I just love a real wedding. There's no better source of gorgeous wedding inspiration than seeing what other couples are actually doing. Today's beautiful wedding was sent to me by Hertfordshire and London based photographer, Natalie Martinez. Natalie's work is so beautifully natural and filled with light, and she has perfectly captured the relaxed, romantic feel of Grace and Rory's Gaynes Park wedding.
With a stunning, classic wedding gown, a lovely pastel colour scheme and blooming roses everywhere, if you're planning an elegant barn wedding then you'll find lots of inspiration here!
Thank you Grace and Rory for sharing your beautiful day with us!xx
THE PROPOSAL
We met at a house party at university in 2010. Rory proposed at the champagne bar at St Pancras just before Christmas 2015.
THE VENUE
Gaynes Park - we chose this venue for its laid back elegance and delicious food.
THE VIBE
We chose our wedding style based on our vendors so we opted for an elegant country feel, with vintage bunting provided by Mediterranean Occasions.
The venue was the most important to us - everything was based from this.
THE BRIDE
Boutique - Dress In Love in Hertford. The dress was by MiaMia and the jacket and belt were separate.
I chose this dress for flattering classic elegance. Dress In Love made me feel completely comfortable and talked me through all the dress options, I would highly recommend them
Shoes from Jenny Packham.
Hair piece from Ivory and Co.
THE GROOM
Suit from Ted Baker.
THE RINGS
It had to be the timeless classic - Tiffany's.
THE BRIDESMAIDS
The bridesmaids wore pastel pink and green full length dresses by Jenny Packham.
FLOWER GIRLS
Dresses from John Rocha.
BEST MAN
Suit from Ted Baker.
THE PHOTOGRAPHY
Natalie Martinez Photography. We chose out photographer because of her unique photography style. We wanted to capture the moments of our day that would make us smile in 50 years' time. Natalie was an absolute professional and made us feel completely at ease the whole day. We definitely chose the right photographer because the photos are amazing.
THE FLOWERS
Luke and Lottie were recommended to us by our venue, and the florist Clare was amazing. She completely understood the look we wanted and created centrepieces, decorations and bouquets to match. She understood our venue and helped us highlight the best parts.
HAIR AND MAKE-UP
Hairdresser Bec from Fred and Ginger in Hertford and make-up by Shelley.
I chose both people because I have used them before and know that they are both excellent. I had my hair up to show off the colour and also my head piece. With the make-up I went for airbrush to give a smooth finish that lasted all day.
THE CAKE
We had a three tier wedding cake, with three different flavours - pistachio, lemon and Victoria sponge. Cynthia has an excellent resumé having worked at world class events and on TV programmes and she helped us design a cake that matched our theme.
THE FOOD
We started the day with cocktails, beer and canapés, and then for dinner we had scallops, followed by beef and then passion fruit parfait. The highlight was the beef which was served as a huge rib of beef for each table with all the trimmings. We then ended the night with a BBQ and popcorn.
THE ENTERTAINMENT
We love a classic wedding disco, which we modernised with some dance classics mixed with the traditional wedding party songs.
THE STATIONERY
Stephanie was amazing and created us bespoke wedding stationery and invites.
THE WEDDING MORNING
I got ready with my bridal party at home and then travelled to the venue for the final touches, photos and champagne.
THE CEREMONY
We had a civil ceremony, which we personalised with readings done by two of our close friends.
We chose Pachelbel's Canon to walk down the aisle to and then moved on to songs by the Brooklyn Duo, who take modern songs and make classical arrangements.
THE FAVOURS
Personalised boxes filled with personalised M&Ms.
THE SPEECHES
We had speeches from the father of the bride, the best man and Rory. My mum also gave a toast.
THE FIRST DANCE
Helium by Sia.
