Helen and Phil met through friends of friends on a night out in Barnstaple in 2011. Helen tells us, “He was tall, dark and handsome with plenty of charm and personality!” Phil adds, “I was instantly drawn to Helen’s gorgeous eyes and thought what a little stunner! We got talking and hit it off right away, sharing similar interests in farming, countryside sports and socialising with our friends. We enjoyed several dates and 11 years later, here we are!” The couple became engaged when Phil proposed in January 2020 in their favourite holiday destination of Tenerife. “Phil did very well hiding the ring until the second day of our holiday,” Helen says. “After enjoying a long walk, we got back to the hotel as the sun was going down and enjoyed a glass of sangria whilst taking pictures of the sunset. Without any expectation, Phil suddenly asked me to be his wife. Of course, I said yes after crying happy tears!” SETTING THE SCENE Being a traditional couple, Helen and Phil both wanted to be married in church. “We live in the parish of East Down that’s home to a beautiful church,” Phil tells us. “We wanted to host our reception at home and are lucky that Helen’s parents own the farm where we live so we were able to organise a marquee wedding keeping our fingers crossed for good weather! The field we used for the marquee boasts spectacular views across Exmoor and Dartmoor.” Helen’s uncle Richard drove Helen and her father Steve to the church. “My uncle Alan and auntie Alf arranged the additional transport for our bridal party and decorated the cars with ribbon and flowers,” Helen says. “Phil and his best man, Nick arrived at the church in Nick’s uncle’s van via a quick stop at the pub en route! We were both a bit nervous but once the ceremony started, we relaxed and enjoyed every minute. Both the Rev’d. Rosie Austin and Rev’d Sue Davies-Fletcher took the service and did a fantastic job of making it fun, relaxed and very fitting for us as individuals. Everyone commented on how wonderful it was and Phil made everyone laugh when he started to read his vows to Rosie instead of addressing them to me!” At their reception, Helen and Phil had round tables of eight guests. “Our table plan was designed with purple flowers, wheat and horseshoes which suited our country theme perfectly,” Helen says. “We made our centrepieces using logs that were cut, sanded and varnished by Phil. We displayed glass jars on top decorated with ribbon and hessian made by myself and my mum, Pam. These were filled with flowers provided by our florist and arranged by my sister-in-law. Our table names were traditional horseshoe-shaped stands welded together and spray-painted in rose gold. A card was placed in each horseshoe featuring the names of the fields on the farm including The Moor and Stone Field. We kept our favours simple by filling small boxes with sweets and small packets of personalised love hearts.” The couple chose a three-tier fruit cake with royal icing that was made by a very good friend. “It was decorated with handmade iced flowers and real horseshoes,” Helen says. This was served to their guests after dinner which included plated roast beef, chicken or spinach and feta tart as the main course followed by a trio of desserts. “The service by Liz White and her incredible catering team was faultless,” says Helen. Gratton’s Butchers provided a delicious hog roast for the evening. “Liz put together a mix of brownies, rocky road cakes and meringues to accompany this and we had a cheese board and the wedding cake cut for our guests,” Helen says. Helen and Phil decorated the marquee with bunting in shades of purple, green and grey with help from their bridesmaids, family and friends. “Purple paper lanterns were suspended from 27 REAL WEDDINGS
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