Chloe and Lewis met at Lewis’ workplace. Chloe was friends with his boss’ sister so they’d go and visit the workshop together. The future couple got on well together straight away with plenty of banter and they became friends. “Everyone wanted to set us up and egged us on to go on a date,” Chloe says. “Once we did, the rest was history.” Indeed, the first date went so well, Lewis tells us, “Afterwards, I knew I was going to marry her.” Now a couple the two had discussed marriage, so Chloe knew when Lewis had purchased the engagement ring, but didn’t know when or where he planned to propose. He chose the perfect moment on a beach in Devon on their first holiday together as a family with their two children. “I was busy taking pictures of our son playing in the rocks, while our daughter was asleep in her carrier,” Chloe remembers. “When I turned around, there he was down on one knee with the ring in his hand. He’d managed to surprise me. I wasn’t expecting it to happen then and there!” It’d been a dream of Chloe’s to get married at Frickley Lake since it started hosting weddings. She grew up down the lane and had spent countless hours on the land as a child. Her dad was game keeper and used part of the farm’s land for the shoot. There’d also been annual festival events held in what is now the wedding field that she would attend with her family, so it occupies an incredibly sentimental place in her heart. Lewis was more than happy to go along with this since the place meant so much to Chloe and fell in love with it himself when he saw the views and experienced the tranquil surroundings. “We couldn’t have found a more perfect venue for us if we tried,” Chloe explains. The date for the big day was set for 18th May 2024. Read on as the bride tells us all about it... SETTING THE SCENE Having agreed on a countryside, family vibe with a green palette, the flowers took on a rustic, minimalist look placed on barrels by the entrance to the marquee with plenty of greenery and white blooms including roses. There was also ivy draped on three woven wreaths hanging from the ceiling embellished with pheasant feathers. The centrepieces too were simple and elegant featuring three differently sized vases containing floating candles to create a romantic ambience. Ivy was woven between them along with white roses for texture. This was all placed on a hessian table runner. The bride’s and bridesmaids’ bouquets included a mixture of flowers and greenery including more beautiful white roses and fern, all wrapped in twine. Lewis made the table plan from a wooden board and Chloe took the artwork from their invitations and Photoshopped it onto A5 cards with guests’ names and table numbers. She then used a small Etsy business who cut out the place names from wood, which were placed on folded napkins on guests’ plates. These were joined by the favours – little shot bottles labelled: ‘we tied the knot so take a shot.’ “We thought this was a fun way of doing favours and they added a little pop of colour to the tables too,” Chloe says. All assembled dined on a barbecue buffet for the wedding breakfast with a choice of burgers, sausages, grilled chicken and pork belly, plus sides including spring onion and potato salad, red cabbage coleslaw and dressed mixed leaves. This was followed by an array of cheesecakes along with the big-day bake, a three-tier rustic affair iced in white and decorated with roses. A pizza van served up the evening feast of fresh pizza with a vast selection of delicious toppings. 27 REAL WEDDING
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