A Stylish Sefton Park Palm House Wedding with Rewritten Bridesmaids

Eve and Fred’s wedding at the breathtaking Sefton Park Palm House in Liverpool was a vision of modern wedding day elegance.

The couple chose this iconic glasshouse for its lush greenery and stunning architectural charm – a space that needed little in the way of any additional décor. The towering palms and delicate ferns provided a sophisticated, botanical backdrop that worked beautifully with the green Rewritten bridesmaid dresses and Eve’s simple and minimalist By Watters gown. The result was a wedding that felt relaxed and beautifully in tune with its surroundings. Enjoy!

I booked Danielle Marouzet for hair and Hannah Carson for make up and wow, what a duo these girls were! They were such a positive presence while we were getting ready, I wished they could have come along to the ceremony with us they fit in so well. They brought so much energy and experience, offering both reassurance and good vibes.

I was a little nervous about hair and make up because I rarely do either normally, but on the day I was really happy with my hair and make up – I still felt natural and like myself (but of course elevated). The bridesmaids and my mum looked absolutely beautiful too.

I also had some small porcelain flowers for my hair that I got on Etsy.

I got my By Watters dress from Flamingo Boulevard in Liverpool and I cannot recommend them enough.

I went to a few different places before going to this boutique, and the experience there was unlike anywhere else. Jasmin is amazing and is so enthusiastic about brides finding their own personal styles and what will suit them best. She absolutely just wants everyone to look and feel amazing on the day, and above all to be happy in whatever style or outfit you picked.

There was absolutely no pressure about price or cost, especially as my dress ended up coming from the ‘little white dress’ section (which I had no idea about until after – thank you Jas!). The style in the shop is amazing, they offer a tonne of advice about everything and all of the dresses are so beautiful.

The most important thing to me was to find something that I felt happy and relaxed in, something that I could run around in and dance all night long with (which I did!).

My personal style is pretty relaxed, so the simplicity of this dress really appealed to me. I personally didn’t want something that would suck me in, with big skirts, or with lots of boning, I just wanted to very much be myself and to be really comfortable.

I wore the Pierlot veil from Grace Loves Lace. I fell in love with this veil before I even found my dress or decided what style I was going for, but for me it was a no brainer.

I got my Betsey Johnson shoes new in the box second hand on vinted or a similar second hand app. They were so comfortable, again I wanted something I could move around freely in and wouldn’t hurt. My friend gave my advice to size up so you could fit pads in if required – it was a really good tip!

My earrings were from a Vancouver company called Olive & Piper.

Because Fred and I were living outside of the UK (in Vancouver, Canada) at the time of our wedding, the marriage process was a little complicated as non-residents. We therefore decided to do our legal wedding ceremony on the beach in Vancouver when our parents were visiting.

On our UK wedding day, we then decided to walk down the aisle together, as it was really important to us that it felt that we were both entering into this together. We didn’t want my dad or our parents to feel like they missed out though, so we sent them down the aisle together too! It also allowed us to do a quick first look together before we went down the aisle together, which was great for calming nerves. As soon as I saw Fred, I completely relaxed.

Our parents and bridesmaids walked down the aisle to “Close to You (they long to be)” and we did to “Clair De Lune” – both by Max on his cello! 

Our celebrant Lorraine Hull, was amazing! So many people complimented us on the ceremony (and actually said it was the best one they’d experienced!). We actually even met up with Lorraine in Vancouver too, while she was over visiting her Son and family.

So we felt that we already knew each other really well when it came to the ceremony. She made the ceremony really personal to us and it could not have gone any better!

We did personal vows in our smaller, legal ceremony in Vancouver, and so chose not to for this ceremony.

We had two readings at our ceremony and both were excellent. We asked both of our sisters – my sister, Hannah, read Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton (one of her favourite authors), and Fred’s sister, Grace, read a reading from Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I really like the messages in both of these.

My dad has jewellery shop in Liverpool that’s been in the family for generations – A J Rogers Jewellers, established in 1912! He got both of our wedding rings and my engagement ring, and then also surprised me with a necklace for the day itself that matched perfectly. 

Our brother-in-law, Max, kindly agreed to play the cello for us during our wedding ceremony which was so incredible! It meant to much to us that it was him playing. I think a lot of the guests who didn’t know Max thought we’d hired a professional!

I can’t imagine any wedding photographer that could have been better for us than Bridget Lloyd. We found her through a friend’s recommendation (thank you Jess!) when she was still fairly new to the wedding photography industry.

Since then she’s gained an impressive amount of experience and I was blown away by her professionalism.

I really love the style of Bridget’s photography and could not be happier with our photos. I was really nervous while getting ready on the morning of the wedding, and it was Bridget who noticed and made me feel really reassured and supported.

At the wedding itself, neither me or Fred are particularly fans of posing or being in the spotlight, but she made it feel completely natural and we felt so comfortable, she fit in so seamlessly and gave the perfect amount of direction.

Another huge commendation – Bridget was heavily pregnant with twins on our wedding day and was a complete superstar. She also sent an extensive sneak peak (loads more photos than I expected!) to us really quickly after the wedding and we got our full gallery back before she even had the twins.

She’s incredible and I honestly could not recommend her enough!! North west brides take note.

Fred and I originally met at University in York and got together a few years afterwards, and it was straight into the deep end for us! We both very quickly realised that we were the right person for each other. Fred proposed when we were on holiday on the Isle of Islay in Scotland, while we were swimming in the (freezing!) sea together on a beautiful sunny day.

As we shortly moved to Vancouver in Canada together for a couple of years after getting engaged, we were engaged for over 2 years before the wedding, planning almost everything from afar.,

The dress code of the wedding was black tie and Fred opted for a green velvet jacket tailored from Oliver Brown on Jermyn St, London, with trousers, shoes and other matching accompaniments from Charles Thywitt. He looked incredible!

We got the bouquets, buttonholes and one table display from Mary Mary Floral Design. I just used their ‘Ready to Wear Collection’, to save money because I knew how nice this florist was and even if I couldn’t pick the exact flowers to be included, I knew they’d be really nice.

Our goal was simplicity! The venue is so beautiful that I just wanted to lean into it’s own style and create a bright, fresh environment, and let it speak for itself. I wanted the style to be something that would stand the test of time, but also suit us and who we are.

We wanted a relaxed and fairly informal venue where we both felt completely at ease, but also suited our personalities. I am definitely a nature person and so being surrounded by plants, glass and light was ideal. The venue is absolutely beautiful, has gorgeous grounds, and looks absolutely spectacular when dressed up for the day and lit up beautifully for the evening. It’s a really special place where your own creativity can take free reign. That being said, even without any decoration at all it still looks fantastic.

Our caterers were Dine. Wow! The staff were so amazing, I was really amazed by how supportive they were throughout the whole day, guiding us through everything (without us really noticing) and ensuring the day went really smoothly.

They had so much experience and were clearly ready for anything. I had the vegetarian choices and they were really delicious. It’s doubly impressive when you consider that there is no kitchen at the venue!

Our cake was by Cake O’Clock Crosby. Cake maker Beth is one of my best friends’ sister and I’ve watched her business grow over the years. She is absolutely amazing at what she does and has won loads of awards for her wedding cakes.

I asked her for a simple cake design and she elevated it to look really elegant. The cake was DELICIOUS as well!! I highly highly recommend Beth.

My mum and I did the table displays – large glass vases from ikea, lilies from tesco (another recommendation from Jess!), and the ferns we cut  from our garden the day before. I knew the natural foliage from the venue would go a long way for the decor (there are more than enough plants there!) so this was another way we could save money and do it ourselves.

One of our close friends, Scot, made homemade limoncello for all the guests! He bottled them all up and produced really nice labels for them all too, which had each guests’ names included. He may have also left a few “tricks or treats” for particular guests too!

I designed the stationery myself using things like Canva and Vistaprint. Jessie kindly did the calligraphy for the namecards!

In the end, we picked Texas Sun by Khruangbin and Leon Bridges for our first dance. We’d spent all summer driving around Vancouver and British Columbia listening to this song and in the end it was the perfect fit. 

For the evening, we used Jonny Ross Music, after I attended another wedding they were at and was really impressed by them. We went for a DJ and Sax package which was incredible  – with the DJ being Pete Redshaw. There was so much energy for the whole night long and everyone definitely had a party to remember!!

I wish I’d have worried less! It’s impossible to do at the time but I wish I could have known how amazingly the day would go and how little all the small things you worry about actually matter. I’d actually planned an accessory change for the evening but forgot it, along with my bag, perfume, phone and coat for the evening, but it didn’t matter at all. 

Our whole goal for the day was that we just wanted everyone, all our friends and family, to have a great time, and in the end, I can’t believe we ever worried about what people would think about certain choices.

Everyone was so happy for us and brought the most amazing energy to the day. I can confidently say that everyone had an amazing time and that makes me so happy to reflect on!

Take time to breathe and enjoy yourselves on the day and accept that things might not go exactly as planned.

No one knows what you originally planned so if things are slightly different or don’t work out, it’s not a big deal all. The whole point is to enjoy it, so soak it in and make the most!

Our original budget was around £20k but in the end, we decided to add a free bar for the evening, which brought it up to around £25k.