Leigh & Andy's wedding took place at the end of July at beautiful country house venue Coombe Lodge in Blagdon, Somerset, close to Bristol. The feel of the day was classic and elegant, with lots of fresh flowers in bold, colourful tones - perfect for Summer!

Leigh put together a simple, chic bridal look, opting for Anna Kara's Rita wedding dress, accessorised with a romantic lace appliqued veil, timeless pearl jewellery and for her 'something blue' - Loeffler Randall pleated bow sandals in soft pastel blue.

Read on to find out more about the day...

Anna Kara Rita wedding dress

Rita by Anna Kara felt like the perfect combination of 'me' whilst still being special enough for the big day. I felt sophisticated AND comfortable, a total miracle!

My mum and eldest sister came with me to the Chapel, whilst my mother-in-law to be and Nan were on Covid-secure Zoom. It was actually my sister who pulled 'Rita' from the rack and encouraged me to try it on. I hadn't ever thought I would go for a more form fitting dress but clearly she knows my style better than I do! I was torn between two dresses at this point but seeing my sister with a tear in her eye helped sway me!

Dress Shopping

I absolutely loved trying on all of the different dresses. Poor Corinne had me in and out of a lot of styles because I was so unsure of what suited me. But it became the most fun game of dress up and the Chapel houses some unbelievable dresses which felt like a real treat to try on. I had been to one bridal shop before I visited the Chapel but had left feeling more confused than before. As with a lot of friends I've debriefed with, the dresses I loved on Instagram and in magazines just didn't feel right on. Luckily Corinne had the eye to pull dresses to challenge me to try something different as well as the mind reading power to sense when a style just wasn't right. I loved the whole feeling of the Chapel, it wasn't twee nor girly, two things I've never been, and there was no pressure to have 'the moment'. The relaxed atmosphere meant I felt so much more comfortable and had a total blast.

Styling

I always knew I wanted my hair down, and so kept my necklace and earrings simple. I wore a pearl satellite choker from Lily and Roo, with pearl drop earrings (which were kindly loaned by my mum for the day) to pick up the pearl edging of the dress. My veil had gorgeous applique flowers, as a nod to summer, and I loved it so much I wore it until the lights came up on the dance floor!

For me, it was always about the shoes. I didn't have a colour scheme for the wedding and in fact the brief for our wonderful florist was "summer threw up". I wanted all the colours and that included my shoes. I fell in love with the texture of the Loeffler Randall camellia heels, patiently watching for a sale before snapping up the blue! In the end the shoes tied perfectly with the dusty blue colour the bridesmaids decided to wear (having had free rein). I love that in some photos you can see a peek of the blue bows!

About the Day

We both wanted a relaxed day with an epic party! Coombe Lodge was a perfect fit, an amazing setting, loads of light and nothing stuffy or overly formal. Given our summer wedding date, I wanted bright colours and asked Charlotte, our florist, to work with "like summer threw up", which gave mum/MIL palpitations but Charlotte ran with it and exceeded all my expectations.

The morning was spent with our amazing glam squad, dancing around to music and sipping fizz. When it was time to go down the aisle, my bridesmaids and I had an impromptu dance party before impatiently waiting for Andy and the registrar to be ready! Post-ceremony, Coombe served amazing canapés and cocktails, whilst we caught up with all our loved ones. Time flew by!

Andy's friend, Craig, was our MC and surprised us with a roof raising entrance to dinner, cheering, feet stamping and epic music. It was the perfect start to ensuring dinner was a noisy affair and it was so lovely to see our guests having such a good time with families and groups colliding. Early in the planning, we had decided our non negotiable was a band who would fill the dancefloor all night and included a sax. Ear Candy Oxford were unbelievable and our guests have raved about them since the day. They read the room perfectly and kept the bangers coming. We had the best night and wouldn't have changed a thing!

The best bits

The ceremony ended up being my favourite part of our day, which completely surprised me as I thought I'd be too overwhelmed to enjoy it. I'd always wanted to get married outdoors and after a morning of persistent rain, the sun appeared just in time. I loved walking down the aisle to One Day like This by Elbow and as soon as I saw Andy, any nerves disappeared. We laughed throughout the whole ceremony, had two beautiful readings (Dance by Paul Hayward, and an extract from Everything I know about Love by Dolly Alderton) and finished with an epic confetti exit, featuring our littlest flower girl, Lyra, throwing gravel instead of petals!

Leigh's Advice

Don't feel pressured to stick to 'traditional' wedding expectations, I always knew that I wanted to do a speech and loved having the opportunity to describe Andy to our nearest and dearest. And delegate as much as possible, especially the closer to the day it gets. Choose vendors whose style you love and trust them to deliver for you. I gave our florist and cake designer very open briefs, which meant what arrived on the day was a wonderful surprise and I didn't spend hours deliberating tiny details better suited to the professionals - I couldn't have been happier.

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