Emma and Bradley met each other online. “We had a short first date due to being interrupted by a pub quiz,” says Emma. “I was attracted to Bradley because of his kind nature and good looks.” Bradley proposed in Portugal on Emma’s birthday. “It was a complete surprise,” shares the bride. “In fact, I had no idea and he kept insisting that we went for a walk along the beach after dinner, but at this point it was really dark, so I questioned it. He ended up proposing back at the hotel and I was in complete shock, but it was perfect.” SETTING THE SCENE “Swynford Manor was very different from what we had been looking at; we had explored rustic and converted barns, but they just weren’t ticking all the boxes,” explains Emma. “We walked into Swynford Manor and just fell in love with it. The fact that it had bedrooms on-site meant that we could extend the festivities and have loved ones stay and share breakfast with us the next day.” The couple handmade their favours. “We used butter biscuits, white fondant icing and a stamp with our initials and date of the wedding on,” recalls Emma. “It meant we had a personal touch for the day and it tied in with our ‘branding’. “Our fabulous stylist Tasha from Styled By Lulabelles created our table plan,” continues the bride. “We wanted the plan to be on a white background with black writing. To decorate the rest of the space, we had a floral moongate that sat behind the top table and a personalised neon light that had our married name on, which completely fit in with our theme. As for the chairs, we opted to have white and sage weaves on black chairs. We felt that it really suited the venue and tied everything together. Around the entrance of the room, we had photos of Bradley and I with our black labrador from our engagement photo shoot with Helen Jane Photography. As well as these photos, we also had a memorial area for those who couldn’t be there, so we could honour their memory.” Heidi Appleyard Floral Design created the couple’s centrepieces. “We had shared that our theme was white, black and sage with Heidi,” reveals Emma. “We wanted something timeless and gave Heidi a few ideas in terms of flowers and then let her have full reign over the design. We knew we wanted hydrangeas, roses and eucalyptus, but the rest was all down to her. She even added fairylights, which elevated them in the evening once it was dark. Heidi added black bunny tails to my bouquet, which really stood out against my dress. At Swynford Manor, there is a staircase that is a focal point, so we wanted to incorporate flowers there to really show it off. We also had flowers in the ceremony room as well as the reception space.” For their wedding cake, Emma and Bradley hired Regency Cakes to create a three-tiered design. “We knew we wanted to incorporate our black labrador, Daisy, in there somewhere,” remembers Emma. “We spoke with Regency Cakes, who were incredible to work with and were open to all our ideas. We ended up with three different flavours, and it was decorated with icing, sequins and confetti. Daisy was then added to the cake in fondant form and also in model form, with her taking a little nibble out of the cake. Bradley also made his infamous chocolate brownies, which also went down a treat! “All of the catering was provided by Swynford Manor,” adds the bride. “We had canapés for the drinks hour, which were incredible and then a threecourse sit-down meal followed by bacon and sausage baps in the evening.” DRESSED TO IMPRESS “I wore a Sophia Tolli wedding dress called Darcy,” says the bride. “When I visited Birdcage Bridal Boutique, I tried lots of different styles and I was made to feel incredible. This was the third dress that I tried on and I felt the square neckline really suited my shape and the A-line skirt really cinched in at the waist. What was different is that this dress came with a cape, so it was different REAL WEDDINGS 37
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