An Essex Wedding - Page number 45 - September/October 2021 (Issue 100)

the second outing, hair and make-up done, she was ready to be open minded and try everything and anything on! “We walked into J’adore in Coggeshall and my mum picked out a dress (the 16th dress for me to try on after the first trip!) it was not the style I had in mind, but clearly that was something I had to let go of!” recalls Hannah. “As soon as I tried it on, and the shop assistant secured the buttons I knew that this was the one . I walked out to show mum and Catherine and they both welled-up, although my mum cries all the time I had never seen my best friend cry so this was definitely the dress for me! “As well as being beautifully bejewelled with sequins and beads, the dress was super-comfortable and, as it wasn’t fitted, I could eat as much as I wanted on the day – result! It was a very emotional day and we celebrated with prosecco!” Hannah accessorised with a veil from J’adore, something she originally said she didn’t want but it finished off the look perfectly. “I added a bejewelled hair comb, also from the dress shop, to sit on top of it and the jewels of the comb matched the beads on my dress. Mum also gave me the garter from her wedding which had some blue ribbon on it so it was my something old and something blue ,” add Hannah. Not to be outdressed, Jon chose a suit from Hardys on Halstead high street and he too kept his choice a secret from bride-to-be Hannah. She adds, “It was the only part of the wedding that I didn’t have control over, but he promised that he’d keep to the colour scheme we’d agreed on. He chose a lovely navy three-piece suit with a pale pink tie and pocket square which matched the exact colour of the bridesmaids’ dresses! He got it completely right and looked super handsome. He also managed to find some pink socks to really tie in the colour scheme!” Jon had four groomsmen and, along with Hannah’s dad and Jon’s stepdad, they wore the same as Jon and they all scrubbed up really well! For the bridesmaids’ and flowergirl dresses amazingly everyone agreed on the same colour, a rose quartz hue found in The Bridesmaid Boutique in Bulphan. “It was amazing everyone liked the same colour and style and it suited them all, they looked beautiful. Our flowergirl wore the cutest white dress and it came with a matching rose quartz ribbon which tied into a bow at the back. I wanted my bridesmaids to be comfortable, so let them choose their shoes and hair dos (as long as it wasn’t up like mine!) and they all did their own make-up. Our mums also looked stunning on the day, with outfits from Condici complete with wonderful hatinators.” FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD “We unashamedly spent the most money on food and drink at the venue. We wanted to make sure our guests had plenty to indulge in over the course of the day and they certainly did!” recalls Hannah. “Considering the weather, we were lucky enough to hold our drinks reception outside in the courtyard. We had plenty of cocktails and canapés to go round and keep our guests occupied whilst we escaped for our photo shoot. We served prosecco, strawberry daquiris, pimms, and beers, and basil, feta and tomato crostinis, tempura king prawns, mini scotch eggs, smoked duck croquettes, bang bang chicken and chocolate-dipped strawberries – our wedding manager even organised for one of everything to be sent up to our room to make sure we tried all the food! “Our wedding breakfast was also perfect, for starters we had prawn and crayfish tian or roasted artichoke and asparagus tart, beef wellington or roasted vegetable wellington for mains and then a trio of desserts with eton mess, chocolate and salted caramel brownie and créme brulée. Whilst all of my efforts were spent on enjoying every mouthful, I think Jon’s mind was elsewhere in mentally preparing for his speech!” TIME TO CELEBRATE As Hannah and Jon are both music teachers, their number one priority was to make sure that the day was filled with good music. “We sourced a pianist, Luca Dimitri from a website called Function Central, who played during our ceremony and welcome drinks. He performed a selection of REAL WEDDINGS 45