YOU’RE TIMELESS TO ME

Tasia and Daniel tied the knot on 8th October, 2022 and styled their day in a gorgeously befitting emerald green palette

Images courtesy of Nikki Legg Photography

Our story is one built on never-ending patience and a complete “ inability to understand hints,” bride Tasia tells us. It begins in 2013 when she and Daniel were thrown together while studying theology and religion at the University of Chichester, and Tasia quickly decided they’d be great friends. Daniel on the other hand, was less convinced. Tasia was loud and friendly, while he couldn’t have been more different. Yet, deep down they both shared many similarities and were yet to realise just how compatible they were. As they went through university, they became good friends and even joked about getting married one day. After Daniel graduated, they stayed in close contact while Tasia finished her final year and growing closer, they turned their wonderful friendship into a relationship.

The couple booked a mini-break in Wales in October 2020, staying in Ty Gwyn Shepherds Huts where they could escape for a few days. Daniel had designed the engagement ring and had it made by a jewellers in London, but there was a slight delay with the courier, so he secretly arranged to have it delivered to the hut’s owner. On the last day of their break, the ring finally arrived, and Daniel got down on one knee and asked the all-important question. The answer of, “Me? Are you sure?” was unexpected, but it happily turned into a, “Yes!”

The pair were due to be married at St James’ Church in Shere, their vicar’s home church, but had to relocate as they couldn’t find the perfect reception venue close by. It was important to them that Rev. Sarah conducted their ceremony as Daniel used to work with her and they had become close friends. Deciding to look for somewhere closer to home, they stumbled upon and fell in love with Cottesmore Golf and Country Club. “Something inside us knew then that this venue would be perfect, and as soon as we were able after lockdown restrictions lifted, we scheduled a visit,” Tasia shares. What’s more they could have the barn room as well as the main ballroom, which was important since they’d decided to have their first dance alone allowing them to share this special moment privately together. “Cottesmore was everything we’d imagined and hoped for. It was our wedding venue. Before even deciding on a church close by, we’d booked it!” Luckily, they were able to visit St Mary’s Church, Horsham a couple of weeks later and as soon as they entered through the grand doors and saw the breathtaking stained-glass window, they knew this was where they wanted to say “I do.”

Join us as the bride shares her happy memories of the big day...

SETTING THE SCENE

Tasia and Daniel decided on a palette with emerald green at its heart. “We thought this would be perfect for our autumn/winter wedding and we both love the colour. We decided then to add classic black and white with hints of silver,” Tasia explains.

The bride has an incredibly talented friend who was able to create the stunning emerald green and silver place names. For a year, she worked hard to ensure the colour was perfect and each piece of silver leaf was carefully placed. They wanted to have a table plan that no one had seen before and had the wow factor. After hours of searching for ideas online, Tasia found one that she fell in love with. It was black with each guest’s name and table on an individual card decorated with a sprig of gypsophila. The plan was then decorated with green foliage and accentuated by silver lanterns and black candlesticks. “This was a project and a half,” says Tasia. “But our fantastic events coordinator was as invested as we were and created an absolute masterpiece.”

As for all of their wedding stationery the couple wanted something sleek, simple, timeless and classic for their table names. So, they found Jasmine from Dreams to Themes who worked with them

to create these, as well as the invitations, table plan cards, wedding welcome signs and timeline. “All of our stationery had the same theme: the black border with a mixture of italics and capitalised words, then our initials at the top. Each time a draft was sent Jasmine exceeded our expectations and created absolute perfection,” Tasia says.

Flowers seemed to have fallen by the wayside amongst the rest of the planning and the couple didn’t actually have a florist until four months before the wedding when Cathy and Paul from Sussex Roses came to the rescue. The bride remembers, “They were fantastic to work with and they knew exactly what we had in mind. We aren’t big flower people and just wanted dark foliage for the centrepieces, signage and photo hoop, with gypsophila for each guest’s card on the table plan as well as the bouquets.” They decided on a minimalist approach for the centrepieces, which featured black candlesticks with electric taper candles, dark green foliage, silver tea light holders and real pinecones.

Despite having a traditional wedding the duo knew they didn’t want a traditional wedding cake. Happily they found the amazing Carrie at Caritas Cake Design and fell in love with her designs. After sharing their vision with her, she was as excited about the cake as they were and it turned out even more incredible than Tasia could ever have imagined. “More importantly, it was the best cake we’ve ever eaten,” she says. It had five tiers, which included lemon cake, red velvet and chocolate fudge cake filled with salted caramel butter cream and a caramel drizzle. There was also a dummy tier enrobed in Belgian chocolate ganache.

In keeping with the traditional and sophisticated theme Tasia and Daniel opted for the classic wedding car. They found Brooklands Wedding Cars online and they made everything so easy, which was very much appreciated in the midst of planning. “On the day, our driver was a star. She was so kind, helpful and an expert in knowing exactly what we might want or need after our ceremony. She even came prepared with water and champagne, and offered to drive a longer route to allow us some quiet time together,” Tasia shares.

LOOKING THE PART

The bride initially struggled to find her dream dress. She visited several stores, but nothing was calling out to her. She was looking for something with sleeves and no lace, but didn’t expect how difficult it would be to find. Deciding to broaden her search she came across bespoke bridal designer Emma Tindley and reached out to her. Tasia remembers, “Emma understood exaclty what I wanted and was honest about what would or wouldn’t work. We then sketched my dress and it was made entirely bespoke. It was made from a Mikado fabric, woven using recycled fibres, meaning it was carbon neutral. We added a layer of tulle on the skirt to make it a little more playful and the style was perfect for me.”

Given the sleek and classic nature of the dress Tasia chose not to have many accessories, but was the keen to have the longest veil her head would hold! This was also made by Emma Tindley and it added beautifully to the drama of the back of the dress.

“Before the big day Daniel never knew the levels he’d go to in the name of style,” Tasia laughs. Not just any suit would do – if it could be worn in the office it was ruled out. After some careful searching, the groom and groomsmen chose dark navy suits with emerald green ties and pocket squares. Wanting to stand out Daniel then went on the hunt for a silver waistcoat and managed to snag one before having the suit tailored.

Tasia’s vision for the bridesmaids was of dresses with sleeves. She wanted them to feel comfortable as they’d no idea what the weather would be like, this look would also mirror her own gown beautifully. Eventually, she found the perfect one in emerald green on ASOS. “It looked stunning on each bridesmaid and they looked unbelievably beautiful,” she says.

TIME TO CELEBRATE

To entertain guests, the couple hired a band and a magician. Tasia tells us, “Luckily, one of our close university friends is an outstanding close-up magician, and we knew he’d provide fantastic entertainment. We weren’t wrong! By the end of the night, everyone was coming up to us saying: ‘Have you seen the magic man?’!”

Originally, they’d decided against a band, but the more they visualised the day, the more they started to regret that decision. “We found Electric Outfit who kept the party going all night. They interacted with our guests and even managed to get

the most ardent non-dancers busting their moves,” the bride says.

Rounding off the day perfectly, all assembled gathered in the courtyard for sparklers before heading up to the veranda for hot chocolate and fireworks. The couple provided personalised cups for the hot chocolates and guests were able to add cream, marshmallows and some delicious syrup flavours.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS

Tasia says, “In the morning I was feeling a little nervous and a bit stressed but then I remembered that the one person I want by my side when things are getting chaotic was at the church waiting for me! With this realisation, all the worry melted away and I would have happily run through the streets of Horsham to marry him.”

Daniel shares, “I’m not known for being a terribly calm person during big occasions. Plenty gets me nervous, but from the day before an immense feeling of calm excitement came over me. Being in the church and marrying the person I know is right for me felt so completely natural. From then, it was a blur of seeing all of the people I love most celebrating and enjoying the sight of our planning coming to fruition. It’s such a great feeling to say that my happiest and proudest day was our wedding day.”

WITH THANKS

“We were honestly blown away with Cottesmore’s commitment and care for our wedding,” Tasia says. “They’d been absolutely fantastic throughout the planning process and in the morning the staff came outside to wave me off to the church. It’s a moment I’ll remember forever. They prioritised us completely and made us feel like we were the only people in the world getting married.”

Although Daniel was originally sceptical about hiring a venue styling company when Amy from Events by Amy and Tasia turned up to their first meeting wearing practically identical outfits, he knew it was right and Amy would be the perfect person to help their vision come to life. “Amy was so brilliant to work with and no idea ever seemed crazy or impossible. We are so thankful to her for everything she and her team did. She brought our wedding to life,” the bride says.

TASIA & DANIEL’S TOP TIP

“Give yourself as much time as possible to plan. We didn’t want to be planning every evening and weekend and wanted to enjoy the process. We had two years to put everything together and if there was a weekend where we weren’t particularly up for talking about the wedding, we could take time off. The wedding we initially pictured was completely different to the one we had! As we had more time, we were able to think more about the finer details and not rush into decisions.”

ROLL CREDITS

Venue, Cottesmore Golf and Country Club, www.cottesmoregolf.co.uk | Photographer, Nikki Legg Photography, www.nikkileggphotography.co.uk Dress, Emma Tindley Couture, www.emmatindley.co.uk | Alterations, Alma’s Alterations, www.brightonalterations.com | Hair stylist, The Bridal Stylist, www.instagram.com/the.bridalist | Make-up artist, Sophia Jane Makeup, http://sophiajanemakeup.co.uk | Suits, Next | Cake, Caritas Cake Design, www.caritascakedesign.co.uk | Flowers, Sussex Roses, www.not-grown-in-holland.co.uk | Transport, Brooklands Wedding Cars, www.brooklandsweddingcarssussex.com | Stationery, Dreams To Themes, www.instagram.com/dreamstothemesproducts | Wedding rings, Spyros Georgiou, http://spyrosgeorgiou.co.uk | Event planning and venue styling, Events by Amy, https://eventsbyamy.co.uk | Videographer, Over The Hill Productions, www.facebook.com/overthehillproduction | Entertainment, Electric Outfit, www.electricoutfit.co.uk Firework Crazy, www.fireworkcrazy.com