There’s no denying the sheer joy and creativity poured into Alex and Josh’s super beautiful and fun-filled wedding at Wilderness Reserve in Suffolk – a bold, heartfelt celebration full of personal touches, vibrant colour and high fashion.
With the incredible Zuza of Whole Lotta Love Weddings overseeing every detail and a bespoke Emma Beaumont Atelier dress stealing the show (closely followed by the couple’s very charming little dogs), this was one of those weddings where the right team, the right brief and the right energy came together to create something utterly gorgeous and unforgettable.
Alex and Josh wanted their day to feel playful, stylish and totally immersive from start to finish. Think disco ball piñatas, a secret rave cave and unapologetically colourful florals suspended from the ceiling. Their weekend unfolded with ease and joy thanks to their wonderful planner. It was full of warmth, personality and clever, considered touches that were all brought to life with Zuza’s expert guidance.
Set in the Suffolk countryside on a high-summer weekend, their celebration brought Ibiza spirit, bold styling and big feel-good energy, all completely and unapologetically their own. Enjoy!
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Venue & Location
We chose Wilderness Reserve because we found it to be one of the only venues where I wasn’t bound by using venue recommended suppliers or ‘suggested’ run times for the day, its a very flexible venue and the interior design is absolutely amazing, something that was really important to me.
I also loved the fact that all our families and friends would be able to stay on site with us in one of the houses, a good way for everyone to get to know each other better and full immerse themselves in our wedding weekend!
Our inspiration was colour, disco, Ibiza, fun and summer – I’m a colourful person and I love dressing in things that uplift me and I always try and incorporate colour in my interior design so a lot of my inspiration comes from fashion and interior designers work! Wilderness Reserve alone is inspirational, I just don’t think there is anything better than the English countryside on a summers day with an aperol spritz in hand and as soon as we looked around Wilderness I knew that we had to go for it.
The Dress
Emma Beaumont
I would absolutely recommend this experience, the process with Emma Beaumont Atelier was amazing from start to finish as its a fully bespoke experience. You start the journey by showing Emma ideas of dresses you have seen and like, select a fabric and then each appointment the dress evolves and starts to take shape into something unique and one of a kind.
Emma makes the experience very calm but exciting and it was nice to put my trust in another creative who I felt really understood what I wanted from my dress.
I visited a couple of bridal boutiques and I just felt that nothing I tried on left me feeling like it was the ‘one’. I didn’t really know what I wanted as I hadn’t seen anything that really felt like me, which led me to the decision to have a bespoke dress made. I loved that it was something no one else would have worn before and that I could add some special touches to it, like some embroidered colourful flowers and headband.
I wore a veil – also from Emma Beaumont Atelier – and it was a last minute decision as I had asked Emma to make a headband which I also wore but on my final dress try on I tried a veil and I just felt that it just finished off my whole outfit – plus when do you ever really get the chance to wear a veil other than at your wedding. I also wore an embroidered headband by Emma Beaumont Atelier with my dress.
My shoes were YSL Bianca Platform Sandals in Pearl and they were meant to be, I had tried on a couple of pairs that weren’t right and went for some dinner in Manchester with Josh and we decided to have a look in Harvey Nichols. There was a sale on and I looked through the shoe section and the YSL heels were there, in my size, with no defects and with more than a 50% discount!
I really couldn’t believe my luck and bought them there and then so my advice here is always check the Harvey Nichols stores when there is a sale on as you never know what bargains you might find.
My mum got me some marquise earrings for my 30th Birthday which I wore on the day from Shay Jewelry. I wore an embroidered headband by Emma Beaumont Atelier with my dress and when I changed my outfit for the evening I had a local milliner create me a birdcage veil headband by Georgina Macauley.
I wore Tom Ford’s Soleil Blanc – to me, this is summer in a scent and I absolutely love it. I’ve always worn this I didn’t select a special unique scent for my day as I knew I loved this one so much.
We used the personal shopping service at Harvey Nichols for bridesmaid dress inspiration and I would highly recommend this, I wanted mismatched dresses but as all my bridesmaids are different I thought it would take away some of the stress to get some professional advice.
Dresses were from Rixo, Pinko and Bec & Bridge. My litle flowergirl’s dresses were from Bob & Blossom.
The Ceremony
I didn’t have anyone accompany me down the aisle, as my dad had passed away and he would have been the one I would have asked and because he isn’t here anymore I felt decided instead that I wanted to be a strong independent woman and treat my aisle like a runway and it was actually nice to have that moment by myself.
I chose the track ‘Home’, by Edith Whiskers to play as I arrived at the ceremony.
We had Caz The Celebrant who was absolutely brilliant and helped to bring the story of Josh and I to life.
We wrote our own vows, I did find this quite hard to do at first as I’m not the best with words unlike Josh but I took inspiration from the internet and help from our celebrant and decided to write a list of promises that I would keep some light hearted and some more serious.
We only had one reading at our wedding from Josh’s dad which was ‘I wanna Be Yours’, by John Cooper Clarke. We wanted something that wasn’t religious or too mushy but just fully summed up how much we love each other and want to be ‘yours’; “I wanna be your vacuum cleaner, breathing in your dust, I wanna be your Ford Cortina, I will never rust“.
We went for Jessica Flinn Jewellery for our rings, as they are a Yorkshire based company which is where we are from, they also had a great selection of unique wedding rings for males and females! So we could both choose one from here, Josh didn’t want a standard men’s wedding ring so we managed to get something a little different here.
Our photographer, Sophie Traynor, is our friend but also a brilliant fashion, beauty, product and food photographer and so we knew that she would nail our brief. Would highly recommend Sophie, she’s very professional and has a great sense of humour and puts you at ease she’s also great at giving direction!
We got engaged in Amsterdam (one of our favourite places!) we’d gone to look at the historic windmills and Josh proposed in front of one of them and then our best friends came out to join us and celebrate the next day. We were engaged for two years before our wedding, I wanted the specific date of 27th July as that was my dads Birthday and he had passed away a few years ago.
Josh wore a bespoke suit from Beggars Run in Shoreditch, he selected a fabric that he liked and they fully measured him up and he got to choose bespoke elements like buttons and lining. It was a great experience and we felt really looked after by the guys in the shop, plus they have impeccable style so we knew that we were in safe hands.
Zuza, our planner, dressed our venue and helped to add some special touches such as a gold mannequin with a disco ball head, disco balls and our amazing table decor.
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The Reception
Our stationery was by Carly at With Bells On Invites.
Zuza our planner, gave a brief to our florist Ash at Rooted In Rosemary, along with a Pinterest board and she understood straight away, I never realised that selecting flowers could be such a special experience as Ash sends over a product book with a hand drawn sketch of what she wants the flowers to look like in Each space.
I was actually always on the fence about how many flowers we went for and I was positively encouraged by family members and friends and I’m so glad I listened and as much as possible just gave free reign to the creatives that are Ash and Zuza as they created a space which was so special and colourful it really was amazing to see it come together and helped to create the ‘wow’ factor.
We used a local company, The Hazlebury Kitchen, for our cake and we went for a colourful pink, yellow and orange shag cake! Just fully embracing the colourful theme I didn’t want a traditional cake and this really hit the brief it was also absolutely delicious and there was none left at the end of the weekend which is something I was bothered about!
We didn’t provide guests with ‘favours’, but we did put a shot of Orangecello on the table for everyone. This was what we drank on the day we got engaged and is from a supplier in Amsterdam who uses left over orange peel from bars in Amsterdam to create the spirit.
Evening & Dancing
When I changed into a Destree pant suit for the evening, I had a local milliner create me a birdcage veil headband.
Our first dance was ‘You’ve Got The Love’ by Candi Staton – again like the running theme through our wedding, we didn’t want anything too traditional and we both love dance and feel good music and we felt this track nailed the brief and got our guests up and dancing.
It was so hard to pin down a favourite part of the day it was absolutely amazing to see so much planning come together and I smiled from ear to ear for the whole day everything ran impeccably, thanks to Zuza – and I loved seeing all of our favourite people in one room having a great time together.
It was so special and the memories are still so vivid it really was the best day of our lives.
We also had disco ball pinyatas hung from a tree outside our dining space using Pinyatay.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
The main piece of advice I can give is if you spot a supplier you really love book them straight away, don’t wait or they probably won’t be available we were surprised even at 2 years out how many suppliers had limited dates when we enquired but as far as doing things differently no I don’t think we would as we had an absolutely epic experience that created forever memories.
I would have probably stayed in my wedding dress a bit longer, you only get to wear that once! I changed slightly early into my evening dress to cool down as the day was very hot.
When you’re in the thick of planning and you feel very stressed a friendly reminder that I can almost guarantee you it will all be worth it, keep going! And if you need to have a wedding planning free weekend and a break so you can reset. The planning stage is all consuming but there is something so special when the day arrives and you can see everything come together on the day that makes it all worthwhile.
Post Wedding Blues are real!! No one seems to talk about this part but you build yourself up and have such an amazing time that afterwards when there is no more planning and the event is over it can feel upsetting but be kind to yourself, this gets better with time and as you start to receive photos/videos through you can relieve the day as many times as you like, keep speaking to each other about how you feel.
Don’t sweat the small stuff, no one else but you will notice as they are too busy thinking about the overall day. If you can’t get the exact right shade of napkin or tablecloth don’t worry because I can promise that only you will realise.
We did exceed our budget slightly, but without the help of our planner Zuza, our costs would have spiralled and so I’m grateful she helped us keep track of everything.
Notes From The Wedding Planner
Zuza McKen, Whole Lotta Love Weddings
When Alex and Josh came to us, we knew instantly that we were the perfect match to bring their wedding vision to life. Their dream? A celebration that was equal parts stylish, fun, and effortlessly cool – a wedding weekend that felt luxurious yet relaxed, with a party their guests would never forget. And that’s exactly what we created for them at Sibton Park.
The Wedding Design
Alex and Josh had a clear vision: understated luxury with a bold, modern edge. Working closely together, we crafted a colour palette and design that felt fresh, contemporary, and completely unique to them. All the suppliers we brought on board delivered over and beyond the brief.
Florals were a true centrepiece of the day by Rooted in Rosemary – vibrant and sculptural, with striking arrangements that broke away from traditional greenery. The ceremony installation was simple yet breathtaking, and inside the Orangery, we suspended a dramatic hanging floral display that tied seamlessly into the elegant tablescapes below.
Speaking of tablescapes, this was a major moment. Sleek modern tableware by Options Great Hire, personalised details with stationery by With Bells On, and sumptuous silk velvet ribbons by Silk and Purl added layers of sophistication, while ghost chairs kept the look contemporary and cool. All set against the Orangery’s black-and-white tiled floor, it was nothing short of a masterpiece.
The Guest Experience
For Alex and Josh, making their guests feel special was a top priority. From the moment friends and family arrived on Friday, they were immersed in a carefully curated experience. Thoughtful welcome gifts and a personalised itinerary set the tone for the weekend, and the festivities kicked off in style with a magical forest fire feast under the stars.
Saturday’s ceremony was pure magic. Held by Caz the celebrant in the enchanting walled garden, it was heartfelt, intimate, and filled with personal touches, including their adorable dogs, Basil and Pepper, who played the cutest ring bearers. And in a nod to Alex’s late father, the newlyweds made their exit in a bright yellow Porsche – a moment filled with emotion and meaning.
After a champagne and canapé reception on the lawn, guests were treated to an incredible wedding breakfast in the Orangery before the party truly began. A roaming band, Roameo, kicked the party off, cocktails on the terrace, and a packed dance floor set the scene for an unforgettable night.
And then, the ultimate surprise – the secret Rave Cave. Hidden in the basement, this after-party was everything Alex and Josh had dreamed of. Costumed performers by the incredible Provibers made an Ibiza-style atmosphere, and a DJ set from Rudimental won DJ that had everyone dancing until the early hours.
The Perfect Finale
After a night to remember, Sunday was all about winding down in the best way possible. Guests shook off the cobwebs with wild water swimming before gathering for a relaxed, sun-soaked poolside BBQ, complete with “hair of the dog” Bloody Marys. The perfect way to wrap up a weekend filled with love, laughter, and once-in-a-lifetime memories.
Alex and Josh’s wedding was everything they wanted it to be – effortlessly stylish, deeply personal, and an experience their guests will be talking about for years to come. And we couldn’t have been prouder to bring it all to life for them.
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