Johanna & Michael: A Late Summer Wedding at Thicket Priory

Thicket Priory is the wedding venue you never knew you were looking for all along. I think it took Michael and me, maybe 20 seconds into our first visit, before we whispered to each other, “We’re getting married here.” Thicket Priory is the real deal: not only is it stunningly beautiful, but you also immediately feel like you’re home. But it’s the people who make it truly magical.

Becca was the ideal coordinator for a Type A bride! I knew instantly that we were in the best hands during our first phone call. She didn’t bat an eye when I showed her my wedding bible! When it started pouring down five minutes before our ceremony, she stayed calm and got everyone inside. Seeing her during the weekend always calmed my nerves, and so many of our guests came up to me afterwards to say how amazingly smooth everything went – and that’s thanks to Becca!

Next to Becca, Lil and Becks never ceased to amaze me. Becks managed to sneak out the kids during the “boring” parts of the wedding (which I didn’t even notice), but the kids loved it. Lil made sure every single step of my wedding plans was followed, and seeing her tear up during our ceremony just shows you how invested everyone is in making your day perfect.

They say there are fairies at Thicket Priory that work their magic, and that only the kids can see them, but Becca, Lil, and Becks got me down the aisle.

The most important thing for me as the bride was to feel like myself. I wanted to be comfortable, both physically and emotionally. In addition, it was important to me to support independent female designers and artists wherever I could!

On Friday evening, our dress code was “Summer Garden Party,” and I wanted to find a dress that complemented it. I had been eyeing the stunning dresses from a small Italian label, Mrs Francoise, for a while, and our wedding seemed like the perfect occasion. Not only did I feel absolutely beautiful in the dress, but Carla was also able to capture some of our favourite shots from our wedding weekend in these outfits, utilising the golden hour light to the max. Michael wore a very light blue, double-breasted corduroy suit with a pocket square made from the same fabric as my dress— a last-minute decision crafted by Michael’s mother, who cut off some of the ribbon from my dress to sew the pocket square.

When it came to picking the dress, I knew I wanted something timeless and elegant that would make me look my best and allow me to move, dance, breathe, and eat. The first time I put on my dress, I knew it was the one, as I couldn’t stop crying— a common theme throughout our wedding. The small, independent wedding dress shop in my native Germany was absolutely amazing, and AM Faulkner created the custom veil of my dream: a full-length drop veil, dotted with pressed flowers in our wedding colours.

Michael honoured his Scottish heritage and wore his father’s family’s kilt, his mother’s family’s crest on his brooch, and completed the outfit with a MacGregor and MacDuff navy tweed jacket and a fly plaid.

We both felt the need to add some personal touches to our outfits to honour those who are closest and most important to us. Michael wore his late paternal grandfather’s watch, my late grandfather’s cufflinks, and his late maternal grandfather’s sporran. I wore a diamond necklace my mother-in-law had gifted to me, featuring one of three stones from a brooch she had inherited from her mother-in-law (my “something old”). She had the diamonds reset in three necklaces, one for her, one for her daughter, and one for me (isn’t this the cutest mother-in-law story?!). I also wore my mom’s diamond earrings (my “something borrowed”) and added a ribbon with a locket to my bouquet, featuring a picture of my late dog, Fipsi, and my late grandfather, so they would both walk me down the aisle. Lastly, I added two pieces of fabric to the inside of my train: a piece of Michael’s tartan and a piece of Fipsi’s bedding (my “something blue”).

Our styling followed our wedding colours, which included bright pinks, oranges, purples, and yellows. These colours were reflected in our flowers, the candles, and the ribbons we used. We very much wanted to let the beauty of Thicket Priory shine, so we kept the décor quite minimal. The welcome sign and table plan were handmade by my father-in-law and me, and I used locally grown flowers from Old Pasture Park Flowers to decorate them.

Our guests were at the centre of our minds when designing our day; we wanted them to feel welcome and have an incredible time. We added numerous small touches to achieve this: each guest was welcomed by a personalised welcome letter in their room, as well as a cupcake and birthday card for the guests who celebrated their birthdays during the week of our wedding.

We tried to incorporate traditions from both of our home countries, so we concluded the Friday evening with a traditional German Polterabend and had a bagpiper (Michael’s childhood bagpipe teacher) play on Saturday morning, as well as during our ceremony.

Charlotte’s Floral Design ticked all our boxes – she uses locally grown, seasonal flowers and sustainable materials, and her arrangements are simply stunning. She immediately understood the vibe we were going for and came up with loads of amazing ideas, so we pretty much gave her total creative freedom!

You will most likely not be surprised to hear that I cried (again) when she showed me my bouquet the morning of our wedding. It was the beautiful, lush, colourful bouquet of my dreams! My bridesmaids’ bouquets each matched their dresses, and all put together, they made up the colours of my bouquet.

Even though we couldn’t appreciate her beautiful installation on the bandstand in full (thanks to some very unpredictable Yorkshire weather), Charlotte’s arrangements were all easily movable, so our groomsmen (and guests) were able to move them inside. You would have never known that the ceremony wasn’t always planned that way!

If there is one thing our guests didn’t stop talking about, it was definitely the food.

Hog & Apple‘s food was beyond our wildest dreams – they accommodated all our requests and even made sure we had white pudding for our Sunday Full Scottish! From the amazing spread around our hog roast on Friday, including delicate canapés and a stunning three-course wedding breakfast, to my favourite tacos, Al Pastor (a small nod to my home away from home – San Diego), Hog & Apple hit it out of the park!

For the cake, we decided to have a small one just for the two of us, and Where the Ribbon Ends made us the cutest vintage-inspired cake, so cute and so delicious!

I think Michael and I are in complete agreement that hiring Carla Whittingham as our photographer was one of, if not THE best, decision we made for our wedding (maybe only second to saying “I do” to each other).

Carla is not only INSANELY talented, she is also kind-hearted, caring, and always up for all of our crazy ideas. Her work truly speaks for itself, and we’ve been blown away by the pictures we’ve received. We are eternally grateful that she captured our wedding weekend, every single moment, from stunning portraits and raw emotions to the biggest laughs. She made everyone feel so comfortable in front of the camera, she hyped us up and was truly excited for us.

A simple ‘thank you’ can never fully express the gratitude we feel. Carla is truly one in a million, and we hope that she will be able to capture more of our milestones in the future. Carla was complemented brilliantly by our videographer, SP Wedding Films. Barney captured lots of moments that the photos couldn’t, and really allow us to look back at both the moments and the entire event with joy.

For us, as cheesy as it may sound, the best part of the day was that moment just after the ceremony had finished. We were married! The stress, excitement, love and happiness culminated then for us both as we looked back down the aisle and saw everyone who loved us most in the world cheering and overwhelmed with joy for us as a couple – what more could anyone ask for!

Looking back now at the photos and videos of that moment still brings tears to our eyes. You can see in our faces that we feel ready for anything, and when times get tough, we like to think back to how we felt then and realise things will get better.

Everyone before the wedding told us to savour every moment, as it would go by so fast. More important for us was trying to relax and know that, while it’s going fast, to enjoy the moments you’re in. Take the time to savour the moments as and when they come. Don’t stress about the moment just passed that may not have been exactly as you imagined it, or the moment later in the day that has still not happened – take a breath, be present, and bask in the knowledge that everyone there loves you and is there for you!

So, in short, as simple as it is to say and difficult to do, our biggest piece of advice is to relax and have fun. You will not remember every moment, or have a chance to spend three hours talking to Uncle Dave about his life, but if you really lean in to spending time with those you love, you will have the best day (or days) of your life so far.