A Lee Petra Grebenau Gown for an Elegant Summer Wedding at Cowley Manor in The Cotswolds

Emergency Veterinarian Carrie married Sales Account Executive Edward on 9th July 2022 at Cowley Manor in Cheltenham.

The couple wanted to plan a non-traditional wedding and to make their day of celebration feel like more of a fancy event. Cowley Mano provided amazing and unique style which helped them set just the right tone.

The beautiful Canadian bride wore a glamorous Lee Petra Grebenau gown to marry her British husband and Weddings by Nicola and Glen were appointed as photographers.

But let’s start with this beautiful film, captured by Vogue Wedding Films. Enjoy!

Bridal Beauty & Accessories

I wore a veil, but only for the ceremony and some photographs after. It was a very simple veil since my dress was heavily embellished and I didn’t want to take away from that. I purchased it off Etsy.

My shoes were Valentino Rock Stud heels – another pre-pandemic, pre-baby purchase! I loved how they looked on the day.

I wanted a simple hairstyle to again keep the focus on the dress. My perfume was Tom Ford’s Fucking Fabulous. Because I felt f*cking fabulous that day! I also purchased mini sizes for all my bridesmaids.

My hair stylist was Joanna Ricarda and I did my makeup myself. I never feel comfortable or like myself when I get my makeup done, and that was extremely important on my wedding day. So I watched a lot of YouTube videos, made a ton of trips to Sephora and researched the best products. Best part is I now have an extensive makeup collection.

I wore limited and simple jewellery (just earrings) on the day. The dress was so embellished and I didn’t want to take away from that. I purchased my bold pearl drop earrings from Mejuri.

The Dress

The wedding dress was Lee Petra Grebenau. I originally purchased my dress back in 2019! I immediately felt amazing when I put on this dress (after trying on so many!) Several years (and a child!) later, I still ended up loving my dress just as much.

I had the designer create custom detachable sleeves just a few months prior to the wedding to make it feel new and exciting again and add that extra element. They did an amazing job.

The Groom

My husband wore a custom tuxedo from Michel’s Bespoke in Toronto. His design was inspired by a tuxedo worn by Ryan Gosling. His shoes were Louboutin.

My mother in law made all the bow ties from her own Guinea Fowl feathers. They looked incredible!

The Bridal Party

I allowed all my bridesmaids to pick their own dresses. Only requirement was that it was in the pink family and long. This allowed them to go to stores and buy a dress that they truly felt good in. I also am not a fan of the traditional bridesmaid style dresses.

My flowergirl dresses were purchased these from Mango. It was difficult to find dresses since half the flower girls were in the uk and the others in Canada!

My pageboy outfits were from Beatrice and George.

Photography

We chose Weddings by Nicola and Glen as our photographers. I first came across them in 2019 and they were one of the first vendors we selected! I loved their style and that they had previously shot weddings at Cowley Manor, so I knew they would know the right spots.

They were an absolute dream to work with! Nicola and Glen were extremely organised, accommodating, and so relaxed on the day – it definitely put my worries to rest. And the photos came out fabulous. I would absolutely recommend them.

A moment that really stood out to Ed and I was when our photographers took us around the other side of the pond after dinner. We stood quietly, no one else around, and looked back at the beautiful Cowley manor with all our friends and family dancing to the music. A moment where we saw our entire vision all come together.

We chose to work with Vogue Wedding Films (recommended by Nicola and Glen). I wanted to know that our photographers/videographers had worked together before in a cohesive unit – and that they did!

How They Met

I am from Toronto, and my husband is from London, UK (although we are living in Toronto now). We met on a Yacht Week trip in Croatia in 2016. Certainly not the type of holiday you’d expect to meet your future wife/husband! Sailing around the Adriatic and partying each night was a fun way to get to know someone.

While I presumed it was a holiday fling, Ed tells anyone who will listen that he knew it was love at first sight! After a year of long distance, Ed made the move to Toronto and proposed two years later while on a skiing trip in Mont Tremblant, Quebec.

Thanks to Covid, our engagement was somewhat longer than anticipated. The planned 14 month engagement turned into three and a half years, but we wouldn’t change a thing.

Our original wedding date was July 11, 2020. It then got changed to July 17, 2021 and then again to our final date, July 9, 2022.

Although our guest list was much smaller due to travel restrictions, friends being pregnant or with newborns, we were so happy to be able to celebrate our day.

The best thing that came out of our delays was that we welcomed our beautiful daughter, Madelyn, on February 19, 2021 as we just couldn’t wait to start our family! It was incredibly special having her walk down the aisle as a flower girl.

Evening & Dancing

For the cocktail hour, we hire The Pantasy Steel Band. Our after dinner band were The All Stars, booked via Warble Entertainment. And for the late evening, we booked a sax and percussion duo, also via Warble Entertainment.

Our first dance song choice was an easy pick – we went for ‘Sun is Shining’ by Axwell and Ingrosso, which is actually an EDM song! It was the theme song from Yacht Week (where we met) back in 2016.

We asked our band to learn the song. We had the first minute as acoustic so we slow danced together, then the band kicked off into full EDM mode, confetti cannons were fired, and we brought everyone onto the dance floor for the rest of the song! It was an incredible moment.

Words of Wedded Wisdom

Start planning early.

Be VERY organised.

Be decisive and stick to your gut.

We were hoping to keep the wedding around $100,000 (£60,000) total, although we exceeded this