Andjela and Sam’s gloriously fun and uplifting wedding was held on 16th June 2023 at Millbridge Court in Surrey.
The bride looked incredible in her Rime Arodaky jumpsuit and Esska block heel sandals – choices that felt very true to her own personal style. She also raves about the service she received from Rime Arodaky, despite ordering online. British brides, if you love Rime Arodaky’s playful, modern, chic designs for brides too, I highly recommend a visit to The Mews Bridal in Notting Hill.
Love and thanks to photographer Chloe Mary for sharing her work. Enjoy!
The Jumpsuit
I wore the Patsy Jumpsuit from Rime Arodaky. Living in Brussels at the time, I had my mum come over and we went to some bridal boutiques. I also went to one with my brother and his girlfriend, once on my own and one in the UK with my mum and mother in law.
All of the times was a fun and different experience and although some non-traditional, I wanted it to be a relaxed and fun experience. No pressure.
However, ever since becoming engaged I stumbled across Rime Arodaky and her jumpsuits online and thought it was a bit of me. I personally am not a ‘dressy’ person and loved the thought of a jumpsuit. The team at Rime Arodaky were super.
Communicating through Whatsapp, sending advice and tips from how much shorter to make the trousers (I am 5’1’) to what underwear options there are to wear with the backless outfit. I would highly recommend!
One of the ladies at a bridal boutique in Brussels said to me, ‘there are so many beautiful outfits out there but you do not want to disguise yourself in one.’ Similar to the venue, I wanted people to look at me and say ‘that’s Andj!’. So when I saw the ‘Patsy’ jumpsuit online, I thought it was elegant and feminine yet had some edge to it. I ordered it online and felt confident in it.
A wedding wardrobe can become so pricey and therefore I knew my second outfit (if I had one) would be more budget friendly. My mum found the fun ‘rara’ skirt from Coast and I matched it with a silky low back top from Zara. It kept it fun, and meant I could dance freely in it too. I also loved seeing the reaction of our friends and family when I changed into the second outfit.
My second outfit was a skirt from Coast, a top form Zara and shoes from Esska.
Bridal Beauty & Accessories
I have never been a big makeup person and I wanted something natural and someone who knew my style and that I could be completely honest with regarding the look. My brother’s girlfriend, although not a makeup artist by job, did my makeup and hair beautifully! She smashed it, and it lasted the entire day! I was so grateful and again made it all the more personal.
I wore a pair of Swarovski climber earrings that my aunt gifted me to give a bit of edge, with Swarovski dangly earrings that Sam had bought me for a birthday years ago.
I layered some necklaces: my grandmother’s pearl necklace, a Monica Vinader locket necklace from my parents and a necklace I always wear that Sam gave me on our eight year anniversary.
The jumpsuit had a veil attached to the trousers so I felt adding a second one in my hair would be overkill. I wore a short veil as part of my second outfit. My maid of honour bought it for me for my hen-do. It was so pretty I decided to re-use it on the big day.
My shoes were by Esska – I thought I would change to trainers or flats, but ended up wearing them the entire day! I bought them from Anthropologie in the sale.
I wore a hair slide with flowers from Etsy and also wore a I wore a big flower ring from Easy Clothes that matched the delicate flowers embroidered into the lace of the jumpsuit.
My perfume was Diptique 34 Saint Germain – it’s a really nice unisex scent that both Sam and I wore. I lived and worked in Paris for six months during my university studies and lived near Saint Germain, so had a personal touch too.
Sam’s mum is very creative and made me a blue little purse as my something new and blue. Inside it, it had Sam’s grandmother’s locket with a photo of his grandad as my something borrowed and an old sixpence as my something old. She also made personalised necessaire bags for my bridesmaids, bridesman and makeup artist that I filled with goodies and gave to them whilst getting ready in the morning.
Shop Esska shoes online
The Bridesmaids & Bridesman
I had two bridesmaids and a brides-man. The bridesmaids wore dresses from an online store called EasyClothes,. I just asked them to have some sort of green tones in the outfits, but the rest was up to them.
Again, they chose their own shoes. I had gifted all my friends on my hen do crystal bracelets with their names on them, so all three of them (Elsa, India and Josh) wore those bracelets on the day (I hadn’t asked them to). Otherwise it was all up to them to wear what they wanted and feel comfortable and themselves!
Our dream florist was Monet’s Floristry Monet not only produces beautiful flowers but brings with her a wonderful energy. From start to finish the process with Monet was easy and stress free. She provided valuable suggestions, listened to our ideas and creates magic! Monet provided my summery bouquet, my bridesmaids bouquets, the men’s buttonholes, a flowered moon gate and isle/table flowers in small vases.
The Ceremony
My dad walked me down the aisle. I remember waiting outside the hall excited and nervous at the same time, and he squeezed my hand and said ‘I’m here’ before we walked in.
This calmed my nerves and after that, couldn’t wait to get the ceremony started! We walked in to ‘Simply the best’ by Noah Reid. It’s a version from the TV series Schitts Creek that got me and Sam through lockdown.
We didn’t read our own vows, but instead selected the more ‘romantic’ vow option out of the selection we received. We did however both do a short speech instead, at the wedding breakfast, as we wanted to share some personal words on the day.
The ceremony was so memorable because of how personal it was. Instead of readings we had my dad and my bridesmaid India, play guitar and sing Eric Clapton’s ‘The Way You Look Tonight’. It brought people to tears and was such a special moment.
Then Sam’s parents wrote and read a poem they had written themselves, about our journey. Again, we laughed and cried.
We asked people to film these two parts of the ceremony, and I am so glad we have them as a memory to watch back whenever we want.
Sam and I lived in Brussels for two years. It’s a special place to us and therefore wanted our wedding bands to be from a Belgian jeweller. We found Annoo and loved their relaxed approach in creating exactly what we wanted. We had them engraved with ‘I love you. Always.’
Find Wedding Readings Here
Photography
Chloe has a truly exceptional ability to capture candid moments. She has an uncanny knack for catching genuine emotions and unscripted moments throughout the day, that when looking through the photos, allowed us to reminisce and relive such happy and emotional times.
Sam and I wanted a photographer that was themselves and captured candid, emotional moments, rather than just staged shots.
Her candid shots add such a unique and heartfelt dimension to our wedding album, making it even more special. We particularly liked how she documented spontaneous laughter, tears and intimate, personal moments that made our wedding day. Teeth and tears seems to have been the theme.
Chloe is such a talent and a joy to have there on the day. She is honest, dedicated and an awesome person. Chloe was more than a photographer on the day too. We would 110% recommend her!
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How They Met
Sam and I first became friends at school aged twelve. As I said in my speech at the wedding, I found my diary from 2007 and had written in one of the pages ‘went on a school trip and got stuck in a maze with a teacher and Sam (best friend – boy). Who’d have thought that all those years ago, we would now be navigating the maze of life together as a partnership?!
Our story is grounded in friendship, but our love story started in 2011 when I took a gap year and Sam went off to University (talk about timing). In 2021 we went to Tuscany on a holiday and stayed in my aunt’s small house there. On the 18th August, Sam proposed in an intimate setting overlooking a vineyard. The whole event was caught by Sam’s drone and it was one of the happiest days of my life. Some advice, revel in that happiness for as long as you can, it’s a beautiful feeling.
We were engaged for two years. We were living abroad in Brussels, Belgium at the time, so organizing a wedding outside of the UK did make things a bit more difficult and meant things took a bit longer i.e. finding time to look for a venue in the UK etc. But it was worth the wait!
Sam wore a suit from a local suit shop in the Hampshire, Royale Cavendish. Green is Sam’s colour so we knew he had to wear a green suit. He combined this with a beautiful champagne paisley tie and added a personal touch to it, wearing his great grandfather’s football captain badge and a pin badge personally made for the wedding of us both in front of the Atomium monument in Brussels. These actually formed the wedding favors for our male guests.
Sam was gifted a vintage Omega by his parents as a wedding gift. It actually stopped working on the day, but I saw it as a sign that we wish time could have actually stopped on that day so we could have prolonged the day.
The Reception
We have to admit, Farnham near Guildford was not necessarily a special place to us, or one of sentimental feeling prior to our wedding (it certainly is now!), however we fell in love with Millbridge Court when visiting the venue.
The mix of styles and different areas in the venue, meant it felt like you were in multiple spaces/buildings, but all under one roof. From the homely entrance, to the beautiful spacious and bright ceremony room and wedding breakfast hall, to the lush grounds. It had an intimate and special feel, so we knew it was the right choice for us.
Throughout the day, our decor included a Moon gate, candles and flowers. The space was already beautiful so didn’t need many additional extras. We just added a pop of colour with green table runners and table decorations (flowers and candles).
We saw ‘wedding favours’ as tokens of appreciation for our guests and wanted something fun that they could take home with them and use again. For the men, we had a personalised pin badge that we felt was a unique token that holds sentimental value.
For the women, our talented friend Juliette provided us handmade melts in the shape of the female body in a personalised tin. These gifts we felt our guests could take home and enjoy even after the wedding. Each guest also got a mini Greman shot.
This was all done ourselves. It took time but was worth it, and fun spending evenings designing the stationary, mainly using Canva. Seeing it on the day was special.
Place cards were polaroids of us with each of our guests that we ordered and printed from Chloe Lalalab.
Our caterers were Kalm Kitchen – insane food! And we were lucky enough to have our cake made by a friend Beth at Bee’s Bakes. It was vegan and absolutely delicious. It went down a real treat with all. She created a masterpiece with little guidance from us. She even organised the cake topper also. We were very lucky.
Evening & Dancing
Our first dance track was ‘Dancing in the Street’ by Martha and the Vandellas. We wanted something upbeat that people could dance along to when they joined in.
Sam and I invested in three dance lessons to learn a bit of a choreographed dance for the first minute of the song. It was such a hit with our guests and made for another memorable moment of the day.
We hired Farnham Sound and Light for both our lighting and our DJ. We had DJ Kyle – ask for Kyle, he was great!
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Embrace the uniqueness of your day by infusing personal touches that reflect your love story. Consider translating speeches for foreign guests and include photos of absent loved ones (forget me not…); these gestures create heartwarming connections and memories, and make everyone feel included.
Choose your inner circle wisely. Your bridal/groom party and guests should be the people closets to your hearts and not what others expect. We found immense joy in having those we truly cherish by our side throughout.
Remember your wedding day is about both of you! Personalise every aspect, from décor to speeches, ensuring your personalities shine through. When selecting your dress/attire, be authentic. Let It reflect your style and connection as a couple. It’s not about disguising yourself, but celebrating who you are.
Investing in ‘extras’ like a band, despite the added costs can genuinely elevate the wedding experience. So go for it!
We opted out of evening guests, a decision that allowed us to savour intimate moments. Focus on what truly matters to you both, and craft a day that feels genuine, memorable and uniquely yours.
We wish we’d given out more than half the cake. We were asked how much of the cake to hand out after the cutting, but we were too focused on dancing at that point that we just said ‘half for now’ but should have put the whole thing out for guests to take.
Looking back, perhaps it would have been fun to have a videographer, however our guests did a great job of snapping away, taking photos and videos that is wonderful to rewatch.
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Additional Credits
The below suppliers and venues are featured in this article, but are not part of the Love My Dress Wedding Directory.
Annabel View all Annabel's articles
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.
