distance.
Also, I will always remember the first thing my husband said to me when we held hands in front of our close friends and family was “of course it has puffy sleeves” – a man who clearly knows me very well despite knowing nothing about my bespoke gown process.
Evening & Dancing
We danced to Gerry Rafferty’s ‘Right Down The Line‘. We have really fond memories of signing this at the top of our lungs in the car on the way to camping holidays with our friends. “When I wanted you to share my life, I had no doubt in mind, it’s been you woman right down the line.”
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Don’t stress, it’s the happiest day of your life. There will be so many things that people will never ever notice – don’t sweat the small stuff!
Make sure you take time to for some alone time with your partner, either by going for a walk around the venue or just standing back and watching everyone on the dance floor. They’re the memories which will stay with you forever.
Try not to compare yours to other weddings – every ones wedding is unique and different for a reason and it can be stressful – don’t get too carried away with it being “perfect” – it will be perfect in your own way.
We did a fair bit of standing back and taking it all in – looking at all our amazing family and friends all together in one room was so overwhelming but so magical.
Budget wise, we did try our best to save costs with the statioery, and making all the confetti ourselves (thanks to my mum) but there were also things which we didn’t scrimp on as they were so important, mainly the venue and my dress – worth every single penny.
sassiholford.com
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.
