Melissa & Oliver’s Autumn Black-Tie Wedding at Thicket Priory

The venue’s beauty and the team’s attention to detail made it feel like a home away from home for their dream wedding weekend. Dark greens with a hint of gold added a touch of autumnal charm to their September celebration, while cute and personal touches like their giant Colin & Connie caterpillars made the day perfect. M&O can’t recommend Thicket Priory enough; it truly surpassed all their expectations…

Melissa & Oliver say…

From the moment we stepped foot in Thicket Priory, we knew it was our venue, and the process from that point on has just been amazing. We couldn’t have asked for anything better, and our guests have been raving nonstop about how special and gorgeous it is, but we already knew that, didn’t we? Because we were so in love with it! It is a very, very special place!

Firstly, it’s breathtakingly gorgeous and has everything we wanted. Having the whole weekend with the Friday night dinner was a must for us with Melissa’s family coming from Belfast, and honestly, it just felt like home! Everything clicked from our first meeting with Anna; we knew it was meant to be ours! As far as our favourite part about Thicket Priory, it’s literally everything! The decor in all the bedrooms and the attention to detail made our guests feel special. We also love the Gryffin bar! And we can’t forget the bridal suite—it’s simply stunning and the perfect place to get ready for the big day!

If you are thinking of booking Thicket Priory, 100% do it! The staff are amazing, and the venue is magical. Each time you visit in the lead-up to the wedding, you’ll get more and more excited. Even when the venue isn’t styled, it’s beautiful and will feel like home. I wish we could do it all again!

I had no idea going for my first dress appointment what I would go for, and I was still surprised after I’d said ‘Yes to the dress’ with what I’d chosen vs. what I thought I would have wanted. But I did love my dress and think it fitted the vibes of Thicket Priory perfectly, too. I owned a pair of Louboutins that I love wearing but always avoid wearing because I don’t want to get them ruined, but I thought our special day was the perfect occasion, and they gave me something blue, too! My gorgeous bridesmaids all chose their dresses; I wanted them to all feel comfortable and happy on the day. We had a black tie wedding, which I just love; everyone looked so smart, especially my lovely husband in his custom green velvet dinner jacket!

The theme of the day was mainly centred around dark green and gold. We married at the end of September, so we wanted that autumnal feel and thought the gold was the perfect accent. All the flowers were white with lots of greenery to complement this. Styling all came from me; I’ve always had a vision of what I’d like on my wedding day, and although this may have added to my stress a little doing everything myself, I knew it would be perfect.

Our florist was a family friend from home called Kris from Wood ‘n’ Earth. All our flowers were artificial except for my bouquet and the button holes. Kris used natural greenery to give more volume, but we couldn’t have been happier with how everything looked. Real flowers are beautiful, but it’s a shame when everything goes to waste. We were so excited that we could still get what we wanted but in a much more sustainable way.

Our cake was a little… different! We had giant Colin & Connie caterpillars from M&S. We love them and celebrate every birthday and occasion with one, so we figured why change that for our wedding. I also made Connie a little veil that matched mine with pearls too, which was too cute!

Our photographer Lucy was simply amazing; we couldn’t have asked for anything more. From our first conversation, we knew she was the one for us; we felt so at ease and clicked immediately. This was really important for us to feel relaxed on the day. Lucy brought ALL the energy from start to finish; she had our vision in her mind and went above and beyond to make everything perfect for us. She’s a photographer, friend, hype-woman and more all packaged into one!

Best part of the day

We loved our first look! Although we were both quite nervous, seeing each other and having that moment together was special—that and the post-ceremony pint!

From one couple to another…

Enjoy every second! The day goes fast, so take everything in and make sure you have time for just the two of you, too!