Jessica & Edward’s Quintessentially English Weekend Wedding

Jessica says…

When Edward and I started wedding planning, although we knew what we wanted (a quintessentially English weekend wedding), we also knew we would need a wedding planning expert to help out. Someone that could guide us through the planning process, who we could trust with such big decisions and someone that would take some of the stress out of planning a wedding.

We are so happy that we found Kat (Katrina Otter Weddings), and we ended up having so much fun working alongside her throughout the planning process. We trusted her advice, vision and guidance implicitly – so much so that we booked our wedding venue without even visiting it!

Edward & I are based in Dallas, Texas so planning a wedding from overseas was no easy feat! Kat immediately won us over with Pynes House, and to be honest it’s hard not to fall in love with such a beautiful country house wedding venue.

As this was the first and probably the last time our families would all be together (I’m from the US, Ed’s family live in the UK) we wanted the entire day to be relaxed and flow effortlessly. Pynes House was the perfect fit – elegant, luxurious, welcoming, charming, flexible, romantic and steeped in history, with onsite accommodation too.

Our overall ‘theme’ was timeless and effortless, with a calm yet romantic feel. Kat managed to bring together an absolute dream team of suppliers who were able to achieve this. From the beautiful flower arrangements, to the delicious food, and the music that accompanied us throughout the day.

One element we didn’t need Kat’s help with though was my wedding dress! It was a custom Suzanne Neville creation that combined two of my favourite of her bridal designs. Whilst in New York, Suzanne was ironically there on same day and I got to meet her in person. I felt so incredibly special and fortunate having the opportunity to meet Suzanne and it was an experience I will never forget.  And on top of this, Jodie and Nikki from Makeup by Jodie provided the glam on the big day!

The majority of the styling for our wedding was based around The Flower Sessions and their incredible fine art floral creations. Laura and Matt are true artists and on the day their flowers completely exceeded our wildest expectations. Their choice of colour palette was spot on and they even created a crown for the the stag statues outside. The whole venue was decorated in the most stunning floral arrangements, from statement mantlepiece designs to the delicate table settings, our beautiful bouquets and the incredible staircase installation – they were all pure creative perfection.

We were delighted to pair this floral beauty with an elegant and modern stationery suite from Bureau Design. Our wedding breakfast tables and venue reception areas looked absolutely amazing.

We can’t not mention our wonderful celebrant Tamryn, from Wild & Oak.  Tamryn was a pleasure to work with and did such an amazing job throughout the planning and on the day.  She even went that extra personalised mile and copied our vows into a book of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (Pynes House is believed to be the inspiration for Barton Park in Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility).

We were initially drawn to Pickle Shack due to their strong commitment to seasonal and locally sourced ingredients. It was a lot of fun working with them to create a delicious wedding menu of food personal to us.  From sharing board starters, to traditional roasted beef, and cheesecake with fresh summer berries for dessert. In the evening we all feasted on bacon sandwiches made with freshly baked bread and wild apple ketchup – every single thing we ate was absolutely delicious!

Our wedding cake by Edible Essence had some serious wow-factor. Her cakes are utterly divine and a work of art, and when decorated with flowers it really was quite a creation – almost too beautiful to eat! Our guests (and especially Ed who has a sweet tooth) were in luxury cake heaven.

Our photographers, John and Soph from John Barwood Photography were an absolute pleasure to be around on the day.  I love John’s artistic eye and the way he effortlessly captured the flow of the day, the details and those special moments. We’ll treasure our wedding gallery for many years to come.

For our entertainment we had Vince Freeman from Eight Ray Music and I couldn’t recommend him highly enough – he even learnt our favourite song (in a couple of hours) and is an exceptional and accomplished performer. In the evening, Blaise from That Event DJ played some excellent tunes and ensured that the dance floor was constantly packed.

BEST PART OF THE DAY

The speeches were a highlight! A few months after we first met we both travelled to Rome on pre-planned trips with friends. Although we missed each other by 6 hours, we both made a wish in the Trevi Fountain that one day we would marry each other.  Neither of us told each other about our wish and this only came to light on our wedding day during the speeches!

From one couple to another…

Without a shadow of a doubt, hire Kat! She was the best decision that we made (apart from getting married!). Also, focus on the things that are most important to you (it is after all your day) and above all, remember each other.  Try not to sweat the small stuff and just enjoy the first day of the rest of your lives together as a married couple.