Emily and Sam tied the knot on 20th May 2023, at Scarlett Hall – an elegant Cheshire venue they discovered and booked via Unique Homestays.
Emily wore bridal separates by Catherine Deane, which she brought directly from the designer herself – and
These charming English country wedding images were captured by photogapher Sarah Brookes, but first, let’s enjoy this lovely film, produced by talented cinematographer, Jessi Zou.
Venue & Location
We used a wonderful wedding coordinator, Dale Alexander Events, who made sure the day went smoothly. He and his team were invaluable and we really couldn’t have done it without them.
If you’re doing a diy wedding (at home or at a venue with limited support) I would definitely recommend using a wedding coordinator so they can coordinate and greet with suppliers and make sure everything is perfect on your day.
Catherine Deane
I wore the Virginia skirt and the Monique top, by Catherine Deane.
I bought my separates direct from Catherine Deane – I organised two sessions with them to go and try on in their pop up store and thought it was really good.
I loved that it was a two piece dress so a bit different – our wedding wasn’t very traditional so I wanted a dress that fit with that.
My veil was also by Catherine Deane, and a close family friend very kindly bought me my Rainbow Club wedding shoes as a wedding present From forever soles – they were amazing.
She got me some beautiful bridal shoes and a pair of bridal trainers which were perfect for the many games we had at the wedding.
The Ceremony
My dad walked me down the aisle and that was really special. We were accompanied by the sound of ‘Only You’, by Yazoo – Sam and I were listening to this when we got engaged.
I loved walking down the aisle, though didn’t think I would – as it was just an overwhelming positive energy and love coming from everyone there. It’s the moment you take in that it’s your wedding day.
My bridesmaids chose a reading for the wedding so we didn’t know what it would be on the day – it was a poem about Cornwall where we got engaged
My engagement ring is from Vrai which specialises in lab grown diamonds, which I love, as it is much better for the environment and is cheaper than a mined diamond – win win! Sam bought his wedding ring from Goldsmiths.
Photography
We searched for a long time for a photographer that had a style that we loved and when we came across Sarah Brookes online we instantly loved her work. We loved that she captured photos that are relaxed and natural and really capture the fun of the day, we also thought the way she captured colour in her photos was really beautiful.
We would definitely recommend – she was amazing to work with and really went above and beyond sending us little treats in the post and knowing all the detail of our day so she could make sure she got 100% of what we wanted. We our beyond delighted with our wedding photos!
We also really enjoyed working with our videographer Jessi Zou.
How They Met
Sam and I met on a dating app five years ago in london. A year after we met we moved to Singapore together for a new adventure (and subsequently moved back just after covid).
I had always wanted to be the one to propose and decided to do it on a weekend away in Cornwall – I had made a photo book of all our adventures in and gave it to him over breakfast in bed. Luckily he said yes and a year later we got married.
Sam wore a suit from Suit Supply – I think he may have got more compliments than me on the day!
The Reception
We knew we wanted a very relaxed wedding and had been picking up styling tips and ideas from all the other weddings we attended.
Emily’s Feasts made us ridiculously good canapés, paella, sides, brownies and bacon and sausage baps for later.
She was amazing and would highly recommend. She totally got the brief that we wanted a more informal food arrangement rather than a more formal sit down meal and she nailed it.
Emily was super helpful as well at helping us think through how we could best make it work and we were so happy with how it turned out- the food was delicious.
Field 28 are a local wholesale florist near where my parents live and I’ve always gone to their farm shop and loved the bouquets they did.
I really wanted to do my own flower arranging for the wedding and they were able to provide all the flowers plus bring them along to the venue and give us a little flower arranging class – it was a really fun activity for me and my bridesmaids the day before the wedding.
One of my bridesmaid, liv, kindly made me our cake – it was amazing. She’s a fantastic baker and I was super grateful.
Evening & Dancing
We used Shaun Rimmer and Anna Lynch who did music for our ceremony and drinks reception as well as bringing along two more band members in the evening for a fuller band – they were excellent and I’d definitely recommend.
They learnt a few new songs for us so we could have some music that meant a lot to us for walking down the aisle and leaving the ceremony.
We chose not to do a first dance.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Stick with your guns on what you want – we didn’t want a sit down meal and had a few people say that they weren’t sure it would work if we didn’t, but we’re so glad that we stuck with our initial plan as it worked really well and was exactly what we wanted
I would definitely recommend a wedding coordinator if you’re doing your wedding at home or at a venue that doesn’t provide one – otherwise you or your family or friends will be greeting suppliers, laying our chairs, setting the tables etc. you definitely want to just enjoy the day without too many chores.
It’s worth looking around for suppliers you really love – we had to search to find a photographer and videographer that we thought were exactly what we wanted but we’re so glad we did as they were both amazing.
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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.
