An Essex Wedding - Mar/Apr 2020 (Issue 91)

As we had decided not to give favours, we wanted the place settings to be something artistic that our loved ones could keep. They were burgundy and gold to coordinate with our theme and hand-calligraphed. I liked the traditional card table plans but it didn’t seem responsible to have something that would go straight in the bin the next day. Instead, I filled a rustic crate with flowers and used cards that tied in with our invitations. We both studied history at university and loved the idea of a historical building with an intimate feel. We also wanted to be married by someone from my family’s local parish in Colchester. Layer Marney ticked all the boxes. We could have our ceremony conducted by our family vicar, Lydia, and then celebrate at the amazing Layer Marney Tower with its picturesque surroundings. I’m very close with my grandmother, and from a young age she has taught me to make sugar flowers. We’ve worked on so many other people’s cakes together that I knew no one else could possibly help with our cake. She did amazingly at 87 years old! I’d always wanted an autumn wedding because of the vibrant change of colour in the leaves. When we met with Karina from Butterfly Flowers Phil took charge to make sure the florals reflected us. He was also keen to have a lot of texture and different lengths in the arrangements. 50