Jessica & Simon’s Botanical Wedding
What was your first step in planning your wedding?
“The first thing was to buy a wedding book and look at dresses.”
Inspiration: Did you use blogs or magazines for ideas?
“Well we mainly went with our own ideas. You see so many different themes and colours that the choices just get more confusing so we went with our own ideas”
What were your wedding “must have’s”?
“Wedding must haves were certainly lots of green foliage and flowers as well as an exclusive wedding venue.”
Wedding budget: how did you organise your wedding budget?
“We didn’t set a budget but we saved on items where we could. However, things we couldn’t save on we just purchased anyway.”
What made you choose your wedding venue?
“We knew that we wanted to get married in the Cotswolds and had two final choices for our venue. We chose to visit Clearwell Castle first and we fell in love with it immediately! We didn’t even bother looking elsewhere. The ceremony room was a key feature and we just loved it.”
Styling your wedding: how did you personalise your big day?
“I always wanted to incorporate blossom trees for decoration and we did look into purchasing them ourselves. But we then found Sweet Brothers Events and were amazed at the price of their packages, so we couldn’t say no. Using Sweet Brothers Events saved us so much time on the day, having somebody to decorate the venue for us. I also used a lot of candles for decoration around the venue.”
“In the Dining Room we chose to have candelabras on every other table alternating with blossom trees. We also used the blossom trees for the Ceremony, decorating the aisle. We also had a lovely floral arch over the cake table.
“We created our own table plan by using a large mirror as well as a eucalyptus garland which was sourced from a local neighbour’s garden.”
“We gave each of our guests jars of honey for favours as Simon just loves honey!”
“The tables were decorated using grey table cloths which really set it apart as well as gold charger plates.”
Wedding suppliers: how did you choose your suppliers?
“We found all of our suppliers on social media and looked at their previous work and testimonials.”
“We had a large centre piece cake made from Nice Icing in Goole. As well as a two tier, single tier and 30 cupcakes made by Charlie’s Cakery in Gloucester.”
“Originally we weren’t going to use a videographer. But we were super lucky to find the most amazing videographer who was actually just starting to cover weddings. We were offered a great package and the video was just great.”
Describe your wedding attire?
“Choosing my dress was a very hard choice. However when I decided on the style I was set on I managed to find the dress straight away! I visited a few shops but I didn’t find anything that was suitable. The shop assistants told me that dresses I tried on looked great even when I felt they didn’t. I then remembered a very old friend from school had a dress shop and I sent her some images of what I was looking for. I then went to visit and she had the dress I wanted. So plain and simple.”
“I wore some beautiful earrings from The Cotswold ring maker that Simon had chosen. I should have had a blue sapphire bracelet to match but unfortunately it couldn’t be altered in time for the wedding. I decided to go very simple.”
“My ring is a gorgeous sapphire. I had the inspiration from Simon’s Granny. She has the most stunning ring and I instantly fell in love with it and I wanted one the same.”
What did your partner wear?
“Simon, the groomsmen and my father all wore blue suits but we originally planned for black tuxedos but with a few hiccups we had to change the style a week before the wedding. The suits were teamed with soft pink ties which finished off the look. We both loved the suits as soon as we saw them.”
Tell us about your Bridesmaids, Groomsmen and their outfits?
“The bridesmaid’s wore pink dresses. In the beginning I wouldn’t have chosen pink but with the blossom trees being the same colour I knew the bridesmaid dresses would be complemented. We had two bridesmaids and two best men. We didn’t want any more bridesmaids as we wanted to have a small wedding”
“I had preserved flowers for my bouquet, the bridesmaids and buttonholes. They look so fresh but will last for so many years and we will have them to enjoy.”
What was your biggest wedding splurge?
“My biggest wedding splurge was probably my dress.”
What was your biggest wedding saving?
“The biggest saving was my table plan. We both made it and the eucalyptus came from a local neighbour’s garden.”
What was your ceremony like?
“My entrance ceremony song was ‘Everything I Do’ by Brian Adams as we have always loved this song even before we got engaged.”
Tell us about your drinks reception and wedding breakfast?
“The Canapés & Wedding Breakfast went down very well with all of our guests, they all said how lovely the food was. The evening buffet was also amazing.”
Based on your own experience, give us some top tips:
“Don’t let others try and tell you what to do and don’t worry about what other people think! After the wedding find yourself a hobby… otherwise you will start to feel lost after spending so long planning.”
If we could do it again we’d…….?
“We’d change nothing!”
Did you go on a honeymoon or mini-moon?
“We are having a honeymoon on our one year anniversary. We decided to wait due to everything that is happening.”
Tell us about your suppliers:
Dress-Gracie Bleu Bridal, Matlock
Suits- Moss Bros Derby
Bridesmaid Dresses- Chi chi London
Wedding cake – Charlie’s Cakery & Nice Icing
Photographer – Abigail May Photography
Videographer- Cloud Vision
Flowers- Hana Flower Works
Decorations- Sweet Brothers Events
Hair & Makeup by The Beauty Spot – Kamilla & Hayley
