Something blue

Posted by Claire Ridley on 4 April 2023

Harriet and Matthew were childhood sweethearts, having met at school 10 years ago. "Harriet is my best friend's sister, so she was always around whenever we met up," Matthew tells us.

"We became friends and grew close. She is stunning, and her personality is incredible - she is such a caring person. "Harriet adds, "Matthew was the cool sporty guy in school that everyone fancied, including me. He's my rock, the person I can turn to for anything. He is such a kind, caring man who will always put his family and friends first."

Leaving church The couple became engaged at Bovey Castle on their sixth anniversary (12th December 2020.) "I have been visiting Bovey Castle with my parents since I was a child and when Matthew and I started dating, we would always go there as a family so it's a special place for me because I have so many wonderful memories," Harriet tells us.

"It was a wonderful surprise when Matthew asked me to marry him. He had told all of my family and they had planned the entire evening around the proposal. Matthew, who is never late for anything, was running late for dinner, so the rest of our family went on ahead of us. As we were walking to dinner, Matthew decided to go the long way around and, as we approached the hotel, he stopped on the terrace outside, got down on one knee and proposed.

We then walked into the hotel where my family were waiting in the private room which they had requested for dinner which was the best surprise ever!"

"Our chosen church was the perfect size for the 150 guests that we had invited and it's located on the moors so we thought that it would be lovely for everyone to see the ponies, sheep and the amazing views," Harriet says.

Also, Matthew's grandparents, who have also been together since they were very young, went on a trip there when they were 18 years old and have a picture that was taken in front of the church, which made it feel like our choice was meant to be."

"As I have been visiting Bovey Castle all my life and Matthew has been going regularly since we got together, we know every secret passageway in the venue, plus many of the staff members there, Harriet explains.

"I knew that I would feel completely at ease having our reception at the venue. I have seen so many weddings take place there over the years and I have seen how well-planned they are."

The couple had a mix of tall centrepieces with flowers and foliage displayed on large stands and low centrepieces of candles in hurricane vases decorated with a wreath of flowers.

"Our flowers were loose hand-tied bouquets of roses, astilbe, spray roses, rosemary, wax flowers, light blue hydrangeas and freesias teamed with plenty of eucalyptus foliage," Harriet tells us.

"We also had eucalyptus decorating our table plan and Matthew and I made the stands for our table names while the team at Bovey Castle designed the place names with all dietary requirements listed.

Matthew's brother owns the Burford Candle Company so we thought it would be a special idea to give each adult one as favours to take home while the children were given a personalised bag of sweets, colouring, toys, and games."

Cake

The couple's cake was a contemporary design with accents of muted colours and a botanical feel.

"It featured four edible tiers and a couple of dummy ones all differing in height," Harriet explains.

"The bottom tier had a pale blue base and featured a white stencil – which was also replicated on the third split tier.

It had handmade sugar flowers and touches of blue blooms decorating it.

The flavours were chocolate mud cake; a carrot cake which was vegan; a champagne-flavoured tier and a red velvet cake."

Looking the part Harriet wore an ivory-fitted dress with a long train called Florence by the designer Martina Liana. "It had white flowers on the bottom and beading on the top while the front was a low-cut style," she tells us.

"I teamed it with a pear-shaped necklace, a pair of pearl earrings and a short veil decorated with flowers to match my dress."

Matthew chose a light-grey suit the same as the groomsmen but he wore a sky-blue coloured tie and pocket square with a floral pattern while the groomsmen wore sky-blue ones without a pattern.

"Our bridesmaids wore light blue, floor-length dresses. They were able to choose any style they wanted which enabled them to ensure they felt comfortable," Harriet says.

The couple hired a magician to keep guests entertained during the day. "We had a photo room filled with a flower wall and props, plus a photo booth and polaroid cameras," Harriet says.