Charlotte in Suzanne Neville for a romantic summer wedding at Leez Priory

Our gorgeous wedding today is very close to home for our MD, Emma, as it features one of her daughter Georgia’s school friends, the lovely Charlotte! Charlotte married her husband Ben in the most beautifully romantic setting – underneath the stunning tower at Leez Priory in Chelmsford. The wedding took place in August, with the beautiful British sunshine that Charlotte had hoped for.

We asked Charlotte tell us all about her day and her stylish. modern Suzanne Neville wedding dress…

EMILE BY SUZANNE NEVILLE

After looking in 4 shops, I arrived at Miss Bush. Miss Bush was a shop I was always going to go to, as not only did a very close friend who recently passed away buy her dress there, I also grew up with Emma’s daughter so tiaras, veils and satin shoes made up our fancy dress boxes at the tender age of 6 ! As soon as I walked into the Chapel, it bought the whole ‘aged 6 fancy dress’ feeling and that was magical!

I went for a Suzanne Neville number. This was not the original SN number I went for but was recommended to me by Suzanne herself! When I saw it on the hanger my first reaction was ‘oh noooo..’! ‘Soooo plain, no lace….! How wrong I was the judge it (and after 4 shops I should have known not to judge a dress on a hanger!) Anyway, this was the first dress I tried on and said ‘wow…I really like this one’ too! The simplicity was beautiful and as cliché as it sounds, it truly made me feel like a princess! On my wedding day, as soon as I put the dress on, I felt 1 million dollars! It hugged me in all my lovely places, left alone the not so lovely places and flattered my figure perfectly !! I couldn’t fault it at all (It is currently away for cleaning and I am counting the days till it comes back to me – I may even do the house cleaning in it – any excuse to put it back on!)

DRESS SHOPPING

My mum was with me when I found ‘the one’. Now I always thought my mother would cry at me wearing a wedding dress but after the 20th dress, I succumbed to the fact that was not going to happen! However, when I tried this dress on, she could not stop saying ‘wow’ and DID have tears in her eyes! That was a special moment for both of us !

I am not too sure I can pin point one favourite part of the shopping experience! The chapel is a unique and exquisitely decorated venue that boasts oodles of character and warmth. Obviously the bubbly that goes along with it helps and is great for calming those occasional nerves that crop up when you realise’ wow, this wedding is really happening!’ However, one of the best parts of the experience are all the staff that work at Miss Bush. Everyone is so welcoming, polite, reassuring, kind, helpful …(To list a few) and that truly makes for a wonderful experience! You can see that this is not just a job for any of them, it is a passion and possibly even a hobby and that is beautiful!

STYLING

I added to my very simply gorgeous gown a veil and I bought Kurt Geiger strappy block heels in a dusty pink colour. My jewellery was a diamond Tennis Bracelet with pearl earrings. I had a hair piece from Ivory and Co to give my that bit of ‘bling’ I was secretly craving !!

A ROMANTIC SUMMER WEDDING UNDER THE TOWER AT LEES PRIORY

Our day was designed totally around what we like and who we are – and it turned out exactly how we wanted it! It was relaxed and a bit like a summer party! We were blessed with the weather and sunshine allowing us to have our ceremony outside and under the tower (my one wish for the whole day – sunshine!) There was no theme to the wedding – just blush/rose pink colour theme with lots of white flowers and candles galore! We had lanterns on every corner and tealights on any spare space on tables!

THE BEST BITS

I must admit, I can’t answer this one! I have so many favourite bits but to list a few;

Walking down the aisle with my mum holding me and the couple of minutes we had to chat and calm each other was beautiful

Seeing Ben’s reaction to my dress was a special moment

Hearing the words ‘you are now husband and wife’ was mind blowing

Watching our Magician (Ben Williams) perform and surprise our guests was priceless

Having our first dance song being played live by Ubermeister was great as we danced outside surrounded by family, friends and copious amounts of candles – my dream !!

ADVICE FROM THE BRIDE

Re Dress – Go with what you feel, not what people tell you! Buy that dress that makes you feel 100% you – as that’s who he fell in love with!
Re wedding – Do not let the stress get the better of you! The day will be perfect regardless and the planning is the longest part of the wedding, so treasure it !!