Mabel wore a Halfpenny London two-piece – the Okotan corset and Ellie skirt – for her spring wedding at Pennard House in Somerset. She and Walter wanted the day to feel relaxed, romantic and full of meaning, with a focus on family, beauty and connection.
Set within the Somerset countryside, Pennard House gave them everything they were looking for – a charming Georgian manor with space for guests to stay, a beautiful old church nearby, and the ease of having everything in one place. From the walk back from the ceremony behind a bagpiper to the pink blossom trees in full bloom, the whole day captured the kind of gentle, heartfelt atmosphere they’d hoped for.
Inspired by the warmth of a Richard Curtis film, they leaned into the season with soft pastel colours that evolved around pink, personal details and a timeless look that felt completely true to them.
We love these joyful photographs by Bo Leray of Leray Images – and this could possibly be the best dressed mother of the bride we have ever seen! Enjoy!
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Pennard House, Somerset
For us, the venue was the most important aspect of the day. With guests travelling from far and wide, it was essential that everything was in one place to avoid any extra travel on the day.
Pennard House in Somerset had everything that we were looking for, the beautiful Georgian manor house was the perfect balance between grandeur and charm. It’s a dedicated wedding venue by trade, but a family home at heart.
Just around the corner to the house was the Coach House, a beautiful building set up perfectly for the wedding breakfast and evening reception.
While having fantastic facilities it has kept a lot of original features, their bar is set up within the old stables which was a great nod to my childhood spent horse riding.
We opted for a religious ceremony and we couldn’t have asked for a more idyllic village church which was only a stone’s throw from Pennard House. This meant we could create a really special moment walking from the ceremony to the reception with our guests, led by a bagpiper – a nod to Walter’s Scottish heritage.
Overall, we felt so well looked after by the Pennard House team from start to finish and couldn’t be happier with our choice.
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The Dress
Halfpenny London
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t dreaming up my perfect wedding dress long before I got engaged. As soon as Halfpenny London came onto my radar, I was obsessed. I loved that a lot of their collections are made up of separate tops and skirts that you can mix and match to create your perfect look.
One particular combination always stood out, the Okotan Corset and Ellie skirt. I had this saved on my phone at least a couple of years before we got engaged.
Walter’s mother (who loved talking about our hypothetical wedding) asked me about my dream dress, and when I showed her a picture, she simply said, ‘That’s the one.’ When I finally tried it on, I realised she was right.
Sadly, Walter’s mother passed away before we got engaged, so she never got to see me in the dress. But it was incredibly special knowing she was part of the wedding dress process, and that she approved.
I wore a two tiered chapel length veil bought from a wonderful seller on Etsy called MyBridalLook. I wore a pair of Steve Madden ballet flats.
My bridesmaids all picked their own dresses from Sister Jane, AJE and Angelika Jozefczyk.
The Ceremony
My father accompanied me into the ceremony, to the sound of Ludovico Eiunaudi’s ‘I Giorni’, which was played live by the Severn Duo.
Our priest was Reverend Jayne Buckles of All Saint’s Church, East Pennard.
Our readings included ‘Guess How Much I Love You’, by by Sam McBratney and 1 Corinthians 13. My engagement ring was Walter’s late mothers and my wedding band is my own mothers, it was a gift from my father on their tenth wedding anniversary so both rings hold a lot of sentimental value.
I absolutely loved our ceremony. The anticipation leading up to it and seeing all our guests together for the first time was incredible. I thought I’d be more nervous, but as soon as I reached the end of the aisle next to Walter, all my nerves disappeared. We both had the best time singing hymns, listening to our beautiful readings and watching various guests shed a tear or two.
Our photographer was Bo Leray of Leray Images. Bo’s work is beautiful, there’s a simple elegance to her style which I love. She manages to capture the most subtle candid moments as well as set up shots worthy of a fashion magazine! Bo made us feel so comfortable and was such a calming presence on the day, I’m so glad we picked her!
How They Met
Walter and I met back in 2014 while living in the same uni halls. It was definitely not love at first sight and we purposely avoided each other the entire time we were there. Years later our paths crossed again for work and we became friends, before we knew it we were in a relationship and the rest was history!
Walter wore a suit by Andrew Brookes Tailoring, his tartan is Sinclair Hunting Tartan Ancient
The Reception
When it came to styling, I leaned into ‘spring’ as a theme, making the most of the beautiful pastel-coloured flowers that were in bloom. I chose pink as our main colour, and I’m so glad I did – the venue was flooded with the most gorgeous pink from the blossom trees, which made for some truly stunning photographs
My wonderful mother made our cake, she’s the best baker I know so there was no one else I would rather make our wedding cake. All other catering was provided by Pennard.
When it came to our stationery, I designed everything myself on Canva and printed with printed.com.
Jodie at Copper Green was highly recommended by our venue, and we could see why. Jodie’s laid back and knowledgeable approach made the process super simple. Jodie helped us create displays that could be reused throughout the day, moving our church flowers to the reception, adding them to the most gorgeous display up the staircase.
Evening & Dancing
Our first dance was to ‘The Whole of the Moon’ by The Waterboys. We found it so hard to find the perfect first dance song. The song that meant the most to us at the time was ‘Harvest Moon’ by Neil Young, but it was just too slow. Since we aren’t massive dancers, we wanted something more upbeat to get our guests on the dancefloor sooner.
We had a date night where we each brought three songs to the table and danced to them to see which felt right. In the end, ‘The Whole of the Moon’ by The Waterboys was the winner.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
No matter what planning stress comes your way – balancing the budget, seating chart sagas, last-minute drop outs, opinions flying in from every direction – don’t lose sight of what this is all really about, marrying the person you love.
Enjoy every second, even the imperfect moments.
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