On a lovely autumn day in October, Gosfield Hall welcomed Zoe, Peter and all their friends and family for what would be a memorable day for them all!
Peter popped the question to Zoe back in May 2016 while they were on holiday in Mexico (lucky girl!) on their balcony in the hotel.
When the couple first met, one of the first things she said to him was “want a Pez” and brandished a Minnie Mouse dispenser at him. This obviously stuck with Peter as he then carried around a Pez the whole trip until he presented it to her the night that it all changed…
After the holiday was over, family and friends had been told the good news, it was on to wedding planning time!
Like most Brides to be, or even those still with their fingers crossed they get asked (we all have done it!), have a Pinterest board. This is exactly what Zoe did. She knew she wanted an Autumn wedding, so started with that image in mind and then started pinning away. As she wanted it to be original and different, she didn’t look too much into what others had done, but focused on lots of different things, finally then piecing them all together.
We asked them both “what were your must have’s?”…
“We really wanted a venue that had beautiful trees so that the autumn colours would come through in our photos. I would say the other important element for me was having good music. It was so handy having an in-house DJ at Gosfield who played my personalized playlist.”
Zoe and Peter looked at about 6 venues, Gosfield Hall being one of them. We asked them why they choose to hold their ever so special day with us…
“When we saw Gosfield it was pouring down with rain and we still loved it! It was one of those situations where we walked in and had that ‘feeling’, like when you are buying a house or finding a new job.
It had everything we wanted including the beautiful grounds. The flow of the venue I could picture being fun for everyone as there were so many beautiful rooms to admire. Compared to the other venues we saw, the size of the rooms were perfect. Most wedding venues seem to have a very closed-in dining room, whereas the dining room at Gosfield was both elegant and intimate without feeling too close.”
So, the Venue was chosen, the theme had been set, the dresses had been bought and they were ready for their special day! Preparation started the night before when Zoe and the girls arrived at the Lady’s Chambers. In the morning they then started the hair and makeup process before moving on into the main house to the Rococco Suite.
Zoe then put on her dress, along with mum and the girls help, before then having some pictures of them all ready to go…
Dresses for the Bridesmaids were Zoe’s first purchase from ASOS… I think you’ll agree, they look fabulous!…
“The flowers for me personally as well were really important to me. I had something quite specific in mind so having that vision come to life was enchanting. Poppies exceeded my expectations I almost cried when they first showed me my bouquet.”
“I found my dress very early on in the process. I knew the style I wanted so the one I chose was no surprise. It was quite interesting though as I narrowed it down to two completely different dresses of which I loved both. I chose this one as it made me feel that little bit more special.”
“My three best friends Dannielle, Stephanie and Bex were my bridesmaids. Being huge filmies, I sent them all a box containing Polaroids of our favourite love movies which on the back spelt out ‘Will you be my bridesmaid?’
As I said previously, I got the girls their dresses the autumn before the wedding as burgundy was out then. I really wanted my ladies to standout and look beautiful so I chose dresses with a little sparkle. Luckily ASOS had the perfect dresses! I then got them tailored so that the fit was perfect. “
“I am so grateful to my mum for gifting me my dress and hair accessories. The beautiful hair piece was so special and went so well with the autumn theme.
My other special accessory was my pearl necklace gifted to me by Peter’s grandmother. We are both so happy she could be there as she does have difficulty seeing and hearing. Even though she didn’t see me, she could feel it on me and was so happy.
As my shoes were hidden most of the time I didn’t spend a lot of money on them at all. However they were still very pretty!”
With girls upstairs ready to go, the boys downstairs were suited and booted and ready to rock and roll! We think, if we do say so ourselves, that they look very dapper!…
“Peter had six groomsmen: James, Bob, Nick, Tom A, Tom C and Cole. In typical male style he asked them all over a game of Destiny… or something very similar!
The waistcoats for the groomsmen came quite last minute. It was a gamble pairing the grey waistcoats and the burgundy trousers as it doesn’t sound great, however it totally worked! I thought the boys looked gorgeous. The lantern button holes were just the cherry on the cake.”
Withe boys in position in the Queens Gallery, it was time for Zoe’s Dad to come and collect her to walk down the aisle…
The hard bit was over! The newly wed Mr and Mrs Anstey!
From the ceremony, it was on to photos, drinks, canapes and lots of congratulations to the happy couple!
Zoe and Peter were then taken off around the grounds with Kat, their photographer, who got some absolutely stunning pictures of themselves.
Every Bride and Groom are different when it comes to putting their own personal touches on their big day… Zoe and Peter were no exception…!
“I remember really clearly my mum and I came up with the book theme over a glass of wine in the garden in the summertime. We were having a brain storming session and mine and Peter’s love of books came up. My mum has always been an amazing visionary so we sketched (badly) what we were imagining and my dad brought it to life with his brilliant DIY skills. We made a great team! I also have Polly & Me to thank for the stunning table names and the scroll. “
It was then time to stop exploring the grounds for a little while, to then sit down and enjoy their wedding breakfast with friends and family! Followed by the always dreaded speeches…
“For the wedding breakfast we served mushroom risotto to start, lamb for main and apple and blackberry cake to finish. We had quite a few food requirements which Gosfield catered for without a sweat. Everyone commented on how delicious everything was.
The speeches were a perfect balance of emotional and humorous. Some highlights include my dad giving Peter a pendant that said ‘Circle of Trust’ – my family of four are very close knit and we always used to tease Peter that he wasn’t quite in the circle yet. Peter talking about his mum who sadly passed away when he was 11, and James (the best man) who showed us all pictures of Peter when they were at school together was hilarious! My lovely maid of honour Bex also said some heartwarming words about over a decade’s worth of fun adventures”
From the speeches, it was then down to greet their evening guests, to cut the cake and the first dance…
“The cake was always going to be made by our talented friend Nick. He is a fabulous baker and considering how complex the cake I chose was (typical me), he took it in his stride and what he created was wonderful… and delicious!!
One thing I really wanted the favours to be was useful. A lot of favours are very nice and sweet but once the day is over they just get binned or shoved in a cupboard. With the running literary theme, a bookmark just made so much sense. The quote however took me an age to decide on!”
“Our first dance was so special as it was sung magnificently by our friend Sam Hazle. We chose Jason Mraz’s ‘I Won’t Give Up’ as we both love him and the words were so relevant to how we felt about each other. We thought about choreographing a routine but decided it would be another thing to worry about!”
The sun had set on Zoe and Peter’s magical autumn wedding and all that was left was to dance the night away!
Two days after the wedding the pair jetted off to South Africa for their two week honeymoon, where we are sure they had some well deserved downtime after all the planning the most important day of their lives.
We asked the two questions;…
Based on your own experience, give us some top tips:
“I am such a perfectionist and often got too stressed about the littlest things. I would say my biggest tip is: think about what you want and not want is going to impress your guests. Keep things simple and you don’t always have to listen to other people’s advice.”
“If we could do it all again, we’d…”
“Have a Viking themed wedding with fur and bonfires!”
Congratulations to you both and here at Gosfield, we wish you all the best for the future and a long and happy life together!
Credits:
- Bridal Dress – Matchmaker Bride
- Accessories – Matchmaker Bride
- Flowers – Poppies Floral Design
- Bridesmaid Dresses – ASOS
- Other Outfits – Walker & Slater
- Wedding Rings – Browns
- Wedding Cake – Nick Meakin
- Invitations – Norma and Dorothy
- Photographer – Katerina Antosova Photography
- Wedding Favours – Red Bows
- Table displays – Polly & Me
