THIRD TIME LUCKY

Third time lucky Isabel and Jack’s English garden-themed wedding was two years in the making

Images courtesy of Irene Yap Photography

Isabel and Jack met at university in 2009 through mutual friends but didn’t get together until 2012. “We clicked immediately,” recalls Isabel, “We have a very similar sense of humour, love of travel and have now been together more than a decade and have a young son together.”

Jack proposed when the couple were on holiday with Isabel’s family in France in 2019. “It was a lovely surprise!” shares Isabel. “He’d gone to great lengths planning it. He designed the ring, an emerald from South Africa – my favourite stone and colour, and our favourite country to travel to – sought permission from my father and smuggled the ring through airport security in my dad’s handluggage! It was lovely to celebrate with my family all around us!”

The big date was set, 11th June 2022, with a ceremony at St John the Baptist Church, Butley, followed by a reception at Butley Priory.

SETTING THE SCENE

The pair had always wanted a summer wedding in a big marquee, when choosing the venue it was as much about finding a venue with the right gardens and grounds as the main building itself. “Butley Priory was perfect – an amazing venue steeped in character and history, but not too grand in a way that wouldn’t feel ‘us’,” shares Isabel. “Knowing how quickly the day itself would pass, we also wanted to find a venue that would allow us to really maximise the weekend with activities on the Friday and Sunday too. The other great thing about Butley is the accommodation, both in the priory itself and in its beautiful farmhouse behind the priory. This allowed us to sleep 30 of our closest friends and family and have a wedding weekend; a big pre-wedding barbecue on the Friday night and a hungover fry up on the Sunday to recount stories of the night before and postpone the post-wedding blues just a little longer.”

For the finer details of the day, the couple opted for finishing touches that reflected their country garden aesthetic. The favours were little glass bottles of elderflower gin liqueur that acted as place names and favours, with elderflower cordial for children and non-drinkers. “They went down brilliantly with guests and looked great on the long trestle tables,” adds Isabel.

“The wedding breakfast took place in a sailcloth marquee, so the flowers were a very important focal point of the decorations,” shares Isabel. “There were four trestle tables for a banquet-style meal so that everyone was sat close together. The centrepieces were a simple rustic style overflowing with colour and visually busy (whilst allowing room for sharing platters and lots of crockery for the meal). We had a selection of flowers, bouquets in bowls with different heights and widths and smaller bud vases with a smaller number of stems. The flowers were interspersed with candles that I painted patterns onto to add another pop of colour and jazz up inexpensive tapered candles.” Isabel continues, “Our wonderful florist Juliet did an incredible job with the flowers at the wedding. Right from our very first meeting back in 2019 she understood exactly what we were after, and the flowers were one of the real highlights for me. We had stunning bouquets and buttonholes, an incredible wildflower display in the church, the beautiful arrangements in the marquee and wildflower displays around the entrance were exactly what we imagined.”

The cake, was a delicious lemon polenta cake that was decorated beautifully with flowers from Isabel’s own garden and leftover blooms from the bouquets. “I was on maternity leave when we got married so had a little more time to add some personal, handmade touches than I would have otherwise. I provided the confetti which was a mixture of petals I’d saved and dried from bouquets sent when my son was born last autumn, and rose petals collected on my daily dog walks at home in the month before, dried and turned into a beautiful array of confetti in pinks, oranges and yellows.”

In addition to the standard drinks reception bubbles, the couple wanted some tipple that they really enjoyed, Isabel loves Aperol and it’s beer for Jack. “We were lucky enough to win a competition with Aperol whereby they supplied Aperol Spritzs on the day,” shares Isabel. “With Adnams Brewery just up the road it would have been rude not to have several of their kegs there throughout the day! We worked closely with Peter Harrison to come up with a delicious menu that we felt was perfect for the day. The canapés were an assortment of crowd-pleasers and light summery flavours, similarly with the main meal – each course used as much local produce as possible – meat and organic vegetables, and the dessert included something from Pump Street Bakery from just down the road in Orford, a favourite of ours. In the evening we had cheese for the guests, picking a selection of our favourites.”

LOOKING THE PART

Isabel wore a beautiful 3D floral appliqué dress by Donatella Piccarreta called 705315. “I wanted a dress that would be both modern and contemporary with a nod to a traditional long white dress as I knew this would make me feel special on the day – I’ve never worn a floor-length dress!” shares Isabel. The dress was decorated in hundreds of handmade flowers and had a very subtle glittery undercoat that added an extra element of fun when it caught the light. “The dress had a beautiful low back, and I had the neckline customised to make it into a square neckline, modernising (from the original scoop) and adding a bit of glamour. The dress itself was very busy so I kept things very simple on the accessories front, wearing just my rings, some old gold and diamond hoops, and a pair of Loeffler Randall Camellia heels in blue for a pop of colour.”

Jack wore a brilliant navy tweed three-piece suit, the colour and texture was far more exciting than a standard wool/cotton blend suit and he teamed his look with a navy and maroon

paisley tie. The groomsmen wore matching suits but with a different coloured tie to ensure the groom stood out.

The bridesmaids all wore a lovely midi dress in a pale green pattern with sash tie. “We wanted the bridesmaids to wear dresses that they loved and felt comfortable in, and would wear over and over again rather than just the once and the Whistles dresses we found were perfect.”

MEMORABLE MOMENTS

Isabel and Jack were both relieved on-the-day that it had finally happened! “The wedding was meant to take place in 2020 and was rescheduled three times due to the pandemic so we were just so happy that we’d made it! Having all of our family and friends there three years after sending out the initial invitations was very special, made all the sweeter by our six-month old son being there, as he wasn’t on the original guest list!”

To entertain the guests, the couple opted for a fantastic band called The Sonics that performed an acoustic set during the drinks reception and then entertained the evening arrivals all night long. “They were brilliant, I’ve never seen such a full dancefloor all night long at a wedding,” recalls Isabel. “The selection of songs they choose catered to absolutely everyone ensuring there was never a lull or quiet moment.”

It’s hard to pick, but there were a few standout moments for the couple. “The wedding breakfast was a real highlight – three years and several date changes after first planning the wedding, to look around the marquee and see all of our friends and family there was lovely, especially with lots of new arrivals too (not just our own, my 10-day old nephew as well!),” shares Isabel. “We also really loved our ‘photo shoot’ with Irene, neither of us are comfortable being in front of a camera but Irene was so brilliant and hilarious and immediately made us feel relaxed, and as the only time in the day where it was just the two (three!) of us, it was a surprisingly fun time where we could enjoy it on our own, and take a step back from the madness of the day and drink it all in!”

ROLL CREDITS

Venue, Butley Priory, www.butleypriory.co.uk | Photographer, Irene Yap, www.ireneyapweddings.com | Dress, Rock & Lace, www.rockandlace.com | Hair and make-up, Danielle Daynes, www.danielledaynes.com | Suits, Moss Bros | Flowers, Willow and Wolf Flowers, https://willowandwolf.co.uk | Catering, Peter Harrison, www.peterharrisonchef.co.uk | Wedding rings, Elegance Jewellers Hatton Garden, www.elegancejewellerslondon.co.uk | Sailcloth marquee, Events Under Canvas Marquees, www.eventsundercanvas.co.uk | Band, The Sonics, www.thesonicsband.co.uk | Beer, Adnams Brewery, https://adnams.co.uk | Dessert, Pump Street Bakery, https://pumpstreetchocolate.com Portaloos, Crackerjack Marquee Company, www.crackerjackmarquees.co.uk | Dog chaperone, Jaws, Paws and Claws, wwwawsandpawspetcare.co.uk

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