Your Bristol & Somerset Wedding - Apr/May 2019 (Issue 70)

REAL WEDDINGS 41  W hen Hayley moved to London at 20 years old to start an internship for an events company, she wasn’t expecting to meet the love of her life. Nick was the son of her new boss and had started working for his dad at the same time. “I was quite shy at first, getting used to my new lifestyle, but Nick was so friendly and welcoming,” Hayley remembers. After four months, Nick went travelling for half a year, but he and Hayley kept in touch the whole time he was away. He returned in May 2012, and the pair have been together ever since. Fast-forward five years, and Nick surprised Hayley with a trip to Iceland. “I woke up thinking I was going to work as normal, but instead he gave me a card explaining that we were travelling that day,” she says. “He had arranged everything: skiing, a Northern Lights tour, a trip to the Blue Lagoon and a seven-course taster menu. On the final night, he popped the question in our beautiful hotel room.” The couple soon got to work planning their dream day for 13 th August, 2018, and they decided to return to the bride-to-be’s roots and wed in the West Country. SETTING THE SCENE They visited seven venues in Somerset before falling in love with Coombe Lodge. “We wanted to make the outdoors a big part of our day, and the grounds of the venue are simply stunning,” Hayley remembers. “It was ideal for the al fresco ceremony and drinks reception we had in mind, and the interior was spacious and full of light, so we could visualise putting our own stamp on it.” The theme was an English country garden wedding with an elegant palette of white, black, mink and rose gold. “Working in the events industry, inspiration is around me all the time, which really helped with our flowers,” the bride says. “For the ceremony, we had two big pedestals of blooms and florals wrapped around the ceremony chairs. We also had a fun confetti station!” The table centrepieces were a mix of tall and short arrangements in complementing colours, accented with hanging orchids and green foliage. There was a grand piano in the wedding breakfast room, which the couple just had to incorporate into their styling. “We worked with our stylist to create a table plan to sit on top of it,” Hayley shares. “There were nine cards for each table covered with glass domes and surrounded by flowers.” The table names and place cards looked chic in black with professional rose gold calligraphy. The cake was a three-tier masterpiece. “It was lemon and courgette flavour – divine,” the bride says. “A white chocolate shard was placed on the top, while flowers and macarons cascaded down the side.” Keen to make the day their own, they filled the space with items they loved, from the bespoke illustrated bar menus to the gorgeously decorated high cocktail tables and the fabulous flower wall.