We’re delighted to share Ella and Matt’s beautiful spring wedding with you today, held over Easter weekend at the beautiful Homme House, a family-owned country house in Much Marcle, Herefordshire. Photographed by our lovely directory member Marta May Photography, this is a wedding full of gorgeous spring colour.
Ella wore a romantic lace gown by Milla Nova, purchased from Pure Couture in Beaconsfield, which suited the vintage character of the house beautifully. The bridesmaids wore soft mocha dresses from Coast alongside Matt and his groomsmen in navy, with colourful spring flowers by Lilac & Willow.
Family played a big part in this wedding too, and Ella shares more about all the personal touches in her own words. It’s a classic English country house wedding, and I’m very happy to be sharing it with you.
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The Venue & Location
We married at Homme House in Much Marcle, Herefordshire, England. Choosing a venue was a bit tricky as we live in Chester, my family live outside of London and Matt’s family are in Preston and Nottingham, so we tried to consider a venue which was not too far from those areas.
We also focused our search on venues with no corkage for drinks throughout the day. Matt’s dad kindly ordered drinks via his work which allowed us to have an open bar. We found Homme House on hitched.co.uk list of no corkage venues (actually I think it was my brother who sent it to me!).
We viewed Homme House after having viewed another couple of venues and found it to be perfect for us.
If anyone has been to Homme House they will know what an incredible venue it is for so many reasons, but ultimately Charlie and Sarah are what make it, with their outstanding organisational skills and professionalism and we feel very lucky to have stumbled across it. The beautiful Herefordshire countryside setting and the picturesque gardens and summer house feel very special.
The house itself works brilliantly for weddings (with a separate ceremony room, dining room and library) and because it’s a family home, doesn’t have the feeling of a purpose-built wedding venue. It has rooms on site for many people to stay including a separate coach house enabling us to have a smaller dinner with family and the bridal party the night before. No other venue that we visited compared and I am really not sure what we would have done if we hadn’t found Homme House!
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The Dress
Milla Nova
I bought my Milla Nova dress from Pure Couture in Beaconsfield. I chose them as they were a stockist of the designer I liked and I wouldn’t have found my dress without going there, as I didn’t end up getting the dress I initially went for!
They were very helpful with regards to what alterations could be made, as they have an in-house seamstress which made things much easier. I also went to What Alice Wore in St Albans and they were very helpful too, I just didn’t quite find the right dress but had a lovely experience there.
I did have quite a clear idea of the type of style I wanted (A-line/ball gown) and I also liked the idea of lace as both my mum and grandma wore lace on their wedding day. I had seen a Milla Nova dress that was luckily available in a shop near my parents’ house. I tried it on and did like it but it would have needed lots of alterations.
I then tried on my dress and it seemed to have all the elements I loved of the first dress but without needing to make as many alterations, allowing me to envisage how I would look on the day. It was also very comfortable and had pockets which came in handy!
I liked that it was a unique dress but still felt quite classic and timeless. I loved the nude underlay to the dress and the corset top. I did ask my mother-in-law if she liked my dress and she said, ‘it’s you!’, which I think is the best compliment you can receive.
I bought a veil from the bridal shop (a simple ivory short veil) as both my mum and grandma said I needed a veil for tradition’s sake (I wasn’t sure but thought I might change my mind)! However, on the day, I felt a little bit like I was in fancy dress so chose not to wear it.
I wore nude suede heeled sandals which I have had for years so I knew they were comfortable and I could last most of the day in them (before the flip flops came on)!
I did consider buying new shoes but I think you can get caught up in buying lots of things new for weddings and there’s really no need if what you already have works for you.
I wore a sparkly hair clip that I borrowed from my mum, she bought it from Anthropologie. I think I probably wore my normal perfume (Alien by Thierry Mugler), to be honest the morning was a bit of a blur!
For the evening, I had a gold clutch bag from Bond & Mason, which I had bought years before but never worn. It’s gold with embellishment and I think complemented the lace on my dress well.
I wore Swarovski crystal stud earrings as they are simple and I do not usually wear a lot of jewellery, so wanted to still feel like myself. I also didn’t want to detract from the dress.
I had three bridesmaids and we bought the dresses from Coast. The colour was a pale pink/nude called ‘mocha’ and this co-ordinated well with the nude in my dress, the spring colours in the flowers and was a good contrast for the navy suits. The girls chose their preferred style as there were lots of options available in the mocha shade.
I arranged hair and make-up through Tash at Margot & Lace who did our make-up and Tot did our hair. Tash is such a lovely person and made my mum and I feel very comfortable straightaway at the make-up trial (including luckily finding my engagement ring which I accidentally lost at the trial!)
I wasn’t able to fit in a hair trial but Tot understood what I wanted completely and I actually got quite emotional after she did my hair on the day because it was exactly what I hoped for. They made us all feel very relaxed on the wedding morning and we all really enjoyed getting together.
As for my bridesmaids, they wore their own shoes and jewellery to complement the dresses and all looked beautiful. The flower girl was my cousin’s daughter Elsie and she wore a dress made by our great-grandmother for my mum’s Communion. It was very special for her to wear a dress which had been passed down and made by a family member; we had it shortened and fitted to her and she looked gorgeous!
My two nephews were the page boys and my sister-in-law found lovely outfits from Next which coordinated nicely with the groomsmen; they looked adorable.
Matt wore a navy tuxedo from Charles Tyrwhitt. With it, he wore an inscribed pocket watch which was a gift from his groomsmen. He also wore a gold pocket square from Moss Bros.
The Ceremony
My dad walked me down the aisle; I was incredibly nervous beforehand and have since been told that I sped down the aisle and left him for dust!
I walked down the aisle to an acoustic cover of Just Like Heaven by The Cure. We were very lucky that Jack and Tee had a wonderful selection of songs and learnt a song of our choosing. We both like the song and thought it set the tone for the ceremony and the rest of the day.
Our ceremony was led by a registrar from Hereford Registry Office.
After we booked the ceremony with Hereford Registry Office, we were sent different vow options and to be honest we chose the shortest ones! We spent longer on choosing the music for the ceremony as this was more meaningful to us.
During the signing of the register, we had Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash (a tribute to my grandmother who has passed away as she loved that song) and Hey Jude by the Beatles (my other grandmother is called Judy).
We didn’t have any readings as we wanted to keep the ceremony short and sweet!
My wedding band was from Angelic Diamonds; it is a very slim rose gold band with three mini diamonds. Matt’s yellow gold wedding band is from H. Samuel. We have to be a bit careful with wearing rings at work as they usually have to be a plain band, so this did the job!
The Photographer
Marta May
We chose our photographers as they were a recommended supplier of Homme House. We had a zoom call with Marta and Artur and bonded with them instantly as they are extremely warm and friendly.
They are familiar with the venue which made things run very smoothly on the day. We were able to obtain some lovely family shots, which was very important to us, and even a shot of the whole wedding party! They made us feel very comfortable on the day and we would fully recommend them.
Our photographers were also our videographers, very happy for Marta and Artur to share the link to the video. We also collated a wedding video put together of clips we received from family and friends which showed another perspective of the day.
How They Met
We met in 2018 when Matt was studying in Liverpool and I was studying in Leeds. We were together for a couple of years before we were in the same place, as Matt qualified a couple of years before me.
We moved to Chester in 2020 (at the start of lockdown) and have stayed there since, as we luckily both got training jobs in the area. We got engaged on holiday in Porto in July 2023 and had roughly tw years to plan the wedding.
As we were staying at the venue we didn’t need transportation but our family member very kindly offered one of their cars for photos at the venue. It is a vintage Bentley and is called a Doctor’s coupé which was very fitting for us! It provided an amazing backdrop for photos and we are very grateful.
The Reception
Another thank you to my mum for helping us with her creative talents! We bought mirrors to sit in the centre of the table with the flowers sitting on top and some nude candles from Søstrene Grene. We also printed off photos from over the years of us and our guests, which I think provided a good talking point during the meal.
In the library, we displayed old wedding photos from grandparents and great-grandparents in photo frames we bought from charity shops. We also found an old newspaper article from my paternal great-grandparents when they celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary, which also happened to be on Easter weekend!
We chose Your Plate or Mine Catering (YPOM) as it was a recommended supplier for Homme House and are so happy we did. They offered a very competitively priced menu and were happy to make adaptations to our preferences. We added extra canapes (as that’s our favourite part!) and changed the vegetarian option to a mushroom wellington which was delicious.
The baked camembert starter and chocolate fondant dessert were particular highlights. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to try the evening food as I think I was too busy on the dance floor, but I have heard it went down very well!
Another thank you to my mum for helping us with her creative talents! We bought mirrors to sit in the centre of the table with the flowers sitting on top and some nude candles from Søstrene Grene. We also printed off photos from over the years of us and our guests, which I think provided a good talking point during the meal.
In the library, we displayed old wedding photos from grandparents and great-grandparents in photo frames we bought from charity shops. We also found an old newspaper article from my paternal great-grandparents when they celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary, which also happened to be on Easter weekend!My mum is a wonderful baker and we were very lucky that she offered to make our wedding cake (she also made my brother’s)!
It was a fruit cake and we decorated it with fresh flowers the day before with help from my bridesmaids and sister-in-law.
I contacted a designer, Rankin Editions, via Instagram as I saw that they had previously designed some stationery for Homme House. I used the designs to create the invitations, menus and order of the day and printed them via Zazzle. It was a bit fiddly but definitely worth the saving in cost. My mum handwrote the table plan and name places, which we displayed in upside down wine corks. We bought a large mirror and a vintage frame from charity shops to display the table plan and order of the day. They looked a little handmade but were a fraction of the cost and more sustainable.
We used a florist called Lilac & Willow which is based in Battlers Green farm in Hertfordshire. My mum has got flowers from there before and asked if it would be possible for them to arrange flowers in bouquets which we could transport to the venue ourselves. Homme House has a garage available to store the flowers and Sarah moved them to the tables the morning of the wedding. Lilac & Willow were very accommodating and helpful throughout the process.
I asked for different spring colours but I wasn’t quite sure what it would look like until I saw them. The day we collected the flowers was quite stressful as we had to collect the van, drive to pick up the flowers and then onto Herefordshire. When they showed me the flowers I initially thought they were someone else’s and thought how beautiful they were, then realised they were mine and felt very lucky! The flowers were absolutely stunning and I couldn’t recommend the florist enough. The Miss Piggy roses were my favourite. They have an orange centre and pink on the outer petals, we used those for the buttonholes and the middle of my bouquet.
Entertainment
We prioritised music as our main form of entertainment, with live music at the ceremony and evening reception and a DJ, but we did have croquet available during the drinks reception which was fun for the younger guests.
We hired an acoustic duo called Jack and Tee to play before and after the ceremony and during the drinks reception. They were fantastic and provided a relaxed atmosphere for the start of the day.
We had a live band, Three Scots and a Barman, and a DJ in the evening, playing alternating sets so the dance floor was always busy. Our DJ Matt Healey was really friendly and helped MC the evening. He also let us choose some of our own songs to play in between the band sets. The band were excellent and I think the full dance floor speaks for itself!
We chose Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows as we both like the song (and the scene in Shrek 2 of course) and we wanted a more upbeat, fun first dance song which people could join in with. Although I did not really enjoy being the centre of attention during the first dance itself! It only occurred to me a few weeks before the wedding that we didn’t actually have to have a first dance, but the timings had already been sent to the suppliers by that point so I had to get on with it!
Words of Wedded Wisdom
This is a tricky one as I think everyone does things differently. I think the hardest part of planning the wedding for me (aside from doing it amongst busy hospital shifts!) was the number of decisions you have to make, and this can become overwhelming.
I am quite an organised person so did get a fair bit sorted in good time. However, closer to the time there are lots of finer details to sort (a lot of which you probably won’t have even thought of, so won’t have made it on the list!)
I made a timeline of what needed to be decided by when, on a week-by-week basis in the last few months and stuck to it which was very helpful in committing to making the different planning decisions.
I would also advise getting a DJ, we were worried that this may be an unnecessary expense, but the lead singer of our band was ill the day of the wedding (they found cover so it was all OK in the end). However, if they hadn’t been able to find cover, we wouldn’t have had any evening music (and no time to sort it on the morning of the wedding) so having a DJ is a great safety-net. It also helped that our DJ was brilliant and kept the party going after the band finished.
Upon reflection, maybe try to enjoy the wedding planning process a bit more as sometimes it did feel like ticking tasks off a list. Overall, we are very happy with how the day went; I would recommend trying to do it over a weekend if you can as it feels less rushed and you can enjoy more time with family and friends. Oh also, make sure you try the evening food!
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