It’s such a joy to be sharing Georgina and Charlie’s beautiful summer wedding. Their day took place at Charlie’s family farm, where generations of memories already live and where his parents were also married – a setting full of love and precious meaning.
We’re delighted that Georgina worked with two of our directory members and recommended suppliers, including Bowl of Corks photography and hair and makeup artist Nadia of Petal Blush. She also discovered one of our favourite bridal boutiques through Love My Dress; “I discovered The Wedding Club in London through Love My Dress, where I went to try on dresses – I didn’t find the one here but had the best experience and a very close second.”
Enjoy!
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Venue & Location
Trying to be sensible with our budget ended up being helpful in narrowing down what we went for and the style of our day, we knew we wanted a larger marquee to allow for the possibility of an indoor ceremony, and the beautiful pole marquee from Holmsted Events was the perfect solution. Not only did it suit the setting beautifully, but it also worked out to be cost-effective.
To decorate the space, we were able to use trees from the woodland, plenty of DIY florals (with blooms supplied by Angel Like Flowers), and a mix of hired décor (okehurst design).
The Dress
Vera Wang
I was determined to make the most of our budget and had wanted to try and find the dress at a sample sale if I could. That decision led me to a beautiful Vera Wang dress – from the lovely team at Hannah Elizabeth Bridal in Hampshire (sadly now closed).
The dress was expertly altered by the incredibly talented Ceris Davies, who was not only just five minutes from me but also an absolute joy to work with. She also looked after our bridesmaid and mother-of-the-groom alterations.
I loved the fabric and simplicity of the dress, feeling bridal but still myself.
My shoes were from Alohas. I tried on a few more ‘bridal’ options but ultimately chose something I knew I’d wear again. They had the perfect narrow block heel – ideal for walking on grass without sinking in, while still looking elegant and not chunky.
I have quite long hair which I don’t often style, so I went for my hair down, so I felt comfortable and like myself – and no risk of me fussing with it later in the day and it going wrong.
I wore a pearl necklace belonging to my mother – my twin sister also wore it on her wedding day, so it held huge sentimental value. With my sister no longer with us, it was a meaningful way to have her with me throughout the day.
Nadia of Petal Blush, my makeup artist, was wonderful. I had at one point considered doing my own hair and makeup for the day and with the chaos of the lead up I was so grateful for Nadia propping me up in the morning and making it so relaxing and seamless and giving me a little time to recharge!
The bridesmaids’ dresses were from Coast. We tried on a few different styles, but we all loved the detailing on the back of these. The quality of the lining also made them feel that bit more luxurious and flattering compared to others we had tried.
We gifted our bridesmaids matching earrings to wear. We also chose a pair for my mum, that complemented her wedding look perfectly. For Charlie’s mum, we put together a gift box with some makeup essentials for the day and a few pampering treats – something just for her amid the whirlwind of groomsmen chaos while they were all getting ready at her house!
The Ceremony
On arrival we had our guests taxied from the car parking field down the drive in three vintage Land Rovers owned and driven by Charlie’s Father, Brother and Uncle. Not a far journey by any means but great fun to start to the day – followed by a quick glass of champagne before the ceremony.
Charlie morning suit was from Oliver Brown, I worked in their London Store years ago when we first started dating and have adored their traditional tailoring and timeless pieces ever since.
My father walked me down the aisle, to the sound of Vivaldi’s ‘Spring 1’, recomposed by Max Richer.
We wanted a personal service which was beautifully put together and delivered by Charlie’s brother. We wanted our ceremony to feel relaxed and personal, but we also chose to include mostly traditional vows to honour the significance of the moment, even though it wasn’t the legal ceremony (we were officially married at a registry office the day before).
It gave us the freedom to shape the day exactly how we wanted, blending meaningful tradition with our own little twists to make it truly reflective of us.
I found it incredibly hard to choose readings that weren’t to out of character for us, I think I read just about every option out there! In the end, we settled on Corinthians, which felt meaningful and timeless. We also included a piece called ‘Things They Don’t Tell You About Finding the One‘. I honestly can’t remember where I came across it, and it didn’t list an author.
One of our favourite moments was our first ‘act of service’, sharing a cosmopolitan cocktail, a family favourite. It was such a fun and symbolic gesture, made even more special by two of our close friends performing a beautiful acoustic version of Just Like Heaven by The Cure as we sipped. (We then repeated Cosmos in our wedding breakfast toast for all guests in place of champagne).
We loved the idea of having music that encouraged a relaxed atmosphere and audience participation, so instead of traditional hymns, we chose songs that meant something to us and our guests could sing along to: Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles and Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses .
Our rings were from Bellmans Auctioneers, my favourite antique auction house. I wanted something timeless in style.
The ceremony was so wonderful, Charlie’s brother put it together so beautiful, it was personal, fun, a great balance of emotion and humour and so perfectly ‘us’ and having someone so close to us lead that part of the day made it even more special.
How They Met
After knowing of each other for many years through school and friends (namely Charies brother Harry who performed our ceremony), we met in Australia when Charlie lived there, and I was travelling but it wasn’t until Charlie moved back to the U/K a year or so later that we started dating, officially on 14th June 2014. We got married 14th June 2024, on our ten-year anniversary.
We got engaged on a boat in Lake Como (our favourite place) in September 2023 and married the following June.
Charlie had purchased the ring three years before proposing – one we had spotted at my favourite auction house, Bellmans Auctioneers, which he then bought and managed to keep a secret for all that time waiting for the right moment.
The Reception
We decorated the marquee with trees from the woodland on the farm and flowers from DIY flower buckets, that we ordered from Angel Like Flowers – they also did my bridal party bouquets and decorated a variety of posey and larger vases from Okehurst Design.
We used Okehurst Design for all of our décor and accessories – Sophie is wonderful and so helpful with all the choices and inspiration.
The bar in the marquee was made by our (very useful) groomsmen and friends the week before and it turned out beautifully.
Our caterers were Set the Date, based in Wisborough Green. Emma was just fabulous. Our cake was made by Charlies Grandmother which we adored.
Our ‘Save the Dates’ and wedding invitations were from Strawberry Sorbet – we loved the quality of them, and their customer service was brilliant.
On the day stationery for our menus, drinks menus and name cards were from Norfolk Art Studio on Etsy – Jasmine was amazing, and they were so beautiful. For the order of service, we used Utterly Printable.
After dinner, we surprised our guests with a game of pass the parcel. Each table had a parcel hidden underneath, and the game was introduced just after the speeches to properly kick off the party. It was a brilliantly chaotic mix of themed props, loud music rounds, inflatables, confetti cannons, moustaches, and shots, just to name a few! It created such an electric atmosphere and had everyone laughing and getting involved straight away. It was unforgettable. Bowl of Corks captured some amazing images of it all.
We sourced all our spirits from Bellmans Auctioneers over a few of their wine and spirits sale, which not only was a great saving, it meant we ended up with a wonderfully eclectic collection of gins, vodkas, and tequilas, perfect for decorating our ladder bar display (hired from Okehurst Design). It added such a fun and unique touch.
Evening & Dancing
We hired The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party – they are the best wedding band and absolutely guaranteed to fill a dance floor! We chose ‘Murder on the Dance Floor’, by Sophie Ellis Baxter for our first dance – , played by our wedding band, and Florence of the Machine’s ‘You’ve Got The Love’ to end the bands set.
I knew I wanted a second dress for the evening, just in case it rained, and my main dress got wet. After a long search and countless try-ons, I ended up taking a gamble on a full-length Coast dress I spotted while browsing for bridesmaid outfits.
It wasn’t quite what I’d imagined – I had my heart set on a mini – but it was Mikado silk (to tie in with my Vera Wang gown), on sale for just £50. I had it altered to a mini, and it turned out perfectly. I absolutely loved the style and fit – one of those happy surprises and little wins.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Do what you love, and try not to let outside noise or expectations sway you.
It’s so easy to get caught up in what a wedding “should” look like, but the most memorable parts of our day were the ones that felt most us, even if they weren’t traditional. Trust your instincts, prioritise what matters most to you both.
I’d love to say we should’ve taken on less of the DIY setup. The week leading up to the wedding had its fair share of inevitable hiccups, and it was completely exhausting -leaving us with little (or no!) time to relax and regroup before the big day. But knowing myself… I’d probably still do it all the same!
We tried incredibly hard to stick to a sensible budget, with careful planning, deal-hunting, and calling in huge favours from our amazing friends and family to help with the setup, we truly couldn’t have done it without a full team effort, and we’re unbelievably grateful. That said, we still ended up going over budget by quite a bit…!
In hindsight, if we’d known the final cost from the beginning, we might have planned things a little differently, but honestly, I’m so, so glad we didn’t. Every part of the day was completely worth it.
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