Ellen and Will tied the knot at the stunning Penrice Castle Estate in South Wales last May, opting for a simple and timeless Spring celebration.
The serenity of the spectacular Gower Peninsula played backdrop to this beautiful wedding. The couple exchanged vows surrounded by natural beauty and the joy of loved ones and Ellen chose a divine Emilia Wickstead ensemble, comprising a bridal gown veil and super chic pair of bow mules.
A marquee reception filled with spring sunshine was the perfect end to their day.
Ellen and Will’s wedding perfectly combined classic, modern and minimalist style with a picturesque coastal setting, which I hope inspires anyone planning an effortlessly elegant wedding of their own in South Wales. Photography by the ever wonderful Through the Woods we Ran.
Venue & Location
We hired Ness Shipman at Togetherness. I wish she could organise my general life to be honest… she is amazing, so calm, so on it.
It was only the January before the wedding where I woke up in a panic and realised we were having a wedding in a field with no coordination help, and Ness swooped in and sorted the rest for us.
Bridal Beauty & Accessories
I wore a bespoke three-tiered veil created by the Emilia Wickstead team, which was loosely inspired by some vintage references including Priscilla Presley’s voluminous veil.
I wore bespoke Emilia Wickstead slingback shoes made in the same fabric as my dress, which were made in Italy for me.
My perfume was Santal by Le Labo.
The Dress
Emilia Wickstead
I wore Emilia Wickstead. My first dress was a floor-length ivory gown with a cape detail coming from the shoulders, which was inspired by a dress from its Resort 2022 collection.
Before I tried it in ivory, I tried it in pink and gold and knew it was the right style for me.
I worked with the Emilia Wickstead atelier on a bespoke veil and shoes, which were made for me in the same fabric as my dress. In the evening, I changed into a mini dress also by Emilia Wickstead.
The Emilia Wickstead bridal team are the most wonderful group of professionals! They made me feel so special from the outset, and I treasure the memories of visiting the Sloane St store in the lead up to the wedding. Nothing was too much to ask for, their attention to detail is incredible and they got my vision from day one. I would recommend the Emilia experience day in, day out.
I have been a huge EW fan since my early twenties and it was always my dream to one day get married in one of her dresses. I love classic, clean lines and 60’s inspired fashion (my main inspiration from the outset was vintage Balenciaga bridal).
I loved the box pleat of my dress the most – it created such a lovely movement in the fabric and I felt really comfortable all day (and I could eat whatever I wanted, which was a priority for me!!).
My bridesmaids wore dresses from Coast.
The Ceremony
My lovely bridesmaids walked me to the Church, and my Dad accompanied me down the aisle. I walked down the aisle to ‘September Song’ by Agnes Obel, which a good family friend (the Maid of Honor’s brother) played beautifully on the piano.
The Dean of Swansea lead our ceremony – we still go and see him for coffee when we are at home. He’s fantastic.
I commissioned Welsh jeweller Clogau to create a bespoke white gold 18ct ring made to fit around my engagement ring. Will also chose a plain white gold band from Clogau to match.
Photography
Our photographers were Through the Woods we Ran. We picked them as we loved how emotive and joyful their portfolio was, and they came highly recommended through a few different friends.
We were blown away with our photos. Glenn and Lauren are amazingly talented and managed to capture the joyful chaos and fun of the day perfectly.
How They Met
We met through about five different, unconnected but mutual friends, so it was meant to be! We kept bumping into each other at parties and it sort of evolved from there.
Will proposed in London, and had pre-booked appointments with jewellers around the city for us to pick a ring together that day.
He also booked our favourite restaurant, Cornerstone in Hackney Wick, for a celebratory dinner! We were engaged for a year and a half before our wedding day – in my opinion it was just the right amount of time to be able to enjoy the lead up.
Will wore a bespoke double-breasted navy Mullen and Mullen suit. He also wore Paul Smith ‘globe’ cufflinks which I gifted to Will on the morning of the wedding – we both studied Geography at university so had to get a reference in there somehow.
The Reception
Will drove us to the reception in my Dad’s beloved Porsche. Our guests were transported by the Gower Minibus Company and Cymru Coaches.
Our floral designer was Queen of the Meadow, Kirsten Tanner. She is just the most amazingly talented florist and gorgeous person – it was a joy working with her.
She only uses British flowers and her aesthetic is really natural, which I loved. Kirsten ended up using mostly flowers from Gower.
We kept the decor simple and timeless. The reception tables were dressed with glass candlesticks and ivory ribbons were tied to the taper dinner candles. The weather was wonderful so we opened up the marquee and had the late afternoon spring sunshine lit the marquee as we gave our speeches.
One of my best University friends created our illustrations. We used Papier to print all of the stationary.
Our catering company was Holdens, based in Pembrokeshire.
They went above and beyond for us, Tom and Nicole are a dream team and we had such a great experience with them from our food tasting through to the actual day. The Welsh Rarebit for our evening food was the showstopper!
Our cake was by The Cake Cook – Helen is based in Mumbles and is absolutely fab, we loved her. We chose something really simple and timeless – a two-tiered ivory cake with chocolate sponge filling.
Evening & Dancing
Usher Rory kindly DJ’d for our reception drinks, and the brilliant (and Welsh!) band Miami Knights played for our post-dinner dancing.
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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.
