Lauren and Elliot married at Limekiln near Tunbridge Wells in June with Helaina Storey and her associate Charlotte Dormoy behind the cameras capturing this beautiful blend of digital and analogue photography. Lauren took on the planning and styling herself and wanted to include elements of her Indian heritage, with Indian canapés and spice favours chosen with her Ba, her grandmother, for guests to take home along with curry recipes.
Lauren planned and styled the wedding herself, bringing her Indian heritage into the celebrations through the food, music and favours she chose with her grandmother. She also put her teenage experience of working in a florist to use by arranging the table flowers, and drew and designed the stationery with inspiration from Limekiln itself.
Lauren wore a Divine Atelier top from Miss Bush with a bespoke skirt by Bibi Luxe Studio, before changing into a custom white sari by Shloka Khialani for the wedding breakfast. She borrowed diamond jewellery from her aunt to wear with her sari, and the couple made their entrance accompanied by dhol players, a surprise they’d arranged for their guests. Enjoy!
Book your wedding team, before someone else does
Explore Our Shop
We add gorgeous new designs to our Shop every week and think you’ll love what we find. Bookmark our shop today and browse at your leisure.
The Venue & Location
I saw Limekiln on Kin House’s Instagram as a sister venue. Elliot grew up in Tonbridge, which isn’t far away, so when we went to view it while it was still being built and furnished, something just clicked. It was the only venue we looked at and we knew there’d be nowhere else that would compare.
Perfect doesn’t quite cover it. We had pick of dates for 2025 as well because it was so new, and that mattered when we were expecting a lot of guests.
The Look
Divine Atelier & Bibi Luxe Studio
I had no idea what I really wanted when I started looking. People say the first dress you try on is often the one, and I didn’t believe them until I did try one that was perfect. It was also £8,000, which rather ruled it out. So I pivoted, looking for something with beautiful fabrics but actually achievable, something that felt like a one-off without the one-off price tag.
My day top came from Divine Atelier, which I found at Miss Bush in Ripley. After trying the top on in three different boutiques without finding a skirt that felt right, Emma and Ben at Miss Bush just got it. They suggested a corset back instead of a zip and sourced matching lining. They saw what I was after and made it happen.
The matching day skirt came from Barbara at Bibi Luxe Studio, who works from her home studio in Chichester. Another person who looked at my moodboard and understood exactly what was needed. Bespoke, perfect fabric, no compromises.
For shoes I had two pairs, some Bobbies white floral ones for the day outfit and simple Zara sandals for the second, both white and cream.
I wore a borrowed veil for the ceremony, cathedral length and very simple, and then swapped it for a neck scarf my mum had made. For jewellery, simple cuff diamond earrings from Astley Clarke for the day and borrowed family diamonds for the evening.
I’d been a bridesmaid so many times myself and had eight bridesmaids. I wanted them all to feel comfortable in what they were wearing and to have a dress they’d wear again after the wedding.
So the brief was straightforward – pastel colour and something with ruffle or tier or texture. The dresses came from all over the place but they matched perfectly and everyone felt like themselves in them. They all wore their own shoes.
Elliot wore a tailored Hackett double-breasted tuxedo suit. Hair and makeup was handled by Jazcrush Artistry, Ruby May and Kate Waller.
The Ceremony
My brother played the piano to Shania Twain’s “From this Moment” as the bridesmaids walked, and then I walked down the aisle with my dad.
Elliot’s ring came from Hatton Garden. My engagement ring came from Amy Jennifer Jewellery.
Helaina Storey’s eye is something we’d never seen from anyone else.
She was originally not available for our date, so we’re forever grateful to the couple whose wedding didn’t go ahead that day, because it meant we had Helaina Storey and Charlotte Dormoy there with us.
If you’re looking for someone who can read you and your partner, capture your personal moments and create an atmosphere that makes you look and feel like the best version of yourself while remaining both incredibly present and somehow unseen at the same time, Helaina is your person.
How They Met
The start of the year is always a slow one. I booked a date afternoon for something to look forward to. On Friday 1st March we headed into London and had afternoon tea at Claridges followed by cocktails, and then went to see Book of Mormon in the theatre.
Elliot proposed when we got home after what we were already calling our perfect date day. The ring fell straight out of the box when he opened it. I started crying and had to be asked three times as I couldn’t stop.
For the evening I changed into a custom white sari by Shloka Khialani. While I was shopping for my mum’s outfit at Bibi London Couture, I started trying Indian outfits on myself and decided I wanted a second outfit too. Marni, who runs the boutique, was brilliant.
She saw the venue, saw my moodboard, tried a few options with me, and when I wanted changes to make it more my own, she actually FaceTimed the designer in India there and then.
My mum got a custom fusion outfit from Marni as well, which meant the older generation was reflected in how the day looked, not just the younger one.
The Reception
We had Indian canapés, dhol players as a surprise entrance to the wedding breakfast including an outfit change to a white sari for Lauren and then spice bag favours – as our cultural touches.
I used to work in a florist when I was 15 or 16. I decided to do the table and venue flowers myself, sourcing everything from Triangle Nursery. Everyone was a bit worried I’d taken on too much, doing the flowers the day before the wedding, but it turned out to be the thing that centred me.
I practised a few weeks before and dried the petals out to use as confetti. Hand flowers for the bridesmaids and buttonholes for the groomsmen came from Star and the Rose.
Kalm Kitchen did the catering. Elliot had been diagnosed with a genetic form of diabetes around ten months before the wedding, so we didn’t have a cake.
One of our favourite parts of the day was the wedding favours. Alongside my Ba (Grandma), we chose five different Indian spices and put them into little designed packets with a recipe for a veggie and meat curry for our guests.
All the stationery was drawn and designed by me, using inspiration from the Limekiln building and bar area.
We went to the showroom in London, picked out some gifts and got a feel for what was on offer. We wanted some physical items we’d keep and always remember as wedding gifts, and then there was the option for honeymoon contributions too, which felt like the perfect balance for us.
For the evening I changed into a custom white sari by Shloka Khialani. While I was shopping for my mum’s outfit at Bibi London Couture, I started trying Indian outfits on myself and decided I wanted a second outfit too. Marni, who runs the boutique, was brilliant. She saw the venue, saw my moodboard, tried a few options with me, and when I wanted changes to make it more my own, she actually FaceTimed the designer in India there and then.
My mum got a custom fusion outfit from Marni as well, which meant the older generation was reflected in how the day looked, not just the younger one.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Think about all the weddings you’ve been to previously, what your favourite bits of the days were or what you noticed yourselves and that should help you decide how to plan the day and take a bit of pressure off.
I would say I’d have checked that I’d brought all of my outfit with me. Realising I’d left my corset top in Guildford when the wedding was in Tunbridge Wells wasn’t the best moment of the day. Thankfully my cousin managed to set off early, go to our house, get the key from the key safe, let herself in and get the top from the wardrobe and arrive at the wedding venue just in time. That was one way to get all the tears you could possibly cry in one day, out of the way.
Save this wedding to your favourites
Create a FREE user account and save all your favourite content to your own personal dashboard.
Register here, it will only take a few moments – you’ll then be able to save all your favourite Love My Dress content, including real weddings, shop items, ceremony readings, inspirational editorials and recommended supplier / vendor and venue listings. Enjoy!
