Ellie and Harry’s September wedding at Primrose Hill Farm in Oxfordshire was a joyful celebration, filled with warmth, personal touches and the most glorious countryside views.
Wearing the elegant Wren gown by Andrea Hawkes, Ellie looked effortlessly chic as she and Harry exchanged vows in the light-filled barns, surrounded by their closest friends and family. The day was captured beautifully by Victoria Somerset-How Photography, whose relaxed and effortless romantic style was perfect for the occasion
The views over the Oxfordshire fields were just as beautiful as the couple remembered from their first visit to Primrose Hill Farm. Guests wandered between the barns and the gardens, drinks in hand, soaking up the September sunshine. By the time the sun dipped, everyone was gathered for espresso martinis, the light turning golden across the fields. Enjoy darlings…
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Venue & Location
Our venue was Primrose Hill Farm in Oxfordshire. We fell in love with the venue the moment we stepped inside and knew right away that it was where we wanted to get married. Even though the only date available was Friday 13th, we reserved it on the spot!
We visited on a rainy day but it still looked stunning. The barns are gorgeous, with high ceilings and plenty of natural light, but the dining barn was the real standout for us. The views over the Oxfordshire countryside are absolutely breathtaking. We also loved that, no matter the weather, we would be able to enjoy the light and the views.
The grounds are also beautiful, and so well kept. We loved the idea of having an outdoor drinks reception (weather permitting!). With many guests coming from afar we wanted them to be able to see and enjoy the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside.
It was also really important for us that the day ran as smoothly as possible. We loved that everything was in one place and that the team takes care of all the details on the day. We were able to fully relax and enjoy our day knowing that everything was taken care of.
We wanted a relaxed feel to the day with simple decorations to complement the beautiful venue.
The Dress
Andrea Hawkes Bridal
I bought my Andrea Hawkes dress from The Pantry Bridalwear in Saffron Walden. It was a sample dress and required a few small alterations which I had done there. The experience was great, the team were very helpful and I was really happy with all of the alterations.
I loved the simple, understated style of Andrea Hawkes dresses. Discovering the brand in a bridal shop in the town where my mum lives felt like fate. It was the first dress shop I visited and as soon as I put the dress on, I knew it was the one.
The quality of the dress was exceptional. The fabric felt so luxurious and the bias cut made me feel both comfortable and elegant at the same time. It was a very easy decision!
I wore the ‘Abby’ veil, also by Andrea Hawkes and my shoes were from Lace & Favour. My scent was Gabrielle by Chanel – my favourite.
My bridesmaids wore Nobodys Child.
Harry wore a Suit Supply suit and tie, along with a Georg Jenson watch, gifted from me, and Georg Jenson cufflinks, gifted by his parents.
My bracelet was the first present Harry had ever given me and was my ‘something old’. It was made by a local jeweller, Elly Dunford Wood.
y earrings were by Monica Vinader. The hoops were my something borrowed, and the pearls my something new.
Anna Jones was my hair and makeup artist.
The Ceremony
My dad accompanied me down the aisle, to the instrumental version of ‘One Day Like This’, by Elbow.
We had two readings – one by my mum and one by Harry’s dad – we asked them to choose their readings and they were ‘Reading of Love’, by Laura Hendricks and ‘Everything I know About Love’, by Dolly Alderton.
Our rings were from Ernest Jones.
Photography
We discovered Victoria on Instagram and instantly fell in love with her relaxed, natural style. Neither of us enjoy being in front of the camera and didn’t want to spend the day posing for photos. As soon as we saw her work, we knew we wanted her as our photographer!
Victoria was incredible on the day and went above and j. From helping with confetti stuck in my hair to removing pollen from my dress, and even braving a field with a bull to get the perfect sunset photos, she was always there and incredibly supportive. She was discreet but still managed to capture all the important moments. We absolutely love every single one of our wedding photos – each one captures the details of the day and the personalities of our guests so well and they really reflect the feel of the day.
The Reception
For flowers, when it came to bouquets and aisle arrangements, we used Blooms at the Barn. We did our own table flowers, using flowers form Chippy Flower Farm.
We did the outdoor flower buckets ourselves too, using plants from a garden centre and flowers from Chippy Flower Farm. We used lots of Dahlias and Cosmos as these are my absolute favourite.
We wanted to do the table arrangements ourselves, and the flowers at Chippy flower farm were so, so beautiful. We had so much fun arranging these the day before with our families and the bridesmaids.
For favours, we placed ceramic pots on the tables made by Tamsin Levene Ceramics – they were so beautiful.
Our welcome board was by Jane Cassidy Art. We loved the style of this and how it could be used again, it now looks great in our home!
Evening & Dancing
Our first dance was to a slower version of ‘Dancing in the Dark’, by Bruce Springsteen. We both love this song and Bruce Springsteen was a favourite artist of Ellie’s grandparents. It made them feel like they were a part of the day even though they weren’t there.
Our day was all even more amazing than we could have hoped for. Harry’s favourite moment was seeing me walk down the aisle. My own favourite moment was having all of our favourite people in one place and drinking espresso martinis whilst watching a beautiful sunset!
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Don’t overthink it
Do all the things that you want to do (we went 10% over budget).
Practice your first dance – something we definitely should have done!
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