Meeting

on a night out in Bath during their University days, Hannah and Ben’s first date was a few weeks later where they chatted for hours about every topic under the sun. “Ben said his dance moves must have attracted me to him,” laughs Hannah. “I think it was his sense of humour and kind nature that I saw, once I got to know him better on our subsequent dates. Talking to him was easy and we quickly became best friends!”

Ben says that he loved Hannah’s confidence and how fun she was. “He liked my caring nature, but also my more adventurous side, which he quickly discovered on our dates,” adds Hannah. “He says that he was so keen, he started telling everyone we were together before he’d even asked me properly. Luckily, I felt the same and found it quite funny!”

The pandemic affected Ben’s proposal plans; he initially wanted to propose in the winter of 2020 on a trip to Finland to see the Northern Lights but due to the restrictions on travel abroad at the time the whole trip was cancelled. Instead, the couple spent a long weekend at Pennyhill Park in Surrey, “We had a lovely meal in one of the restaurants there and Ben had asked the staff to add some romantic decorations to the room,” recalls Hannah. “He proposed in the room once we returned from dinner, but not before we saw the decorations for another proposal in the grounds of the hotel (which confused me immensely when Ben claimed that they weren’t for us!). It was a surprise for me, which I think was quite important for him, as we had talked about it previously and I suspected that it would come at some point. However, I didn’t realise that he’d been sneaking out of the house to go into town to look at rings and that he’d organised all the extra stuff at the hotel, so it was a really lovely moment on the day!”

The big date was then set, 31st July 2022, with Great Fosters, Surrey setting the scene. Here, Hannah tells us more about their special day…

DECISIONS, DECISIONS

After visiting lots of different venues, arriving at Great Fosters, when they first drove down the long drive of the hotel they had a wow-factor moment. “It was very picturesque, the grounds around it are beautiful,” shares Hannah. “We loved that the whole day could be contained within one area of the hotel, and that this area was away from the other guests, making it feel a bit more private. We could see our wedding in our heads as soon as we walked into the Orangery and Tithe Barn; the Orangery was really bright and open, and we loved the aesthetic of the Barn, particularly the way it contrasted with the modern Orangery to give us the best of both worlds. There was a lovely outside area where the guests could go for the reception in good weather, and behind this, the gardens gave a fantastic setting for photos, with lots of greenery and colourful flowers. The location for us was also great, as we had a lot of family in the Surrey/Berkshire areas, and the abundance of rooms both on-site and in hotels close by were ideal for people who had travelled.” Great Fosters covered all the catering, the couple were able to select their meal and canapé choices beforehand by going for a menu tasting at the hotel. In the evening, they then offered handmade pizzas that were a big hit with the guests.

For the finer details of the day, Hannah and Ben opted for mini packets of Love Heart sweets with custom wrapping paper for favours – the pastel colours matched the colour scheme of the day. The tables were named after places in Bath that are important to the couple. “The top table was called The Huntsman, which is the pub that we had our first date in,” explains Hannah. “Ben’s mum made a small watercolour painting of each location to accompany the list of people on each table, which we really appreciated that personal touch.”

For the table centrepieces, there were two designs: candles inside glass vases surrounded by a wreath of flowers that matched the pastel colour scheme, and the alternate ones had large displays of the same flowers sitting on silver candelabra.

The floral decorations throughout the day were all pastel colours complemented with green foliage. They were largely a mix of ivory, blush and pale blue, matching the colours of the suits and bridesmaids’ dresses. “We also had a flower arch in the ceremony that we then used in the evening for the backdrop of our photo booth,” shares Hannah.

The couple’s big-day bake was a four-tier pearlescent-effect design with sugar flowers draped on the top and the bottom to coordinate with the floral displays. The flavours were lemon, peach, salted caramel and chocolate fudge.

Other décor around the venue included fairylights wrapped around the pillars of the barn and joined together in a canopy above the tables in the centre of the room. There was draping in the Orangery also, and large ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’ light-up letters which people loved to take pictures with!

Looking The Part

Hannah’s wedding dress was a classic ballgown silhouette with a modern off-the-shoulder neckline made by Essence of Australia bought from Aurora Bride in Cheam. “I chose that style because the neckline was very flattering and it felt very bridal,” says Hannah. “A big bonus was that it also had pockets (who doesn’t love pockets?!)”. The bridal shoes were from Charlotte Mills which had a pearl detail matching Hannah’s earrings and tiara. “In the evening, I was tempted by a second dress, but the lovely ladies at the bridal shop instead suggested a sparkle over-skirt so I went with that,” adds Hannah.

The groom wore a navy-blue wool suit from Moss Bros that had a gold and blue marble-style lining on the inside of the jacket. He then had an oat-coloured waistcoat with the same marble design on the back, teamed with a white shirt, tie and pocket square in a blush-pink floral design that matched the bridesmaids’ dresses. The groomsmen wore the same suit as Ben without the special lining, and their waistcoats were navy-blue, but the rest of the details such as the tie were the same.

The bridesmaids wore blush-pink dresses from Maids to Measure. “I wanted the girls to feel comfortable on the day, we agreed on a colour and material, then the girls chose the style of dress that suited them the best,” shares Hannah.

Time To Celebrate

During the day, a string trio called Nero played relatively modern songs for the ceremony and then continued during the drinks reception whilst everybody was outside in the gardens.

“It was super-special to have live music during the ceremony and Nero provided a great atmosphere whilst everybody was catching up afterwards,” recalls Hannah. In the evening, a band played two one-hour sets, and they also learnt the couple’s first dance song. “They were called Reverse Reverb and were fantastic, a real hit with the guests,” shares Hannah. “The lead singer was particularly strong vocally, and we received lots of positive comments about them afterwards. They played a mix of songs that everybody loved, with some special requests we’d thrown in.” The couple had a photo booth during the evening reception that was in constant use. “People loved the props and we have ended up with a book of really funny photos at the end of the night!”

Memorable Moments

Hannah, naturally, struggled to sleep the night before because she was so excited, but in the morning, even though it was a bit of a whirlwind, her bridesmaids and glam team took away some of the nerves and kept her calm. “As I was walking down the aisle, I felt like it had been a long time coming, so I was really relieved that the day was finally here. We had worked so hard to put this day together and now we could finally enjoy celebrating with our friends and family,” recalls Hannah.

In the morning, Ben says that he was very nervous and excited, but didn’t have time to really think about it too much, as he was running around, organising a few last-minute things for later in the day. “When I was walking down the aisle, he says that he could feel his heart-beating in his chest, but he was really glad to see me happy and smiling,” adds Hannah, “He thought I looked beautiful and it distracted him from everyone looking at him intently — he normally hates that kind of thing!”

BIG-DAY HIGHLIGHTS

Ben doesn’t really like being in the spotlight, but his speech was a standout moment, “I was surprised by how confident he seemed. He’s also not very good at expressing his emotions most of the time, but he said some lovely things that got me. Lots of people complimented him on it after!”

As you can see from Hannah and Ben’s pictures, the couple had a wonderful time in the grounds of the hotel with their bridal party and coloured smoke bombs. “It was really fun to do, so much so that some of the groomsmen said it was their favourite part of the day! It also produced some great photos, as well as some funny ones where we all look like school children running around,” shares Hannah. “Lastly, for me, the band was also fantastic, and I distinctly remember everyone singing along at the top of their voices to Mr.Brightside towards the end of the night. We were all having so much fun and the band looked like they were enjoying themselves as well.”

For Ben, he liked the times where the newlyweds spent small amounts of time to themselves just to chat. “They were few and far between on the day, but they were nice to have. We just talked about everything that had happened,” adds Hannah.

The Smiths (Ben’s family) have a tradition that they do at every wedding, where they go around all of the tables and take bets on the length of the speeches. “This was quite funny for the people that had no idea about it beforehand,” recalls Hannah. “Most people got involved by the end. The winner with the closest time then gets the pot, so this announcement at the end of the speeches seemed almost as important as the speeches themselves! Whilst this was going on, the women’s final of the Euros was also happening, so throughout the speeches, we could see a few people at the back looking down at their phones, but they (mostly) kept quiet when goals were being scored. A few cheers may have slipped out during the best man’s speech, but he let it slide.”

A Group Effort

“Our parents really did a lot for us on the day. They went above and beyond to take any role that we threw at them and delivered in all aspects, alleviating some of our stress and making the day extra special,” shares Hannah. “Hayley and Ash (photographer and videographer respectively) were people that really stood out during the day because they thought about how we could best enjoy everything whilst getting all of the photos/ footage that we needed. They managed to get all of the different groups together without it being too forced or time-consuming and they whisked us away for short periods of times to allow us to have some breathing space, which we really appreciated.”

Roll Credits

Venue, Great Fosters, https://alexanderhotels.co.uk/great-fosters | Photographer, HayleyB Weddings, www.hayleybweddings.com | Dress, Aurora Bride, www.aurora-bride.com | Jewellery and accessories, Lily & Roo, https://lilyandroo.com | Hair stylist, Edward James London, www.instagram.com/freddy_styles_ldn | Make-up artist, Millie Make-up Windsor, www.milliemakeupwindsor.com | Suits, Moss Bros Guildford, www.moss.co.uk | Bridesmaids’ dresses, Maids to Measure, www.maidstomeasure.com | Cake, Forever Cake Creations, www.forevercakecreations.co.uk | Flowers, The Fine Flowers Company, www.thefineflowerscompany.co.uk | Stationery, Laura Ritchie Designs, https://lauraritchiedesigns.co.uk | Wedding rings, Chisolm Hunter, www.chisholmhunter.co.uk | Entertainment, Nero String Quartet, www.nerostringquartet.com, Reverse Reverb, www.entertainment-nation.co.uk/reverse-reverb | Decorations and entertainment, Firebird Events, www.firebirdevents.co.uk | Decorations, Host with Style, www.hostwithstyle.uk | Videography, Ash Videography, www.ashvideography.com Photo booth, Sparkle Me Booths, https://sparklemebooths.co.uk