About The Couple

We first met in 2011 during our University years at Plymouth. Emily had gone out for the evening to see the illusionist Darren Brown with her housemates. Later that day through a mutual friend, we were introduced to each other and that's when our story started! Aside from her obvious good looks, within only a few minutes of speaking, I knew that there was something more here between us. We enjoyed an evening of chatting and drinks and never stopped seeing each since! From this day we have shared over a decade of memories and milestones including graduations, landing our first professional jobs, buying our first house together and travelling the world side by side. None of which would have been possible without our attentiveness to one another and the love we share.

Popping The Question

Like all grooms, I had always wanted to make the proposal special and memorable for us and I had an idea in mind for a while. We had talked about doing a hot air balloon ride together but life always got in the way and we never got around to it, or so she thought. I had been planning it for months in secret and had received the blessing from Emily’s dad earlier in the year...

After awkwardly getting down on one knee in the tiny basket, I prompted her to turn. Hundreds of feet in the air, wind gusting, fire billowing overhead, I have never made things easy for myself. Though when it came to the ultimate question, any nerves or fear just faded away. I had never been so sure of anything more, and when she said yes it remains one of the best moments of my life. 

Choosing The Venue

Berwick Lodge is quiet simply breath-taking! It is reviewed often as a "hidden gem" and more than lives up to its title. We found this wonderful place in Jan 23 on one of their open events and instantly fell in love with the gorgeous building, stunning grounds and most of all the people. We spent 18 months planning our wedding day and the level of care, service and quality of its wonderful staff is second to none. On the day, everything went off without a hitch, food and drinks all superb, rooms of the highest standard and care from the staff was amazing.

Wedding Day Q&A

• What did you wear?

I wore a Marc Darcy, 3-piece suit, in Navy Blue from Bakers of Bond Street, Yeovil. Accessorised with Goor dark brown brogues shoes; purple floral patterned tie and pocket square; sterling silver, Arion hammered silver cufflinks & tie clip from Corazon Latino; and a Tudor Black Bay 58 watch. The groomsman also wore a similar navy suit but different texture to the groom to show distinction.

• What outfit did the bride wear?

The bride wore the 'Casandra' by Luna Novias - the style was a mermaid/fit and flair, lace wedding dress with a leaf design, v-neckline, open back, and with glitter tulle overskirt (to be removed to create a 2 in 1 dress for the evening dancing). Accessorised with a gold leaf and pearl hair clip; pearl bracelet from Liberty-in-Love; pearl drop earrings from Accessorise; 'Cinta' shoes from Paradox London which had block heel and ivory satin with diamante trim. The bridesmaids wore matching navy blue, Bardot draped, high leg split maxi dresses.

• How did you feel on the day?

As we have been together for a long time and put so much effort into the preparations we were both super calm, so much so our guest were a little worried on our behalf. The main feeling we both felt was pure joy, the feeling of happiness that it had all come together, the way our vision had finally come into being. The little details only we knew about for months made real, seeing the statement pieces brought to life, having all our closest friends and family there to see it all and celebrate with us, was just pure joy.   

• Did you have a wedding cake?

Yes, Joanna, who we met at a Wedding Fayre at Berwick Lodge, she is a lovely person and was so accommodating to work with our cake vision. For our 3 tier cake, our chosen flavours were signature chocolate, orange & passionfruit and strawberry & champagne. Our Cake Meadow design was inspired by the wedding dress design (climbing leaves), which was so lovely to have that flow and mirror on the cake. We chose asymmetrical layers to give it a modern look and to show the design better. We also chose to keep the colour pure white to stay elegant and to work with the pastel colours of the flowers halo'ed beneath it. It was just so perfect!

• Can you tell us about your florals for the day?

We opted for a back meadow, urns, table & sign flowers, bouquets and our statement piece our cake meadow, all in pastels - Pinks, Creams and Purples. Louise worked closely with our cake supplier to ensure this looked amazing and our guests couldn't stop talking about it! We are so pleased with how everything turned out.

• Can you tell us about your food options?

The food and drink is exquisite! From the selection of five canapés for our reception, the wedding breakfast (fishcake starter, sorbet, lamb main and chocolate fondant dessert) and evening food (sausage baps and s'mores). All were delicious, tailored for us and presented beautifully. The chefs, kitchen and waiting staff deserve such high praise for not only the quality of the meal but their attentiveness to our guests throughout the day and night making sure everything was on time and glasses were always kept topped up. Just excellent.

• How did you entertain your guests?

We were very fortunate with the weather and always enjoy a good lawn game, so we provided along with the venue several activities, including boules, croquet, darts, badminton and giant Jenga which all went down real well alongside the canapés and drinks. Our main entertainment throughout the day though was the band The SideKicks and Tawsax. What can we say about this band? Simply put they're awesome! We chose a package that included Mike & Chloe as a duet during our ceremony, followed by an acoustic set during our reception drinks. Mike, Neil & Ed then played out our first dance perfectly and got everyone on the dance floor from that point on to the end of the night. 

• What part stood out the most?

On such a brilliant day, its hard to narrow down the best parts… However, it would be the reveal to Emily’s Dad, he was made up seeing his first born looking so beautiful and happy. Honourable mentions for the speeches. They all got everyone in tears and laughing, their words were beautiful and heartfelt, acknowledged everyone in the room and how they had all got us to that moment and made us feel so special.

• Any funny stories or unusual anecdotes?

Our photographer Alicia was sensational, but what made her so great was her relaxed nature and rapport with all our guests making them feel so at ease having their photos taken and making each one candid and fun. We had a couple of great ones taken where I was thrown in the air by my stag party and the shots look fantastic. 

• Who or what made your day extra special?

The wedding day was faultless, made possible by many people but most of all Georgia Bradley. She is incredible in all ways possible, everything you could want in a wedding co-ordinator and made our day so special. Her support during the entire planning stage was professional but above all caring, helping to make our day unique and exactly how we hoped. The seamless execution of the day was flawless down to the hard work and friendliness of all the staff who are fantastic. Special mention to Tan our restaurant manager for the brilliant running of the wedding breakfast and evening event and Sarah the owner of the venue for bringing such a high quality and beautiful aesthetic to Berwick Lodge, and being there on the day to share the celebrations. Thank you all for making our day so memorable.

• Did you honeymoon anywhere?

We took a short mini-moon to Sardinia for 4 nights a couple of days after our wedding. It was great to have a bit of time to decompress and let everything sink in whilst relaxing by the pool or at the beach, cocktail in hand looking through our lovely photos. 

Wedding Planning Top Tip

Be clear with and trust in your suppliers to do what is best for you. Inspiration is great but you don’t need everything, just what matters and means something to you. Be as prepared as you can be and hope for the best but there will always be things that will happen out of your control. Your loved ones should get you through the build-up and if something doesn’t work out as planned on the day, just roll with it. Something as unpredictable as the rain, especially in Britain, should not be a reason for the best day of your life to be dampened, excuse the pun. The most important thing is you are both there, with each other, for each other and nothing can ruin that moment for you. Be present on the day with your guests, take time to talk to them where you can as it will pass in a flash but take a minute to be together just the two of you and take it all in. You did something so special so make sure you enjoy it!

Supplier Shout-out

• Venue - Berwick Lodge
• Bride’s dress – Rachel Ash Bridal
• Groom's suit –  Bakers of Bond Street (Yeovil)
• Make-up - Roxie Makeup
• Hair - Amelia Carmela 
• Photographer – Red Maple Photography
• Wedding cake – Joanna Pyda Cake Studio
• Flowers – Loubee Floral Designs
• Entertainment – Sidekicks (Missing Cat Trio)
• Stationery – Elle Bee Design / Papier