Florence and Harry met almost nine years ago during a night out in Ipswich. “Harry was due to go travelling in Australia three months later, and I had just moved home from university,” says Florence. “We were seeing each other up until he left, and we both thought things might fizzle out when he moved, but we ended up talking every single day. After a few months, he asked me to visit him; I flew out for a four-week trip in February 2014, and we both returned two years later.” Harry proposed on their sixth anniversary. “It was coincidentally also the day that we picked up the keys to our first home,” shares the bride. “We walked into the house, and he asked me to go upstairs to take some measurements. When I came back down, he was on one knee with a basket full of champagne and flowers and the song Purple Rain by Prince playing in the background (something we both danced to on the night we met). As it was halfway through the pandemic, we weren’t able to celebrate properly with family and friends, but we spend the afternoon crying and FaceTiming our loved ones.” SETTING THE SCENE “My family home has always held a special place in my heart, and I have so many memories there,” explains Florence. “It was actually Harry’s idea to have the wedding there. A lot of his family live in Australia, so it was important to us that we could have the flexibility of an outdoor event, considering at the time we weren’t sure what the pandemic restrictions would be like; especially since his family were flying all the way over from Australia. At the time, the paddock around the back of my parents’ house had sat unused and unloved for almost 20 years. The ground was uneven, and there were stinging nettles up to our shoulders covering about 70 per cent of the space. We knew we had a huge project on our hands, so after we got engaged, we set about getting the space ready. Harry’s uncles both work in landscaping, and my parents are both retired and love gardening, so we were very lucky to have lots of family members support us in making our vision come to life. First, the nettles had to be pulled out by the roots, we got diggers in to help with that, and then it was a long and tedious process of seeding and flattening the ground, followed by more seeding and constant watering. It became a passion project for my parents, who were tending to the grass every day in the lead-up to the wedding. We had an outdoor ceremony on the grass at the front of the house, which Willoughby Green built a bespoke pergola for to set the scene. For the reception, everyone came through to the paddock, which had been transformed even further by the incredible team at Events Under Canvas with three tipi tents, festoon lighting, a bar, furniture and a firepit.” For their favours, the couple decided to create place names which reflected the theme of the wedding but also made fun keepsakes. “As it was late August, we knew the weather was likely to be hot, so I created personalised boho-style fans, with our #CrushedIt wedding hashtag on the back,” recalls the bride. “Luckily, I had the company that I run with my best friends, Boho & Bubbles, to lean on when it came to a lot of the styling, signage and prep work. The fans looked stunning, and lots of people commented on how they were really unique, which was a relief as it was a lot of work! We also enlisted the help of other family members, as the process took a lot longer than we expected. I’m sure they never want to see a vinyl sticker again! “To stick with the disco/festival theme, we opted for our favourite love songs as table names,” adds Florence. “Boho & Bubbles created and painted a giant piece of MDF with a vinyl record at the top which said “find your set list”. We placed this under a tree that had lots of disco balls hanging from the branches above.” For their centrepieces, Florence wanted to create something that was in keeping with their theme but also looked simple so it didn’t distract from the fans. “Hayley from Starry Eyed Weddings understood our vision and provided an array of burnt orange jars and vases for the bouquet cutoffs, and plenty of fairylights,” remembers Florence. “Hayley matched the colours of the bridesmaids’ dresses, and the result was better than I could have imagined.” REAL WEDDINGS 43
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