Abby and Andy's September wedding took place int he beautiful grounds of the bride's family home in Stanton Long, Shropshire, beginning with a romantic ceremony at Holy Trinity Church in Much Wenlock. With a backdrop of stunning Shropshire countryside the styling was simple but elegant, with a pale blue and peach colour scheme.
Abby wore Suzanne Neville's Orianna wedding dress, which features a chic off the shoulder neckline and perfectly fitted silhouette with gently flared mermaid skirt. Paired with Abby's sister's cathedral veil for the ceremony, the dress was the perfect for the church, whilst remaining relaxed and comfortable for frolicking in the fields and dancing later on.
Suzanne Neville Orianna wedding dress
It was literally the dress of my dreams and made me feel absolutely amazing - so many really lovely comments from guests as well.
Corinne found it for me which was brilliant. I had tried a few dresses and loved the fuller Suzanne Neville, then I'd gone to a few more shops and found some more fitted styles. I brought my two sisters back to Miss Bush with me and explained to Corinne that what I really wanted was something between everything I had found and she plucked the Orianna from the racks! My sisters loved it; I then returned with my sisters, my mother and one of my nieces to choose between the Orianna and another Suzanne Neville. I couldn't decide so said I was going to flip a coin which my mum wouldn't allow so for the first time she said she was going to give her opinion - internally I panicked as in that moment I knew which I wanted and I was worried she would choose the other more traditional fairy tale style but nope, she said it was definitely the Orianna!!
Dress Shopping
Miss Bush is a really unique place and the staff are brilliant, Corinne made us all feel so welcome and was great at giving her opinion without being forceful or over the top - a great balance.
The whole experience at Miss Bush was seamless! One issue was when I went back for my first toile fitting it was huge because I had lost a lot of weight. Jo was brilliant though and we managed to fit in another toile fitting with an extra appointment. The fit of the dress was absolutely brilliant and it is not a dress that would forgive an error - my sister works in fashion and was so impressed by the job that Jo did, she still talks about it!
Styling
The dress didn't need much! I very luckily borrowed my sisters stunning cathedral length veil and one of my bridesmaids is a milliner so made me a lovely hair piece with handmade silk flowers. I got a pair of sparkly Jimmy Choos because, well why not on your wedding day! Other than that I went for fairly simply make up and slightly curly hair with a loose plait. My jewellery was Patrick Mavros, courtesy of my lovely new husband and was very simple.
A simple, elegant countryside wedding
I was trying to balance a country wedding with simplicity and we did quite a lot ourselves including all the marquee flowers and decorations. Main colours were pale blue and coral. Centre pieces were very simple and a mirrored plate surrounded by little tea light candles; each centrepiece was one flower so a hydrangea, galdioli or delphiniums, a few petals scattered around and we had lanterns on the roof as well. Once of my favourite bits was giving each guest a personalised lego man with a feature that reminded me of them so we had lego men on horses, skiing, cooking, in fancy dress etc... Gave the guests a good laugh and a good intro to the people they were seated next too.
The best bits
I always wanted to get married at home and my parents made an incredible effort to get everything looking amazing, the marquee was on the edge of a new ha-ha looking out over the rolling Shropshire countryside. One of my favourite bits was walking up the aisle with my (huge!) bridal party - the children were gorgeous. I literally loved every minute of the day - I'm sure everyone feels that way but it really is true!!
Abby's Advice
Be open minded about the dress - I ended up choosing from two that were not what I would have expected at all. Listen to all advice - you don't have to follow it but everyone is being kind and getting excited so smile and nod and decide later if you want to do it! And pick your battles... 🙂
Suppliers
Photographer: Bethany Stanley
Millinery for bridal party, bride, mother of the bride: Annabel Allen Millinery
Caterer: Fresh and Lush