An English Country Garden Wedding At Home

Alexis Wedding & Event Planning

I have been fortunate to have travelled all over the world but, there is something rather special about a true English country garden that captures the heart and soul. When we first stepped into the gardens, we knew we had to incorporate them within the overall design of the marquee & wedding.

The garden was brimming with natural greenery, there was a stream that ran through the centre, box hedging and apple trees. There was also an abundance of white roses. We decided upon a green and white colour theme to create the feeling of the garden encroaching and growing within the tent itself.

Vogue Wedding Films @vogueweddingfilms

We wanted to create the feeling that the marquee had always been there and the garden had grown around and within it. It was a typical English country garden full of British flowers, shrubs and trees with a real magic and enchanted feel to it.

An English Country Garden Wedding At Home

The couple wanted something very elegant & timeless and so we introduced the black and white elements to really make the florals and overall whiteness really pop! The men were dressed in black tie, so we wanted to create a very classic vibe which we did through the entertainment, styling items & menu.

Greta (the bride) and her mother and two sisters found her dress in a bridal atelier only a few miles from their home Wedding Belles in Four Oaks. She chose a truly classic silhouette, white satin from the British designer Alan Hannah. She said she
knew it was hers the moment she saw it.

There were 4 bridesmaids, the bride’s two sisters and her two best friends. Greta had always wanted to have ivory bridesmaid dresses, which most brides want to swerve for a more contrasting colour. But this is Greta all over, she loved to do things differently and wasn’t worried about what anyone else would think, she knew it was a great move.

And it really was! The bridesmaids were all accompanied by their groomsmen all dressed in black tie and it looked magical! All four had their own specific needs in terms of sizing, shape & found that Meshki offered this and they were all delighted with their dress. White gloves to dress was an essential though!

An English Country Garden Wedding At Home

James the groom along with his bestman and three groomsmen, fathers of the bride (there were two) and father of the groom all were dressed in black tie and created a real striking look. It elevated the whole look and feel of the day, it was elegance at its best.

An English Country Garden Wedding At Home

The couple worked alongside a local catering company The Cornerstone Kitchen to create a menu that they loved and knew their guests would enjoy too. They opted for a very British (keeping within the theme!) menu. It consisted of: British Smoked Salmon served with Sour Cream & Herbs, Roast British Chicken with Confit Leeks, Mash & Chicken Jus, Strawberry Eton Mess.

The wines were carefully chosen by the family who also run a beautiful restaurant. They opted for Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, Rouge De Leouve Organic & a Leouve Organic Rose called Love (so befitting for the day!) The red and blush wines were from a local wine producer in the Cotswolds.

There was a beautiful drinks menu that included Cotswolds Dry Gin & Hedgerow Gin too! The couple chose to have a champagne tower which we set up with glass coupes
and plenty of fizz! We kept the marquee clean and fresh with white walls and ceiling and an off-white carpet. The cloths were also a textured white along with the napkins.

However, we lifted this with black to create that timeless elegance. We used black cutlery (which the bride was initially very hesitant about), black menus on each table, black table numbers. Each guest’s place setting was carefully curated by Junie Poonie with a napkin, menu & personal place name which was created in a frosted material with silk black ribbon and black classic typeface. There were favours for all the ladies, a simple white box wrapped in black silk ribbon (a personal scented personalised candle lay inside).

An English Country Garden Wedding At Home

The bar was a simple white wooden bar created specifically to fit within the elegant vibe we wanted to create. The floral designs were created by the ever-talented Amy at Ava Event Styling who specialises in British flowers and tented events. Amy created the concept for the top table, to frame it, to create a wow factor when guests entered the tent. It truly did that and more. By creating zones for the tent, Amy used florals to help do this, creating archways from the entrance into the tent itself, to the evening party area and to the dining space. The florals on the 20 guest tables were there to create impact and interest, so we mixed up the large full height installations with the low full florals and candle designs. All were created with guest interaction in mind (there is nothing worse than a huge centrepiece blocking your vision to the other half of the table!)

Outside by the lake, we placed pretty white parasols and seating areas for guests to enjoy and take shade from our hottest June on record! Amy also adorned the front door to their home which framed Greta as she left to go to church that morning and then later for the champagne tower.

An English Country Garden Wedding At Home

Amy used British flowers as much as possible, however there were certain flowers that in terms of quantity she needed to order from abroad. Amy and her team spent 4 days on site building the floral structures you see in the photos and many more days in the workshop prepping and creating!

The incredibly talented Ben The Cake Man (again local to the couple) was the only guy who was up to the challenge. His amazing sugar flowers were something we wanted to bring to the design, to match the florals within the tent and the garden. He did not let us down. The cake was placed at the end of the box hedging so as guests entered the tent it was the first thing they saw, we simply couldn’t put it anywhere else. It was a truly incredible piece of art, five tiers covered in white icing adorned with sugar flowers – peonies, roses, delphiniums and plenty of greenery too.

An English Country Garden Wedding At Home

It was sat on a black edged cake board and beautiful silver cake stand. It didn’t just take your breath away to look at, the taste was delicious with various flavours – lemon, chocolate truffle & Victoria sponge.

Greta and James wanted to marry in church. They had initially booked their local church just a few minutes drive from the family home. Just 8 weeks before the wedding day and after the invitations had been issued to all guests, the church became unavailable. We then had a challenge on our hands, to find a church nearby that would host 200 guests. But we did it! And the Holy Trinity RC Church in Sutton Coldfield was simply beautiful.

An English Country Garden Wedding At Home

The couple chose a full mass service and Father Michael brought humour and magic to their ceremony. Greta walked down the aisle accompanied by her father to The Blowers Daughter which was played by the harp and flute which sounded divine in this grand church. Greta wanted all those special to her and James to be a part of their marriage ceremony; her sister Mia read ‘Love Is’ Corinthians and her step father read the Bidding Prayers along with her father too, a beautiful blended family touch. The mothers were invited to take part as they all held hands during the Lighting of the Candles. And James & Greta once married walked back down the aisle to the song that has come to be their wedding theme – Always Remember Us This Way (Lady Ga Ga) again by harp and flute.

This was a truly unique wedding with a huge blended family – both the bride and groom had divorced parents, three sets had remarried with more children. It was interesting creating the top table and our family planning evenings will go down in history! It was beautiful to see how they all supported and cared for each other, all involved in both the planning & the day itself. The dads shared readings, the mum’s shared tasks and advice. It was a joy to be a part of.

An English Country Garden Wedding At Home

Greta has a Greek Cypriot heritage, her grandfather had recently passed and was the patriarch of the family. Therefore, we weaved in a number of Greek traditions and a nod or two to her family. We served Greek Gyros during the evening party, Zorba the Greek was played during the evening party where everyone got involved (there may have been a few slips and glasses broken!) and to give her grandfather a real sense of presence at the wedding, we created a small gratitude table with photographs and guest books.

An English Country Garden Wedding At Home

In the early stages of planning, I was sent a message from James the groom, to say he had met a violinist in the streets of Marbella and he hired him there and then to play at the wedding! As you can imagine, this did not fill me with confidence and I

wasn’t sure whether he would be contactable, whether he was any good….. however, it was the best thing James stumbled on that day in Marbella for Nino really brought the party! Having played for Ministry of Sound, Cartier & O Beach, Ibiza, Nino was unforgettable.

Suppliers

Event Planner: Alexis Wedding & Event Planning @alexisweddingandeventplanning
Photography: Catherine Bradley Photography @catherinebradleyphotography
Cinematography: Vogue Wedding Films @vogueweddingfilms
Catering: Cornerstone Kitchen @thecornerstonekitchen
Invitations & Stationery: Junie Poonie @junie_poonie
Wedding Dress: Alan Hannah @alanhannahbridal
Stockist: Wedding Belles @weddingbelles_4oaks
Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo @jimmychoo
Bride’s Evening Dress: Nadine Merabi @nadinemerabi
Bride’s Veil: Savin @houseofsavin
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Meshki @meshki
Groom’s Shoes: Christian Louboutin @louboutinworld
Floral Design: Ava Event Styling @avaeventstyling
Wedding Cake: Ben The Cake Man @benthecakeman
DJ: Jukebox DJ Company @jukeboxdjcompany
Hair Stylist: The Bridal Hair Specialist @bridalhairspecialists
MUA: Minnie Bella @minnie.bella.makeup
Live Band: Real Love by Entertainment Nation @entertainmentnationuk
Singer: Ali Weddings @aliweddings
Acoustic Guitarist: Ben Drummond @benson6
Marquee Provider: DJ Marquees @djmarquees
Favours: The Cotswold Candle Company @cotswoldcandlecompany
Tableware: Options Greathire @optionsgreathire
Chairs: Chairman Hire @chairmanhireuk
Sax Player: Andy Sax @andysaxuk
Violin Performer: Nino @ninoviolin

British Flowers: Anna Brown Flowers @annabrownflowers
Imported Flowers: Q Flowers Wholesale @qflowerswholesale
Linens: The Linen Hire @thelinenhire