Marina & Jimmy’s Wedding at Iscoyd Park

The couple exchanged vows in a church ceremony before transitioning to the breathtaking Iscoyd Park, a historic family estate that has graced the Godsal family since 1843. Owned by Marina’s brother Phil and sister-in-law Susie, Iscoyd Park became the quintessential backdrop for their celebration. Infused with colourful, modern-vintage styling, the event exuded a distinct English charm—a perfect culmination of heritage and contemporary in the heart of this historic family home.

Marina says…

I must be the luckiest sister in the world as Iscoyd Park is owned by my incredibly talented brother Phil and my equally amazing sister-in-law Susie. I have dreamt of getting married there since it was transformed into the beautiful venue it is today. Jimmy and I got engaged at Christmas, and amongst the chaos of family festivities, Phil and I looked at the calendar, and miraculously, there was availability for 3rd June. Not only was this the summer wedding we had hoped for, but it was also the second weekend of half term, and, as a teacher, this filled me with joy… A relaxed week leading up to the best day of my life!

I loved getting my bridesmaids, sister and mum involved in the dress search and with quite a limited time frame of 5 months, there weren’t many designers who would accept an order, so I went to boutiques that sold a range of designers, and this meant I tried a huge variety of styles. I loved the experience of trying dresses at Miss Bush Bridal in Surrey, a beautifully converted chapel on a lovely village high street. Ultimately, I found my dream dress at Mews Bridal in Notting Hill by a French designer called Caroline Takvorian. I absolutely loved the lace detail and the silk crepe fabric, which made it feel natural and comfortable to wear. It was the perfect dress to match the summer garden theme of the day. Our photos and video have captured it amazingly well.

My little bridesmaid wore a vintage Anthea Moore Ede smocked dress in a blue floral pattern, which I had worn to children’s parties when I was younger. The two pageboys wore duck egg cotton shorts from John Lewis, collarless white linen shirts from Trotters and navy blue Hamptons canvas shoes.

My adult bridesmaids wore various dresses, all different brands, colours and styles. I gave each bridesmaid two colours to choose from according to what I thought would suit them best, and then the rest of the brief was ‘find a floral dress’! After lots of searching online, all the dresses were from high street brands, much to Jimmy’s delight when I asked for his opinion on every option/variation!

When we got engaged, I had Covid, unfortunately (long story!), but this meant I had plenty of time to save some Instagram posts, read plenty of blogs and create a Pinterest board. I wasn’t a bride who wished for a dream day from age five and was pretty clueless. I decided (and Jimmy agreed!) that colour would be the way forward, and lots of it! Each of my six adult bridesmaids wore a different colour dress, the flowers were a mix of wild and traditional, and the tables were rustic with pops of colour from the candles. Nothing needed to match, and it all just flowed well.

When Iscoyd was confirmed as the venue, my mum and I fully agreed that we wanted Selina to do the flowers. Every time we have visited Iscoyd on family occasions, we have loved the beautiful arrangements she creates with lots of greenery, wildflowers and bold colours. Selina was very patient when going through all my inspiration from Instagram! We loved the relaxed, rustic look of the tables using bud vases amongst the colourful candles, and the church flowers were so pretty. I have tried my best to dry out my bouquet so I can keep it forever.

We were lucky enough to have a 3-course dinner from the delightful kitchen team at Iscoyd. Many of our thank you letters have said it’s the best wedding food they have ever had! Our speeches were split between the courses, which was a great idea and kept the evening flowing. After the pudding, the cocktail team handed out limoncello bottles and shot glasses, much to everyone’s delight (especially Jimmy’s 99-year-old granny!). We decided not to go for a traditional wedding cake but gave everyone a little Kipling cake as their wedding favour. However, we did have a cheese tower that we used for “cutting the cake” before taking to the dance floor!

We chose the wonderful Tori Hancock Photography, which was an easy decision! We felt that so many wedding photos are filtered and don’t feel so natural anymore, so when I got this recommendation from a friend of mine to use Tori, I couldn’t have been happier. We also used a second photographer, Tori’s cousin, Harriet Croft Photography, who was equally impressive. Both photographers were so friendly, making everyone feel so at ease. The formal photo process was easy, thanks to Tori’s incredible organisation and some helpful ushers! We recommend having two photographers if you can, as we have received the most incredible variety of photos, which have captured many special moments we didn’t see on the day.

For videography, we chose Lukas & Laura Films, who were fantastic and managed to film and edit the day to a tee. There are so many fun parts that we can now reminisce about and share with friends and family, which are all so special. We opted for the highlights film (4 mins), full movie (30 mins), entire ceremony and complete speeches, all of which are amazing. Their style was really natural, not too cheesy and included a lot of the party vibes. It also flowed well with the style of the photos. We’d recommend going for a videographer if you can.

best part of the day

It is hard to choose one part of the day as we had so many highlights that made it the perfect day/weekend of celebrations—from the beautiful church service at St Mary’s, filled with amazing Selina Godsal Flowers and the smiles of all our friends and family as we became Mr and Mrs Kipling to seeing the incredible Iscoyd garden full of chatter, laughter and the summer sound of steel drums. Entering the marquee for the first time and seeing all our ideas come to life, thanks to the unbelievable team at Iscoyd, was the happiest euphoric moment, followed by the delicious dinner, speeches, wine, limoncello shots and a jam-packed dance floor. What more could we ask for?! There are so many memories to cherish for the rest of our lives, and we couldn’t be more grateful for all the effort that went into creating them. Thank you, Team Iscoyd!

From one couple to another…

Make sure you take as many moments as possible together to either stand back and take it in or chat about the day itself. As everyone says, the day goes by quickly, so don’t rush anything. You’ll smile more than ever, and the small things won’t matter! Enjoy every minute!