What started with a flower filled hotel room in Mexico led to a stunning Georgian mansion in Essex…
Tell us about the proposal – how and where did it happen?
Charlie proposed to me while we were away in Mexico, Tulum. When we landed he had arranged for the staff at the hotel to decorate our room with petals, flowers and balloons saying “marry me” as well as the jacuzzi being filled with bubbles and more petals.
What was your first step in planning your wedding, did you use blogs/magazines etc?
The first step with our wedding planning was finding the right venue. We went to over 10 venues and Gosfield Hall was our favourite. I had done a lot of research online and on social media to find things which I thought would be our vibe.
What were your wedding “must have’s”?
Our must haves were having accommodation for myself the night before and accommodation for everyone for the night of the wedding, and we wanted a venue that was just as beautiful inside as it is out, just in case in rained. Having the perfect photographer and videographer was really important so we would have our memories to look back on, and lastly to have really good communications with the suppliers
Wedding budget: how did you organise your wedding budget?
We sat down and worked out how much we could save every month between getting engaged and our wedding, and then set that our budget. It was important for us, we didn’t get into any debt.
How did you find your venue and what made you choose it?
We had done lots of research and we went to many different type of venues including barns, small manor houses, churches and estate homes. We fell in love with Gosfield Hall and it had such a traditional yet modern feel to it. Charlie absolutely loved the dark wood and the older feel and I loved the big windows and the beautiful grounds. We also chose this venue after our first interaction with Linda Bryant, she was very honest and helped bring our vision to life and extremely knowledgeable which gave us confidence in what she was saying.
Styling your wedding: how did you personalise your big day?
Our theme was calm greenery with sage greens and different textures and we had personalised welcome signs and seating charts to match. Our key personal touch was hand written notes to each of our guests with images of both Charlie and I and the specific guest, placed in an envelope with their name tag stuck on the front with sage green silk ribbon. We also opted for the candle package throughout the whole venue and the blossom trees in our ceremony room and dining area. Our cake was a buttercream cake with flavoured tiers, strawberry and champagne, cherry bakewell and red velvet with matching flowers throughout.
Did the venue provide any memorable extras or nice personal touches that stood out?
So many small things. Faye our Personal Wedding Manager was just absolutely incredible. You almost wish she could plan every single event in your life! She was on standby and always knew when we needed her, from grabbing us drinks and putting canapés to the side, to boxing some spare wedding cake away for us to take home. She was even being there the following morning to see us out!
Overall the staff were all amazing, and it genuinely made our day even more magical. The bar staff were engaging, fast, happy! And the night manager Gary, even he spoke to us for hours after our wedding had come to an end.
You just felt so looked after and like everyone had known each other for ages. The bar staff also took a video on a guests phone of our last dance because I had mentioned how I was so looking forward to it.
Describe your wedding attire and favorite accessories
I envisioned myself being in a traditional lace dress however I went for ruffles. I felt amazing from the second I tried it on in the shop, I loved it. My favourite accessories would have been my shoes, they were so simple but had a lovely bit of detail and also so comfy… and I would say my nomination bracelet. I wear it everyday and it was a gift from Charlie and he buys me new charms on every special occasion so is very sentimental to me.
What did your partner wear?
Charlie chose his outfit, however I signed it off!! It was a beige/cream coloured blazer with navy trousers! And then the groomsmen matched with the navy along with the sage green ties. He looked very handsome! Fitted great and he looked perfect.
Tell us about your wedding party and their outfits
I had my 2 younger sisters as my Bridesmaids and my closest friend as my Maid Of Honor. I had asked my younger sisters with a card asking if they would be my bridesmaid with a bracelet and for my Maid Of Honor I wrote a personal letter to her explaining how much she means to me and why I wanted her to be apart of our special day as well as giving her a robe with Maid Of Honor on the back.
What was your ceremony like?
Our ceremony was beautiful, with 70 guests in attendance. We asked Charlie’s Aunty to do a reading for us. We had chosen special music while walking down the aisle, signing documents and walking back up the aisle as husband and wife. I walked down the Aisle by myself.
Tell us about your drinks reception and wedding breakfast
For our welcome drinks we chose a selection of cocktails and mocktails for our guests to enjoy. And the wedding breakfast food was amazing, we chose a meat and vegetarian option for our guests. our choices were mozzarella and salad & prawn cocktail for starters a vegetable wellington or beef wellington for the mains and then rounded off with a creme brulee or fudge cake for dessert.
Did you have a band or DJ for your evening reception? Did you have a first dance – what song did you choose?
We had your venue DJ Pete Chapman. We did supply a list with over 10 hours worth of music but gave him free rein with what he wanted to play and when. We chose “u can’t help falling in love” by Hailey Reinhart for our first dance song
Based on your own experience, give us some top tips:
Some of my top tips would be to keep an excel document of all suppliers and how much each one is costing, as well as deposits paid and when remainder is due this will help keep you on top of everything including budgets. When it comes to paying the final payment to the venue it can be a large amount so I recommend contacting your bank 24 hours prior so they are aware as they may freeze your payment going through, and no one wants that worry!
If there is anything which you know can be done even if it seems a long way off from your wedding (name tags or personalised bits) just do it… it can save so much stress.
Did you go on a honeymoon or mini-moon?
We went on our honeymoon the night after our wedding. We flew to Bali for two weeks and then on to Dubai for another week. In Bali we did a lot of excursions ranging from silver ring making to cooking classes, climbing mountains to see the 6am sunrise to swimming with dolphins and of course many dinners out and chilling around the pool. Then Dubai was the relaxed part of our honeymoon we chilled, drank and ate and went on a couple of adventures, visiting the dessert to ride camels, sand boarding and safari drive.
“If we could do it all again, we’d…”
Spend more time with guest during canapés and reduce photo time by 30-40 minutes as we felt we didn’t get to see guests a lot throughout the day.
Wedding Attire:
Wedding Dress: Together Forever Brides
Groom/Groomsmen: Dapper Chaps
Bridesmaids: JJs House
Brides Shoes: Rainbow
Other Suppliers
Wedding Rings – Coo Jewellers
Wedding Cake: Lottie & James
Photographer: Neil Bailey
Florist: Elegance of Essex
