Amy and Ben’s Manor By The Lake Wedding

Written by Emma Hla

Dusky pink lace, pastel grey hair, a semi-naked cake dressed with roses and a confetti shot to die for… I’m loving Amy & Ben’s beautiful big day at Manor By The Lake in Gloucestershire.

This stunning Manor House is nestled in 7 acres of award-winning gardens, including a beautiful Italian garden, splendid picturesque lake, and yew tree walk leading to the Victorian pavilion. See how Amy & Ben used the glorious spaces for their vintage theme.

Notes from the Bride

Amy:

We chose our amazing venue, Manor By The Lake for our spring wedding. It’s a stunning venue at both day and night, and combines the perfect mixture of traditional and modern elements for a wedding! The Honeymoon Suite is also absolutely beautiful, as were all the guests rooms.

I bought my dress at Wedding Belles of Four Oaks in Sutton Coldfield. After creating a wedding board on Pinterest almost all the pins I saved were by the same designer – Maggie Sottero. I chose the Stella dress, with lace detail, Swarovski crystals, and the sweetheart neckline was so flattering along with the corset waist!

My seamstress created a beautiful one off strap and back piece for me that I could attach and remove with lace that was ordered, and she painstakingly attached the Swarovski crystals by hand. It finished the dress of perfectly!

I also purchased a veil from Wedding Belles so they could match the colour of the dress. For the evening I had my florist choose some dusky pink roses to replace my veil. My shoes were nude court shoes from Kurt Geiger, I wanted plain and simple as my nude lace dress was the main feature.

The bridesmaids wore beautiful lace knee-length dresses with scalloped neckline and capped sleeves in dusty pink. These were from Chi Chi London though I ordered from ASOS. I knew sparkly shoes would look amazing. Kurt Geiger was my lifesaver.

Our hair was styled by Holly Bennett from Fallen Saint Hair, which is actually owned by myself and a friend. This is the reason I was lucky enough to have unlimited amounts of trials for me and the bridesmaids! She was perfect and professional but helped as she’s a good friend of mine and being a guest at the wedding meant she kept an eye on our hair till the very end!

The flower girls and my youngest bridesmaid, my daughter Millie were all dressed in dresses from Monsoon. Their pink dresses complimented my bridesmaids and added to the vintage pink theme.

My make up artist Hayley Price was the best! I had had a trial, told her what I wanted and asked what she recommended as I’m very pale! I was worried as I know you have to have a bit more for the cameras. She was brilliant and put me at ease and actually recommended for me to have my eyes darker. As the rest of my theme was pale and pastel colours, I would stand out. Our make up was stunning and we all felt beautiful!

The Groom picked his own suit and I didn’t see it ’til the day! He did an amazing job and picked and matched it to compliment the ushers. The suit was designed by Gibson London, and was on theme with Grey Prince of Wales check and teamed with tan brogues. The ushers all wore Tweed suits and tan brogues suppled by Duncan James in Walsall.

I decided to go with a pretty simple vintage theme I didn’t want to go over the top with decoration. I wanted my bridal party to stand out and I decided on items myself with a little help from Pinterest of course!

My florists were Bumblebees in Cheltenham. The flowers truly were amazing! I love roses and they advised me which ones to go for in line with my theme and colours I wanted. The roses that made up my bouquet were sweet avalanche, amnesia rose and memory lane rose. The dusky pinks were perfect. I had all my center pieces and top table arrangements with the same and a little bit of gypsophila and eucalyptus added for the greenery.

My cake was made by Pia at The Vanilla Pod Bakery in Cheltenham I’d opted for a rustic naked cake with white chocolate powder in the sponge. It tasted just as good as it looked. Bumblebees gave Pia the flowers I wanted so she could decorate the cake to add a little extra!

My photographer Rosie Kelly was the best. We had a meeting previously and said we wanted as many natural shots as possible with a few typical family photos. Every one was happy and she delivered more than we could have asked for! Our photos are the best captured memories we will have for a life time. We couldn’t recommend her enough!

The whole day was amazing. I wish we could do it all over again, I don’t think I have just one favourite moment. It all ran perfectly, thanks to Manor by The Lake, and we’ll remember it forever.

Words of Wedded Wisdom…

My words of wisdom for future brides: don’t stress! I didn’t, I enjoyed it all and nothing went wrong. Don’t worry or stress, whatever happens, happens. Your marrying for love, and the main reason of the day!

Credits

Venue Manor by the Lake | Photography Rosie Kelly Photography | Florist Bumblebeez | Bride’s Dress Stella by Maggie Sottero from Wedding Belles of Four Oaks | Shoes Kurt Geiger | Bridesmaids ASOS | Groom’s Attire Gibson London | Cake The Vanilla Pod Bakery | Make-up Artist Hayley price | Hair Fallen Saint Hair | Stationery 19 The Boutique.

Lots of love…

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