Images by Rebecca Goddard Photography.
I remember Katrina Otter, wedding planner extraordinaire, telling me about this venue long before we welcomed it to our curated collection. The beautiful Eggington House was the location for Lisa & Tom’s summer wedding and I fell in love with the country house because of Kat’s kind words about the owners and fabulous plans for this particular big day.
So, it’s an absolute pleasure for it to all come full circle… You can now discover the wonders of this Bedfordshire marquee venue on our Venue Finder and we have the full story of Lisa & Tom for you below.
This bohemian beauty is brimming with gorgeous details and fabulous suppliers – so get ready to pin!
Notes from the Bride
Lisa says…
We decided to have a longer engagement and plan our wedding over two years. This is great in terms of having time to plan and save, however, two years is a long time and things in the wedding world can change, as we discovered! We had booked a different venue shortly after getting engaged and then a year before our wedding date, received an email to say that they had to cancel our booking. We had to very quickly check out as many local venues as we could find that had availability and we were so incredibly lucky to find Eggington House. From the minute we arrived and were welcomed by Suzie, the owner, we knew we had found somewhere indescribably special that surpassed our expectations. It was fate and we were so lucky that the suppliers we had booked all happily moved to Eggington with us!
My wedding dress was a bespoke ‘Belle’ dress from Suzanne Neville in Knightsbridge. With a July wedding, I knew it might be quite hot and with two young boys, I needed to be able to move around. The team at Suzanne Neville were simply amazing and my Mum and I thoroughly enjoyed our trips into London for the fittings. I wanted shoes that I would wear again and therefore chose a gold sandal from Rachel Simpson.
I was very lucky to find Lucy Beesley Bridal and Lucy did my hair and makeup, plus my Mum and my Bridesmaids. I wanted to achieve a natural look and was delighted with the results which withstood the entire day.
My Mum, who also gave me away, wore an outfit from a boutique in Bedford and my Bridesmaids and Maid of Honour wore Whistles. I really wanted to buy them outfits that they would feel comfortable in and would wear again. My two Bridesmaids wore maxi dresses and my Maid of Honour wore a jumpsuit, which worked really well together.
Tom wore a hand-made suit from Trotter & Deane in Cambridge and the Groomsmen and our Dads wore their own suits, with matching ties that we bought from Reiss. Our two sons wore suits and ties from John Lewis and then changed into shorts and converse following the ceremony!
Hiring a wedding planner was honestly the best decision we made. As we were having a marquee wedding and there were lots of different elements to the day, we knew we needed someone that really understood what we wanted and could manage the day so that we could relax and enjoy ourselves. As soon as we met Katrina Otter, we knew we had found the right person. Kat understood what we were trying to achieve, she knew the suppliers we had booked, having worked with them before, and she helped to turn our wedding dream into a reality. I trusted Kat’s judgement more than my own at times and we really could not have done it without her.
The main aim of the day for us was that everyone had fun. We wanted the day to be really relaxed, with everyone kicking off their shoes and partying late into the evening. We hired Bubble Bros. to provide our guests with prosecco and Reuben Amos set the vibe for our reception with a brilliant acoustic set.
Décor wise, I’d seen The Little Lending Company on Instagram and adored Penny’s style. Penny and Kat worked together to achieve a ‘boho luxe’ look that was both chilled and glamorous. Penny also created a number of pieces just for us, including table names, menus, signage and a wonderful ‘Till death do us party’ sign which hung above the dancefloor. The décor was completed by the brilliant Dreamwave Events– the festoon lighting was a great investment and something I’d definitely recommend.
We booked the Swaffham and Fakenham Florist having seen that they regularly worked with Penny and they completely understood the look we were trying to achieve. We opted for a white, nude and blush palette with an abundance of foliage. Our wooden Classic Crockery tables were adored with trailing foliage runners, brass Hélène Millot vases and mis-matched crystal and cut glass glassware, Duchess & Butler matt gold cutlery and vintage lace plates with racing green and matt gold Emily & Jo stationery.
The Swaffham girls also created an incredible asymmetric arch at the Church and beautiful blousy bouquets.
For our dining experience, we wanted to continue the playful element and chose BBQ style sharing platters followed by an ‘Eton Mess’ dessert bar of giant meringues served with a selection of creams, berries, curds, coulis, sauces, edible glitter and popping candy.
We had a wonderful time cake tasting with our boys at Seventh Heaven in Bedford. As it was summer, we wanted to keep things simple with semi-naked icing on top of a passion fruit sponge. Everyone loved the cake and we were thrilled that every slice was eaten!
Beccy Goddard, our photographer, and Frances Madell from Reellovefilms are an absolute dream to work with. Beccy was actually the first supplier I contacted to book for the day as I love her natural style and she is also amazing at putting everyone at ease. Tom was hesitant about booking a videographer but now says he is so pleased we did. Frances captured our day so beautifully and I still cry with happiness when I watch our wedding video.
Best part of the day
The best part of the day was the moment we had said our vows and were man and wife. The boys came to the front of the church and we all hugged. It was just magical and something I will never forget.
From one bride to another…
My words of wisdom are to stay calm and remember things can still go brilliantly, even if they don’t go to plan! We had lots of bumps in the road (venue cancellation, musicians going on tour, a broken-down supplier, you name it!) and in the end, the actual day was far better for these changes. Also, remember that it really isn’t just a day, it’s a wedding journey and you have to enjoy it all. It is such a special time.
Credits
Venue Eggington House
Planner Katrina Otter Weddings
Photography Rebecca Goddard Photography
Film Reellovefilms
Florist Swaffham and Fakenham Florist
Bridal Designer Suzanne Neville
Bride’s Shoes Rachel Simpson
Bridesmaids Whistles
Groom’s Attire Trotter & Deane
Décor The Little Lending Company
Furniture and Tableware Hire Classic Crockery Event Hire
Tableware and Props Hire Hélène Millot
Festoon Lighting Dreamwave Events
Tableware Duchess & Butler
Stationery Emily & Jo
Cake Seventh Heaven
Proscecco Van Bubbles Bros.
Band Eight Ray Music
Photo Booth Retro-Me Photo Booth
