Kate & Greg: A Colourful Celebration at Weald & Downland Living Museum

When we first got engaged and started researching, we discovered Weald & Downland Living Museum and immediately fell in love with everything about it. It was unlike any other venue we had ever seen. The grand scale of the incredible building, surrounded by beautiful countryside and ancient historic buildings, was truly unique and vastly different from anything we found elsewhere. We had both been to the museum as children and had fond memories of spending time there. As soon as we knew it was an option, we couldn’t stop thinking about it and knew that nowhere else would ever be as special or as one-of-a-kind as the Weald and Downland. We went on holiday just after we got engaged and set up a viewing for the day we got back, we drove straight down from London and even though we were incredibly jet lagged we immediately knew it was the place we wanted to say ‘I do’ in and put down a deposit as quickly as possible.

We love that we can return to the venue on special occasions, such as our anniversary every year. We’ve been back since, and it was such a joy to return to a place that will forever be so special to us. We’re so, so happy we chose to get married at The Weald and Downland.

Greg and I had the privilege of spending the first part of 2024 travelling. When we were in Vietnam (which, incidentally, turned out to be our favourite country of all), we visited Hoi An, famous for its tailor-made clothing industry. Greg got his suit made (within 24 hours!) in a shop called Tina Design, where he was treated like royalty when they learnt that this was the suit for his wedding day. He got to choose everything about it, from the buttons to the lining inside, the cut and the fabrics. We had it shipped back to the UK, and it was waiting for us when we arrived home.

My wedding dress was designed by Fran Rios London, a Spanish designer, who a wedding dress shop in Blackheath recommended to me. I found that I liked parts of many different dresses there. Taj, who works for the company, made me my dream dress by combining all the bits I loved in one. It was important to me that it be simple, timeless, and classic, but with a dramatic skirt and a flattering back. The team at Fran Rios listened to all my wishes and made them come true! Every little detail, including the initial of one of my relatives whom we sadly lost not long before we got married, was stitched inside. They also made my veil, which again, I wanted to be simple and elegant. I loved the process of creating and collecting my dream wedding dress!

The bridesmaids wore Norma Kamali dresses, which we chose to be colourful and vibrant. We opted for pink to complement our colour palette, and the cowl neck shape was flattering on all of them. The bridal party’s hair and make-up was done by Emma Louise Bridal Hair and Bex Standing Smith, both of whom were fantastic and made us feel amazing. Couldn’t recommend them enough!

We knew we wanted our wedding to be distinctive and unique. We knew we wanted something a bit ‘different’ that was vibrant and exciting. The venue was already so unique, so we chose a lively, radiant colour palette, and settled on a sunset-themed colour palette to fill the gorgeous, grand space.

We opted for colourful options wherever possible. From the welcome sign adorned with flowers to the pink and orange-themed wedding cake, our pink napkins and gold cutlery, the bridesmaids’ and flower girl dresses in different shades of pink, to the groomsmen’s ties, which matched the sunset theme. Wherever vibrancy was a choice, we chose to go for it!

We hired some beautiful trees from Cloud Tree Events as a nod to the stunning natural surroundings of the venue and to separate the dance floor from the dining area. We also hired fairy lights, which were strung up on the gorgeous elevated ceiling by To Have & To Hire, who also strung up some lanterns outside as a nod to our travels and favourite country, Vietnam.

We were fortunate enough to find the incredibly talented florist, Charlotte from Frankie Lane Flowers, who created brilliant and beautiful flower arrangements for our special day. Many guests commented on how unbelievable all the flowers were and what a difference they made to the venue, which looked incredible. They brought everything together and made sure that every corner was filled with sunset vibrancy. We would (and have!) recommended Charlotte far and wide! She even added some beautiful little touches, like growing sunflowers for Greg’s buttonhole to match the bride’s bouquet.

We knew we wanted Jacaranda to cater our wedding. I (Kate) had worked for them as a waitress when I was younger and had always dreamt of having a Jacaranda wedding; their food is the absolute best – we’d both been to Jacaranda events before and knew it was the best catering around. They were so professional and easy to communicate with from the beginning. Our food tasting was amazing, and the food on the day was beyond imagination. So many guests commented on how delicious everything they ate was – many said it was the best wedding food they had ever had.

Regan made our gorgeous cake at Wiggle Cakes; she understood our vision from our very first email and brought it to life! The cake was not only delicious, but it went so perfectly with our sunset theme.

We had spotted Katy from Gingersnaps Photography on Instagram a few years before and had been obsessively following her beautiful wedding photography. In the end, we never truly considered other photographers with any seriousness. We wanted our wedding to be colourful and vibrant, which is exactly what she captures so beautifully. We were absolutely in love with her sunset pictures, in particular. Getting our own (especially after a day with buckets of rain!) was a dream come true after years of looking at other people’s golden hour shots. Katy showed us the photo just after she’d taken it, and I cried tears of joy!

Both of us have said that our favourite moment was just after we walked back down the aisle, one of our favourite songs was playing (Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy by The Tams), and we both felt so elated and joyful that we were husband and wife! It’s a moment that we both think about often and will treasure forever.

Rain doesn’t = a terrible wedding day. We obsessed over the ever-changing weather forecast in the days coming up to the wedding (it’s impossible not to when you’ve picked the August bank holiday weekend and pictured gorgeous sunshine!), but ultimately, it genuinely didn’t matter. It rained for most of the day (so much so that I had to be wrapped in duvets to walk to the car and then had a panic steaming of the dress situation upon arrival) but it meant that our ceremony felt cosy and romantic and by the late afternoon, the sun came out and it was the most incredible feeling seeing it break through the clouds. We consider it a life lesson that it might not be exactly what you pictured, but it was so much better than we ever could have imagined. We wouldn’t have changed a single thing.