Lianne and James met in modern fashion online through a dating app. “I originally ‘friend zoned’ him for seven months,” recalls Lianne. “Never meeting in person but chatting over social media in that time. After a conversation with him online one day, I realised we had a lot in common and I couldn’t believe I had left it so long to actually meet him!” Arranging their first date, a meet up in Chelmsford, they hit it off immediately. A walk around a park turned in to shopping and lunch, with conversation still flowing they headed to the cinema and went for dinner – nine whole hours later the date ended and, as they say, the rest is history! James proposed to Lianne in her parents’ garden, in front of a big tree which she used to love to play around as a kid. “It was August 9th 2020 and a baking hot day,” shares Lianne. “We drove to my parents’ house and I thought it was just going to be a chilled afternoon. We got there and my dad said ‘Lianne come and take a walk down the garden, I want to show you what I’ve been growing in the polytunnel’. He’s a keen gardener and always likes to show me his latest vegetable/fruit that he has grown. So, dad, James and I walked down the garden, dad then said ‘Oh I’ve forgot something! You two keep walking and I’ll be right back’. As James and I walked down the garden he turned to me in front of the big tree and there it was decorated in flowers, a bottle of champagne, choccies and music playing. He bent down on one knee and asked me to marry him! “It was a complete surprise, I was so overwhelmed and when we walked back up to the house James’ parents were there plus my nan, grandad and brother. Little did I know my dad had set up a secret camera and recorded the whole thing!” The big date was set, 10th June 2021, with a ceremony at St. Peters Church Coggeshall and reception at Markshall Estate, Coggeshall, Essex. “Due to the pandemic, I had to shut my business for four months over the winter so I turned all my attention to my wedding and planned it like full time job. I absolutely loved it!” shares Lianne. SETTING THE SCENE Having always dreamed of getting married in Coggeshall Church, it was Lianne’s first choice of ceremony venue, “It’s just so beautiful and magical,” adds Lianne. Wanting the day to be classy and romantic, their chosen reception venue also had to have plenty of outdoor space they could utilise for their June wedding. “Markshall is absolutely stunning, the grounds are gorgeous and it has a very welcoming, cosy vibe inside. Even though we were only allowed 30 guests at the time it still didn’t feel too big with the way I laid it out.” Absolutely adoring flowers, the bride opted for a mix of real and faux blooms. Each table had a centrepiece and was named after a country garden flower: peony, lavender, sweet pea and so on. “The top table had a huge runner of real flowers,” shares Lianne, “and at the side of the top table we had faux cherry trees in ivory. We utilised this by also using them in the church for the ceremony. Above the top table we had two rings of flowers, this was to symbolise the wedding rings. We had real flowers around the little outdoor sun shelter, which is where we let our harpist play during the reception drinks. Finally, we decide to use a company to cover the ceiling in ivory drapes and the florist then attached faux ivory and lilac wisteria inbetween to give a romantic closed-in look.” Due to the pandemic, meaning they had less guests on the same budget, the couple opted to treat their guests with lots of little extras. In keeping with the theme, each guest received a favour which was a little succulent plant and a gift bag full of little goodies. “We kept with the rustic theme and all the table plans, menus, invites, place names etc, all had the same wood-effect design with fairylights and flowers on them in ivory,” adds Lianne. “As a last-minute thing I decided to set up a prosecco bar with sweets, edible flowers and different flavour liquors. Also, I can’t not mention the cake which was amazing.” The REAL WEDDING 41
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