A St Giles House Wedding & Sassi Holford Bride

This lovely and stylish St Giles House wedding ceremony came about in April this yr, when Lucy and Lewis tied the knot at this lovely Dorset nation home wedding ceremony venue, surrounded by household and all their favorite buddies.

We’re so thrilled that Lucy, a faithful fan-girl of Love My Dress (thanks Lucy!) found each her photographers, Taylor Hughes, and her costume designer, Sassi Holford by these pages.

A St Giles House Wedding

We initially thought we’d get married within the South of France, however the pandemic made that slightly dangerous.  Instead, we went seeking an English countryside venue that also had a European really feel, however we additionally took benefit of now being within the UK and sought out someplace that had an elegant, extra city-like aesthetic that felt very ‘us’ too.

We initially seen three venues, none of which felt fairly proper, till we got here throughout St Giles House in Dorset.

We had unique rent of the venue throughout three days, which meant we might deliver the marriage social gathering collectively the evening earlier than for a relaxed dinner after the ceremony rehearsal. This actually allowed everybody to turn into relaxed in each other’s’ firm, which created a stunning vibe of togetherness on the morning of the massive day.

St Giles House additionally has a superbly renovated set of barns reverse the primary home, which sleeps 24 folks. So, the morning after the marriage, we had 24 of our nearest and dearest collect collectively for brunch within the eating room, to reminisce in regards to the occasions from the day earlier than!

St Giles House additionally comes with an on-the-day coordinator which was a godsend; Lottie was so on high of the whole lot which actually allowed Lewis and I to chill out and benefit from the day.

Bridal Beauty

Quelle Bester of A Bridal Edit was our hair and make-up artist. She’s extremely gifted, so skilled and does that glowy bridal look so nicely. She additionally purchased Hollie Danby to help with hair and she or he was equally as fantastic.

There was such a relaxed, excited vibe within the bridal suite the morning of the marriage, and Quelle was an enormous contributor to that.I selected to put on my hair down at some stage in the day.

This is sort of at all times how I’ve my hair, so we opted for Hollywood waves which lasted proper by from the ceremony till the top of the evening. Definitely price asking a bridesmaid to maintain a hairbrush readily available if they’ve the purse house although, it’s an extended day and after the meal, mine appeared far more refreshed as soon as I’d rapidly combed by it.

I wore Tom Ford’s Soleil Blanc Eau De Parfum on our wedding ceremony day. I’m an enormous fragrance fan and love the way in which a scent can transport you again to a time or reminiscence, so took a whole lot of care selecting the right scent to mark the day. Lewis is identical, and he wore Acqua Di Parma Colonia Club, which I gave him final Christmas and he saved till the massive day.

Veil, Shoes & Accessories

For me, it was at all times going to be a sure to a veil; it’s your solely alternative to put on one and I really like the feel it provides. I selected an extra-long veil with a satin trim that superbly framed the costume and travelled well beyond the practice. It created a dramatic silhouette as I walked which felt so bridal. I wore the Athena veil from Couture Veil, which the Sassi Holford workforce made for me.

I’m a giant fan of platform heels; and as quickly as I noticed the white platform model of the coveted Loeffler Randall pair, I knew they needed to be part of my wedding ceremony look.

They have been so snug on the day, and I put on them on a regular basis post-wedding too. In the night, I turned into a pair of silver strappy heeled sandals, which have been later swapped out for my adidas trainers, which made for the right dancing companion.

As my ‘something borrowed’, I wore a gold bangle my dad purchased my mum about 30 years go. It’s such a particular piece and I beloved carrying it on the day. My mother and father additionally discovered a blue embroidered handkerchief in Portugal, which they gave me as my ‘something blue’.

The Sassi Holford workforce created pockets in my robe, and I carried the handkerchief round with me all day in case of any glad tears! On the morning of the marriage day, Lewis gave me a fantastic necklace from Mejuri, which I wore with my night costume.

The Dress

My first costume was a bespoke robe by Sassi Holford. I visited a few London boutiques and went in with a really open thoughts. I attempted on quite a lot of types, and finally found I used to be searching for a extra fashionable tackle a traditional, silk robe, however none had but felt fairly proper.

I knew a silhouette on a costume like this wanted to be completely tailor-made; there’s no gildings or embroidery to cover any ill-fitting areas!

As quickly as I visited Sassi Holford, I knew they have been the one. I made a decision to go for their bespoke choice, and it was a dream designing my wedding ceremony robe with their workforce.

It was so fascinating to undergo the entire course of, from the unique idea drawings to getting into the completed costume on the day.

Their consideration to element was subsequent degree they usually seen small particulars that I positively wouldn’t have. They even requested whether or not the venue had wooden or carpeted flooring, so they may hem the robe to completely skim the ground as I walked.

Bridesmaids Dress by The Own Studio

I had three bridesmaids, and their clothes have been all by The Own Studio. Rosie and the remainder of The Own Studio workforce are past pretty, and we had a lot enjoyable selecting them out at their studio over a glass of champagne.

All my bridesmaids wore a silk, darkish inexperienced robe, however selected two completely different designs between the three of them.

It was so vital to me that every of them felt nice within the costume they have been carrying, and The Own Studio get it so proper by way of clothes that appear and feel lovely.

Each of my bridesmaids have been eager for a block heel, so we opted for a satin ivory pair from ASOS, which we paired with a pearl beaded clutch bag that my mum discovered on Oliver Bonas.

Find lovely Bridesmaids clothes right here

The Inspiration

One of my favorite elements of the marriage planning course of was scrolling by Love My Dress and studying all about previous {couples}’ weddings. It offered such nice inspiration, and it’s so enjoyable to see how others created their good day. We additionally wouldn’t have discovered our superb photographers with out Love My Dress!

We took inspiration from so many locations; my background is in print publishing, so naturally I went straight to magazines.

I additionally drew concepts from weddings I beloved all through historical past, spent hours scrolling by TikTook (bridal TikTook is a godsend) and naturally had a mammoth Pinterest board too. We needed the day to really feel relaxed, however nonetheless elevated and glamorous, and we reminded ourselves of this at every stage of the planning course of.

There are so many choices accessible, that it’s simple to get carried away and go down a route that doesn’t really feel very ‘you’.

We tied this aesthetic in by numerous methods; we went for black tie moderately than morning fits and instructed our friends no have to put on a hat (except they’d a very nice one!). The night was styled extra as a cocktail social gathering than wedding ceremony reception, swapping the extra conventional cake reducing for a cocktail hour after dinner, earlier than the primary dance.

The Ceremony

My fantastic dad walked me down the aisle. It was a second I’d dreamt of for years, and we each felt so relaxed and glad all through, smiling our method down the aisle which set the tone for a way more relaxed ceremony. We walked down the aisle to ‘Hold You Now’ by Vampire Weekend.

They have been one of many first bands Lewis and I noticed collectively, and we love their music, so after we heard the tune for the primary time, we saved it for our wedding ceremony ‘one day’. When our wedding ceremony lastly got here, it was the right accompaniment for that second.

Taylor Hughes Photography

We discovered Taylor Hughes Photography on Love My Dress and after a scroll by their Instagram, utterly fell in love with their editorial, style-focused work.

They kindly steered we meet for a drink in London to get to know each other earlier than our engagement shoot, which was good for us, as by the point the marriage day got here round we already knew each Jack and Jade and felt so snug of their firm.

They have been so organised and targeted all through the day, making certain they captured each shot we’d requested for, and inside lower than 24 hours, we had a ‘sneak peek’ arrive in our inbox, which was a whole dream! And, as they’re a pictures duo, we had two photographers at our wedding ceremony and it meant they may seize a a lot fuller perspective of the day.

We trusted them utterly, and have been capable of chill out into the enjoyable of the day understanding they’d seize us for photographs when the time was proper, or repair any out-of-place hair too! We couldn’t advocate them extra.

Videography

On the lead as much as the day, Claire of Everwood Films was on-hand to assist with any and all questions – videography associated and in any other case which I vastly appreciated. She captured our wedding ceremony day so completely, documenting the small intimate elements of the day in addition to the massive moments.

We have been very near not having a videographer as a result of price range restrictions, and that will’ve been an enormous mistake for us. If the price range permits, we’d 100% advocate choosing a videographer along with a photographer.

You spend virtually your complete wedding ceremony day along with your photographer and videographer, and between Claire and Jack and Jade of Taylor Hughes Photography, we genuinely felt like we had buddies there with us. At one level the wind caught my veil and pulled it out, and Claire was proper there to assist slide it again in.

How They Met

Lewis and I met by mutual buddies at the start of college, and 7 years later, he proposed over a bottle of champagne from the yr we met within the countryside close to to the place I grew up. He needed the place we acquired engaged to be someplace we might at all times come again to.

My dad additionally proposed to my mum while on a picnic in Richmond Park, which Lewis knew, so his proposal was a stunning nod to that too.

Lewis requested me to be his spouse in July and we acquired married the next April, so had 9 months in whole to plan the massive day.

We weren’t eager on the thought of an extended engagement, and luckily each provider we beloved was accessible, so don’t really feel we needed to compromise on something while planning in a shorter timeframe both.

Detail & Decor

We discovered that nobody firm provided every bit of décor we have been after, so we employed from quite a lot of completely different locations for every ingredient. When designing the décor for the day, I learn a tip that mentioned to go searching the inside of your own home and see what color schemes you gravitate in direction of as a pair. We discovered this so useful and given our

residence has as impartial color scheme with hints of greens all through, this was the reassurance we would have liked to go forward with this scheme in thoughts.

I really like a heat, candle-lit house, so we positioned pillar candles in cylinder vases all through the entire venue and down the tables for our reception too.

We additionally employed 5 large disco balls which we precariously balanced within the hearth the place we had the marriage reception. Fortunately, these didn’t roll out midway by, and have been so efficient. They created a barely extra modern vibe to part of the day that may generally really feel slightly stuffy or conventional. We acquired so many compliments on these!

Designing the tablescape was my favorite a part of the planning course of. I really like internet hosting dinner events in our London flat, so this primarily felt like a a lot larger-scale model of that. I discovered lengthy cheesecloth-style desk runners on Etsy, which we scrunched up and adorned with the candles.

We went with traditional white chinaware by our caterers to maintain prices down slightly, after which employed lovely line-etched glasses and charger plates to assist personalise our settings.

We used India from Vervain Flowers, and she or he actually went above and past. Before we’d even booked with India, she despatched by a 12-page proposal with schemes for every a part of the day. This consideration to element, along with her lovely work we’d seen on Instagram, made reserving Vervain a no brainer.

The inside of St Giles House has been superbly designed, sustaining a whole lot of the unbelievable historical past and character of the property, and so I knew I needed a comparatively impartial floral scheme to enhance this.

However, I’m no floral knowledgeable, so I gathered examples and temper boards of the completely different floral schemes I preferred for every a part of the day, earlier than passing all inventive management over to India. She utterly blew us away – the flowers, particularly the urns of untamed cherry blossoms within the ceremony entranceway and set up framing the highest of the aisle, have been among the most complimented elements of the day.

A Dress Change for the Evening

My second costume was Shona Joy, which I discovered on Farfetch. This was a comparatively last-minute resolution. I’d absolutely supposed to put on my Sassi Holford robe for the complete occasion, nevertheless, like most brides on their wedding ceremony day, I had massive social gathering plans for the night and as April grew nearer, I grew to become slightly nervous about how a lot dancing might be performed in a big robe.

I started trying to find some inspiration, and the identical day, Hailey Bieber wore that white silk Saint Laurent costume to the 2022 Grammy’s, and I used to be immediately bought. I went seeking the same piece and located Shona Joy’s Bias Cowl Slip Dress on Farfetch. It got here from Australia and solely arrived a few weeks earlier than the marriage, so unsure what my plan B would’ve been if it wasn’t proper.

Fortunately, I slipped it on and burst into glad tears, it match completely and turned out to be top-of-the-line last-minute choices I made. It was such a ‘me’ costume, it’s positively one thing I’ll put on once more, and it additionally made a pleasant transition level from the meal into cocktail hour too.

Evening & Dancing

We selected ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ by Frankie Valli. We’re certainly not skilled dancers, however considerably ready a dance for the primary a part of the tune which was very particular, earlier than Lewis discovered his mum and I discovered my dad and we purchased them onto the dance flooring for a second with every of them.

This was an effective way of encouraging different friends to affix too, which created such a enjoyable environment and incredible photographs. After the tune ended, Lewis and I danced all of the friends right down to the nightclub the place the DJ greeted us with the primary tune of the evening.

We additionally had a ‘last dance’ which I’d actually advocate! Almost each visitor stayed till the top, so when the DJ introduced this for us, everybody gathered spherical cheering as Lewis and I danced our last dance of the evening collectively. This offered such a enjoyable send-off and ended the evening on an enormous excessive.

Whilst in a regular setting you’ll do the rounds saying goodbye to everybody, on our wedding ceremony day the very last thing we needed to be doing was standing by the door as every visitor filtered out the venue, ready for taxis and gathering coats and many others.

The final dance gave everybody an opportunity to wave us off, earlier than the DJ performed a pair extra songs and the venue winded down for the evening. Lewis and I have been additionally very dedicated to chatting with each visitor at the very least as soon as all through the day, so we didn’t really feel in any respect responsible for not saying lengthy goodbyes to everybody.

We employed a jazz trio referred to as The Swing Rhythms for our drinks reception. Despite our wedding ceremony being in April, we have been extremely fortunate to get shiny blue skies, so after the ceremony we hosted our drinks reception out on the terrace overlooking St Giles’s lovely sweeping grounds. The trio created the right ambiance and actually set the tone for the remainder of the day – they have been 100% definitely worth the funding.

Our DJ for the night was LuvWed. Our venue really helpful him, and he was sensible. He had everybody dancing proper from the beginning of the night till the early hours, together with our three 80+ year-old nannies!

Words of Wedded Wisdom

My primary piece of recommendation can be stick collectively. Whilst it may appear apparent, there’s a lot occurring all through a marriage day that it’s simple to by accident ‘divide and conquer’ and find yourself spending virtually no time along with your new husband or spouse. Instead, after the ceremony Lewis and I made the aware resolution to stick with each other as a lot as attainable.

This actually allowed us to absorb every second of our day as a pair, and converse to our friends as new husband and spouse which was so particular too. Of course, there have been moments the place he chatted along with his buddies and me mine, however primarily we soaked in the entire day collectively, taking little moments right here and there to cease and recognize our environment.

Remember, your wedding ceremony just isn’t a networking occasion, it’s a celebration of your love for each other, so nobody will choose in the event you’re joint on the hip!

If you’re planning your wedding ceremony with out the assistance of a planner, I’d advocate selecting your workforce very properly. The distributors you choose are those who assist deliver your wedding ceremony day to life, they usually’re there all through the complete course of. We have been very cautious to decide on to work with folks we actually clicked with, who got here with expertise and a degree of professionalism, however have been additionally tremendous constructive and relaxed too. I had such an influence workforce behind me, and it made all of the distinction.

If you probably can, I’d advocate doing a speech too. You’re by no means going to be met with a extra constructive or welcoming viewers that you’ll in your wedding ceremony day, and it’s a stunning alternative to talk to your nearest and dearest on such an important day. Lewis and I selected to do a speech collectively, whereby we mentioned all our thank yous and instructed just a few humorous anecdotes from all through our relationship. We kicked-off the speeches, and it was so enjoyable to deal with the room as new husband-and-wife.

From a extra sensible level, positively create a shared e mail tackle and spreadsheet. This means if one in every of you is tied up with a busy work week, your important different can decide up any unanswered emails. It additionally means when the marriage is over, you don’t have tones of wedding ceremony associated gives and newsletters pinging into your regular inbox. We additionally added an ’out of workplace’ into the inbox, to tell distributors and suppliers that Saturdays have been our devoted wedmin day.

If you each work full-time, it will probably really feel slightly daunting having chasers come by to your inbox midway by a busy week. As far because the spreadsheet goes, we had tabs for the whole lot from meals alternatives and visitor record, proper by to room allocations, outfits and a price range tracker too. It’s no secret that planning a marriage is a big job, so holding organised actually helped streamline issues and keep away from pointless stress.