Molly and Zach met in a beer tent at Suffolk Pride. “I noticed Zach was wearing shorts, flip-flops, and a pink glittery beard,” says Molly. “I asked Zach to wait a month for our first date, as I was about to hand in my dissertation and my degree was important to me. We ended up texting every day, getting to know each other. Finally, when the first date arrived, it was magical, and surprisingly, after all that talking, we still had plenty to discuss; we almost missed our movie! After four perfect months, I got viral meningitis, and Zach spent four days in the hospital with me and a month nursing me back to health. After getting through that together, I was pretty sure he was the man I wanted to marry. Just after that, COVID-19 hit, and we moved in together and haven’t been apart since.” Zach proposed on his birthday. “We were in York having a meal to celebrate,” shares the bride. “I was very surprised when he proposed and ended up crying so much that I couldn’t see the ring. Zach had the ring handmade by an amazing jeweller called Harrows Jewellery in Hadleigh. Zach and I still joke, as apparently rather than saying ‘yes’, I was crying so much I said ‘yup’ and interrupted the whole speech he had planned!” SETTING THE SCENE “When we got engaged, we knew we wanted a local venue,” explains Molly. “We looked around The Venue at Kersey Mill and fell in love with how romantic it was and the layout. Not to mention, it had two bars! After meeting Lisa, we knew we would be in safe hands; she was so helpful and reassuring and made sure the day was exactly what we envisioned. To decorate the space, we rented a few pieces from Table Angels; this included an ice cream bike, a white aisle runner, 60 rustic chairs, a greenery walkway with a neon sign, and artificial flowers. Table Angels were fantastic and even added blue flowers to the ceremony garland to tie in with the bouquets.” The happy couple gave their guests succulents as favours. “These were wrapped in twine with a personalised tag,” recalls the bride. “We included a message explaining how to care for the plant and a little poem. “We had seven tables, including the top table,” adds Molly. “The Venue at Kersey Mill set these out for us, along with tablecloths, napkins, plates, glassware, and cutlery. They made the day as stress-free as possible and were so helpful when setting up the decorations.” Molly and Zach created terrariums for their centrepieces. “As an art teacher, I wanted to do something a bit different and personal,” says Molly. “We grew the vast majority of the succulents and put the terrariums together. We spent our third anniversary looking around in garden centres for bits and pieces to grow. It was fun to work and plan together. We also filled some bottles that we had collected with roses. The most challenging part was the log slices. Just opposite my nana’s home, her neighbour was cutting down trees that were overgrown as the roots were affecting the structure of their home. I asked if we could have part of the trunk; we were then able to slice these, sand them down, and varnish them. These were brilliant, and were all so different. “Our wedding flowers were by Leanna Monica; she was absolutely amazing and perfectly matched the blues we asked for,” continues the bride. “She added in lots of David Austin roses for me, not only to match my wedding dress but also because Zach bought me pink roses on our first date. We asked Leanna to make my flower crown, and my flowergirl had one made from gypsophila. These were stunning and tied it with our natural theme so well!” For their wedding cake, Molly and Zach chose a traditional fruit cake that she made with her nan. “We loved baking it together; I’m a keen baker, and my nana taught me everything I know,” shares Molly. “It was iced and hand decorated by my friend Alice and me; we used edible pearls and then added some succulents made out of fondant icing. Not everyone is a fan of fruit cake, so we also ordered chocolate and vanilla cupcakes from Celebration Cupcakes. These were amazing. Kristine, the owner, went above and beyond by creating succulent and cactus icing on the cakes. We had so many compliments on the day; they were stunning and absolutely delicious! “Arabella Reeve Catering provided the food for our wedding breakfast and evening reception; they were wonderful and couldn’t do enough for everyone,” adds Molly. “We have had so many of our guests say how 39 REAL WEDDINGS
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