A Perfectly Intimate Cotswold Wedding

Written by Emma Hla
William & Kelly married in June 2021 at the Kings Head Hotel in Cirencester, after deciding an intimate wedding was the perfect option for them.

Covid most definitely played its part in persuading this couple to go small, but in the end their simple rustic celebration meant they could spend precious time with friends and family, relax and enjoy the day, and better yet – they can head back to this beautiful Cotswolds hotel for all the anniversaries to come!

Notes from the Bride

Kelly says…

After deciding to choose an intimate wedding amid the COVID saga, we knew the Kings Head was a wonderful venue with a good drinks selection and excellent food. Will contacted Elise and after a few chats it ticked all of our boxes! The fact we could have the wine cellar for our meal was amazing, it really went with the vibe we were going for.

We couldn’t be happier with our choice! The service on the day was amazing, the rooms were beautiful! Drinks on the terrace after the ceremony were so lovely and were a nice way to toast to our marriage prior to the meal. Everything about the day was magical and we really couldn’t have asked for more! We also love the fact we can go back to the Kings Head to stay and remember our day! I’m sure many anniversaries will be being spent there!

We wanted to go very simple and relaxed. With my dress I wanted to make sure I would be comfortable all day and not be worrying about eating or drinking too much. With Will’s suit we also knew it wouldn’t suit him to be in a black suit or something that looked too rigid. The mix of colours with the blue and grey really had the vibe we were going for; relaxed, summer wedding. We had such a helpful sales assistant in the Moss Bros. store (Swindon). He went over and above and sorted Will’s suit out so well. He gave his creative input which I think was key otherwise who knows what Will would have ended up wearing!

I borrowed my Mum’s infinity bracelet and her diamond earrings. William bought me a necklace especially for the occasion which matched my Mums’ earrings perfectly. I didn’t want anything too heavy for my makeup look. Although I would definitely recommend eyelash extensions to every bride! No hassle and means they stay looking fresh for the whole day and honeymoon!

Our florist was Lottie from Wild Thoughts Floristry. She is actually my cousin’s friend and our original wedding date was going to be her first wedding post her florist training course! Thankfully she stayed with us through all our date changes and we couldn’t have asked for better. She listened to what we wanted and delivered on it all. I wanted an unstructured bouquet with lots of green foliage. The buttonholes then took one of the purple flowers from the bouquet with some green foliage and a hessian string wrapped around the bottom.

I had been following Hannah and her cakes on Instagram for a while but during lockdown we really got to taste her delicious offerings! Hannah is such a lovely person and her cakes are amazing! The cupcakes were a wonderful addition as it meant my niece could take one home with her and also allowed us to have multiple flavours without needing a multi tiered cake.

We were originally due to have Andy Netter Photography – randomly his Dad was taking Will’s Dad to a hospital appointment and they got chatting about our wedding and so Will’s Dad pointed us in his direction. Upon looking at his website we knew he was exactly what we were after – lots of natural photos rather than staged ones with lots of posing.

Unfortunately Andy was then busy on our final wedding date and so his assistant Bo (Bo Leray Photography) became our lead photographer. Thankfully she was as relaxed as Andy and also took lots of natural photos. We met her prior to the wedding for a chat and some photos to get us ready for what it would be like on the day. She made us feel relaxed straight away and we forgot she was even taking photos.

Andy actually ended up joining Bo as her assistant on the day! On the day and afterwards we couldn’t have asked for more. There were some many thoughtful items, even extending to Bo keeping some of our confetti and putting it in the box that our USB was delivered in. For people who don’t like having their picture taken we didn’t feel awkward at all on the day and have some beautiful pictures to remember it all with!

Best part of the day

I think there are two parts!

Walking through Cirencester to the park. It was a great way to start our married life and felt like we took over Cirencester briefly. It was so lovely with people in Cirencester wishing us congratulations, it made us feel very special!

The meal in the wine cellar. It felt so intimate and like a big family meal. The atmosphere was amazing and it truly felt like we became one big family at that point.

From one couple to another…

Don’t stress, no matter where or how it will be the best day! We were dubious but can honestly say ours was! The love that you feel on the day is like nothing we’ve felt before. Don’t lose what the day is about and make sure you do what you want.

Credits

Venue Kings Head Hotel

Photography Bo Leray Photography

Hair + Makeup Holly Anderson

Dress Mascara London

Bride’s Shoes Sophia Webster

Suit Moss Bros.

Flowers Wild Thoughts Floristry

Cake Hannah Culley

Evening Drinks Somewhere Else

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