When Elizabeth was working as a nanny in central London, she barely had time to herself, let alone to meet a potential partner. But school friend Phillipa had someone in mind for her and gave Elizabeth her colleague Ben’s number suggesting they should meet up. We fast forward eight years to 2021 when Ben got down on one knee during a weekend break in Tetbury and asked Elizabeth to marry him. “I was so surprised I thought he was joking,” she remembers. As she’d always wanted to get married in her home county, Somerset, Elizabeth began scouring the area for their dream venue and found Holbrook Manor. “A beautiful building in a rural setting, it doesn’t do as many weddings as other venues and when we visited there was a real sense that our day was important to them,” she explains. Read on as the bride tells us all about W-day, 29th July, 2022... SETTING THE SCENE The heat was quite a factor on Elizabeth and Ben’s summertime wedding day. In fact, at 27 degrees the bride found herself sweltering in her tiered dress and was slightly worried about fainting! They were, nevertheless, glorious conditions for such a celebration and the couple counted themselves lucky, even if the bride did struggle to get her groom’s wedding band on his finger, again thanks to the heat. In a slight departure from tradition the newlyweds were joined on the top table by the best man and maid-of-honour plus their partners. Holbrook had arranged an oval-shaped top table meaning conversation between the six companions was much easier. The parents sat together with their close friends and family on another table. The tables were decorated with blush pink candles, which surrounded the floral centrepieces. Flowers were important to Elizabeth who wanted to have as many as she could and chose blush pinks and purples for a seasonal, rustic, countryside vibe. The beautiful pink place names were scribed in gold calligraphy and the tables were all named after places the couple had been to on holiday as well as the village they now call home. “Fran at Hunter Gatherings who made our stationery was so brilliant, she managed to do our designs at the last minute,” Elizabeth says. To add a bit more colour to the tablescapes they also hired oh-so elegant gold cutlery and napkins. “Holly Miller was incredibly helpful in suggesting options for our wedding cake,” Elizabeth tells us. “We chose a different flavour for each of our four tiers – traditional fruit; champagne; orange blossom, almond and thyme; and red velvet.” It was adorned in gold leaf and fresh roses with a hexagonal stencil print on the bottom tier. The catering was all provided by the venue and the couple chose to serve two of each course allowing guests to swap dishes with each other if they wished. What’s more, espresso Martinis were enjoyed by all as the evening began. LOOKING THE PART Elizabeth wore a stunning Sassi Holford gown. “I loved how different it was with the polka dot pattern,” she shares. The bride accessorised with a headband by Dolecka and shoes by Jimmy Choo. The groom wore the same suit as his groomsmen, with a different tie from Salvatorre Ferragamo in keeping with the day’s 23 REAL WEDDINGS
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