Sam and Greg’s summer nuptials at Huntsham Court in Devon redefined cool with their non-traditional approach and Sam’s anti-bride style.
The couple, with Sam is the Director of Operations at Park Hyatt Residences in Beaver Creek, Colorado, and Greg is a Technical Artist at Everi, exchanged vows on 20th June 2023. Their venue, a breathtaking and historic site in Devon, set the perfect backdrop for their celebration – and also happened to be the place the bride’s parents also tied the knot some 30 years prior
They entrusted the planning and styling of their day to Natalie Hyland, a Devon wedding planner who we highly recommend, and who delivered a wonderfully relaxed vibe for their celebrations.
The bride wore three looks on the day, including two beaded gowns and a super sexy sequin suit. I hope you love this wedding as much as we’ve enjoyed preparing to share it with you.
Hyland Wedding & Events
Venue & Location
Huntsham Court was the venue we picked. My husband and I both live in the USA but have dual citizenship. We couldn’t find anything that felt magical and perfect. My parents celebrated their wedding 31 years ago at Huntsham court and my dad suggested we take a peek at it.
When I saw the photos I knew that was the venue for us. My mom passed away in 2020, so being in a place where she also celebrated such a special moment in her life just added to the magic of Huntsham Court.
I’m a big lover of fun and comfort. I don’t love all the things that come with a traditional wedding and certainly did not want to pay for all those things. I don’t think anything in particular inspired us, the day was just the perfect blend of who Greg and I are as people.
I wanted the day to be relaxed and fun and whimsical and not so serious, which is exactly what it was and it was absolutely perfect.
In the directoryHuntsham Court
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The Dress
I had three outfits; a golden beaded ceremony dress from Alamour the Label, a white beaded dinner dress, also from Alamour the Label and a bedazzled sequin suit from 12th Tribe.
After several trips to different bridal shops, trying about 35 different dresses, I finally bit the bullet and ordered my ceremony dress online after looking at it for months. It was less than $500 US dollars.
The same site I ordered my dress from also had a gorgeous all sales final sample dress that just happened to be my size. It was $90 US dollars, I took the leap and it fit me perfectly.
My sequin suit, arguably the best outfit of the night, was from a site called 12th tribe. The top and bottom were sold separately. I think for both it was about $135 US dollars.
I would recommend that other brides go with their gut. It is absolutely possible to find your perfect style or the dress that just feels right the moment you see it. I would also suggest to go with your style, it is okay if you don’t want to be traditional, let your personality shine through, whatever feels right for you will be the perfect choice.
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Bridal Beauty & Accessories
I did not wear a veil. My ceremony dress had a floor-length beaded cape that draped down from my shoulder and hit the floor creating the train for my dress. I ordered my shoes online for $20.
I went very simple on accessories. I wore a pair of my mothers earrings and that was it.
The only jewellery I wore for the wedding was a pair of my mothers earrings – this felt fitting as my parents were married at the same venue 31 years prior.
April Natalie did my hair and Nicola Redman did my makeup, I am so grateful to both of them for beutifying me.
The Ceremony
My dad walked me down the aisle, that was maybe the most traditional part of our whole ceremony. We got married outside and one of our close friends officiated the wedding. I walked down the aisle to an instrumental version of the Beatles “Here Comes the Sun”.
My brother was the flower girl. He put on clip in hair extensions to create a mullet so that he could dance down the aisle to the song “Maniac”. It was incredible.
One of our best friends officiated the ceremony. We lived together in college and have remained close since then.
Her name is Kate Kelleghan and she is an insane rock climber (shoutout to you Kate!)
We wrote our own vows to each other and struggled to read them through all of our tears.
Here are the vows I read to Gregory…
“Albert Einstein said if you trip over love, it is easy to get up but when you fall in love it is impossible to stand again. I know I will never be able to stand again without you by my side. Thank you for knowing my heart, for recognizing my strengths, loving me for my weaknesses, and for seeing all the pieces of me no one else had ever looked hard enough to find.
There aren’t words to describe what an incredible person you are. But if there were, they’d be what brings the sun to its knees each night. The amount of love I have for you, Greg, could drown oceans. You are more than a once-in-lifetime love, you are what will always be waiting for me no matter the path I take.
I know our souls have crossed lifetimes like the clouds cross the sky. I promise to hold on to you in this life and to find you in the next. You are my mirror without judgment, you are love without words, the answer to my every question, my true north. You are, and will always be, my reason. For today, and for every tomorrow. I love you.”
I don’t remember where we got my husbands wedding band – it was just something we found online. I still don’t have a band. Like I said we are very untraditional.
My engagement ring he had custom made and designed with the help of the jeweller at a women owned jewellery store in Chicago called Mineralogy.
Photography
I picked Paige Grace to do my photography. I loved how her style reminded me of vintage film. I went to university to study film, so that really resonated for me.
Nothing felt staged or posed, she was my wingman for the day and just wanted to capture us as we are!
Photographers We Adore
How They Met
I met my husband the week I graduated from university in December of 2014. I was at work and some friends wanted me to go to a Christmas party. I am not the most social person so I did not want to go. In the end they coerced me and as it turns out, Greg was the host of the party.
The moment we met there was an instant spark. I gave him no choice in the matter and told him he was my boyfriend four days after we met and that was that.
We got engaged in June of 2021 after seven years together. He proposed to me at a cabin on a lake in Eagle River Wisconsin, which is a place my family frequents. He completely caught me by surprise during a game of Pictionary with my entire family. I was in my pajamas and burst into tears the moment he asked.
We were engaged for two years before officially tying the not on June 20th 2023.
My husband wore a suit that we ordered online made to his measurements.
The Reception
The venue space was the style. Natalie did an incredible job adding little touches (draping and lanterns in the ceremony space, which were then relocated to the wedding breakfast tables, coloured napkins) but the grounds and the venue itself were stunning just on their own.
Table runners and lanterns were from Glas Events and we had napkins from Special Occasion Linens.
We didn’t have a preference on specific flowers that were used as long as they were in our colour scheme (Neutral/toffee/latte tones).
Emma Hewlett’s flowers on her social media looked so beautiful and we knew she would do an incredible job with ours.
Table numbers and place settings were provided by Besotted Design and our seating plan was from Papier. We had personalised coasters made from a website called Zazzle.
We used Sisu Pancakes for our cake. I am not a big fan of cake and loved the idea of a pancake cake.
Natalie was able to find us this amazing bakery that specialised in pancake (crepe) cakes.
A Note From The Planner
Natalie Hyland
From my first meeting with Sam & Greg, I knew this wedding was going to be so much fun. They both have big, bubbly personalities and every meeting we had was full of laughter.
When speaking with them, it was clear to see that they wanted their wedding day to feel relaxed and not too formal. To encompass them as a couple rather than following traditions for traditions sake.
They love film nights and so for their arrival evening, we set one of the rooms up in the venue as a cinema using the big comfy sofas, projector and screen with a sweet & popcorn station at the back of the room for those all important cinema snacks.
They were toying with the idea of showing a horror movie before settling on something a little more light hearted and based around one of Sam’s favourite bands – The Beatles. The film was of course, ‘Yesterday’
We also arranged for a pizza van to set up as a little nod towards the U.S for guests to enjoy alongside some beers and fizz keeping everything super relaxed for everyone to settle into the weekend.
In terms of décor, Sam and Greg didn’t want to go too overboard with this as the house is so opulent already. They married under a tipi style structure in the secret garden which we styled with some draping and lanterns. These were then relocated to the wedding breakfast. The draping (actually being table runners) on the tables and the lanterns in front of their sweetheart table.
Table decorations were kept simple too with bud vases filled with gorgeous ‘in season’ blooms in toffee, latte and neutral colours and gold candle stick holders with Ester & Erik candles.
This worked perfectly with the setting in the Yellow Room at Huntsham Court.
Sam mentioned she really loves rainbows, but didn’t want the wedding to look overrun with them or too bold against their colour scheme.
With this in mind, Besotted Designs created some gorgeous personlaised menus which doubled up as place settings with an embossed neutral rainbow at the top of every one.
I also had some edible drinks toppers made for their glasses of fizz during the drinks reception incorporating the neutral rainbow element again.
Every element of Sam and Greg’s wedding encapsulated them and their fun, outgoing personalities.
From the multiple outfit changes, to the Sax, casino and ice cream trike.
Their wedding day was non stop fun.
Hyland Wedding & Events
Evening & Dancing
There was no first dance track. I do not like to dance, although my husband does. Getting up in front of all those people is really not my jam. We did have a live sax player who helped everyone tear up the dance floor.
My very favourite part of the day was being with the love of my life and all our closest friends and family to celebrate us. It was such a dream and we were so lucky to have been able to do it.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Hire a wedding planner! It takes so much pressure off of you and planning the day. Our wedding planner went above and beyond to make sure the day encompassed who we are and was exactly what we envisioned. She also became a friend. I don’t think we would have had a wedding anywhere near as special without her expertise and ability to take our vision and make it a reality.
I may have tried to make it longer! It all zipped by so so fast, and all we wished is that we could have more time experiencing it over and over!
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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.
