Alex & Jack: Elegance Meets Country Charm at Hawkstone Hall

When looking for our venue, we mainly viewed stately homes. As a child, I fell in love with Chatsworth House, and that became my inspiration. Our venue was the first one we saw. The moment we came down the drive and saw the sun shining down on the hall, it took our breath away. Hawkstone Hall epitomises British heritage. The grounds were so beautiful—it felt private and secluded from everything and everyone else. There is no place like it.

My partner and I love visiting churches when we travel, so having a civil ceremony in a chapel was perfect for us. It was traditional with a modern edge.

Every decision we made was carefully thought out. The Wedding House is where I got my dress. It was the Martina Liana 1510. Wearing pearls is a tradition associated with a happy and tear-free marriage… so I wore them from head to toe! My jewellery was from Claudia Bradby—I had a pearl choker, bracelet, and drop earrings. If I’m honest, I chose this brand because Kate Middleton has a collection with her, and I love the royals!

I wanted a timeless silhouette, but with lots of detail. I wanted it to feel like the most special and extravagant dress I would ever wear. I wore Mary Jane-style shoes from Coach. I also wore an embroidered cathedral veil from Rebecca Anne Designs. I had mine and my husband’s surnames embroidered onto it—if we have children, we can pass it down to them so they can add their names too. I also had a blue star embroidered near my wedding finger in memory of my brother, who passed away; he was my “something blue.”

My friend Holly did my hair for the wedding day, and it was so special getting ready with her—it felt like we were getting ready for a night out! I had my makeup done by Courtney Taylor. I asked for elegant and timeless. I searched high and low for her—I felt she didn’t change people’s features, just made everyone feel like the best version of themselves.

Our bridesmaids wore the Esmee dress from Pretty Lavish in black. They all wore pearl earrings and a matching necklace. As the venue was so stunning and colourful, I felt the contrast of the black dresses would be striking and give them the attention they deserved!

My flower girl wore a traditional ivory dress from Angel & Rocket called “Celine” (my favourite singer!). It was a beautiful taffeta bodice with puff sleeves, ballerina-length, and a large satin bow on the back. She truly looked like an angel. She wore an oversized pearl headband for extra detail.

The groom and groomsmen wore tuxedos for the same reason as the bridesmaids. They got them from Peter Posh in Tettenhall. The men and boys in my family wore kilts (also in black, for contrast) because my dad is Scottish and very proud of it. This was one of my favourite decisions! I loved that they matched the groomsmen, but you could still tell who each person was and which side of the family they were on. It helped the guests who didn’t know everyone.

The venue styling was very minimal—the venue was enough. The rooms were so ornate that I didn’t want to take away from or distract from that. I wanted the décor to be timeless, not something considered “on-trend.”

Our stationery was sourced from both Artcadia and By Kate. It mainly featured ivory and gold accents. We chose a range called ‘In the Stars’ by Kate UK for our menus, welcome signs, name cards, and other items, so everything matched. Since I had a star on my veil, and we always refer to my brother as our star in the sky, it felt very meaningful.

Our seating plan was one of our favourite pieces of décor—we still have it up in the house! It was a large wooden frame made by my father-in-law, covered with linen fabric and flanked by a floral arch on either side. We displayed a Polaroid photo of each guest with either me or Jack, along with their table name printed underneath.

Our florist was Linden Lea, a family-based florist! We chose a muted autumnal palette—soft peaches, toffees, dusky pink, and ivory. I’m a nurse, and it was a patient who gave me this inspiration—clearly, I talked about the wedding too much! I wanted my bouquet to have a garden-style look, not too arranged—like it could have been picked that morning.

It was really important to me, from a sustainability perspective, that we reused all the flowers throughout the day in each room. We had two wispy arches at the end of the aisle, which we later reused for our seating plan in the Winter Garden. We also had simple bud vases on all our tables, each containing just a few flowers.

We had our cake made by Fiona Hackshall. It was a three-tier cake, with each tier featuring a different flavour—we each chose one, and then picked one together. The flavours were Prosecco and passion fruit, red velvet, and sticky toffee pudding.

The cake was decorated with 3D peach flowers cascading down the tiers, designed to match the flowers on my dress.

Our photographer was Amy, and she was amazing! The moment I found her on Instagram—after endless scrolling—I knew I needed her. All of her photos ooze joy, happiness, and authenticity, whether they’re carefully planned or completely candid. Every time I look at our photos, they make me smile.

The best part of the day was getting ready with the bagpiper playing and watching all of our favourite people arrive. Seeing all of our loved ones show up for the most important day of our lives—and knowing I was going to marry my best friend later that day—was unforgettable.

If you ask my husband, his favourite part of the day was the truffles and the disco!

My words of wisdom would be: don’t get caught up in others’ expectations. Being different is what makes your day truly memorable. You’ll never regret making decisions that are personal or meaningful to you.