Hannah in Jesus Peiro 933 for a laid back, natural and fun marquee wedding

We have the most gorgeous Surrey wedding to share with you today, filled with smiles and laughter! Hannah and Ed were married last summer at Abinger Common Church, followed by a laid back, natural and fun marquee celebration at Holmbury Cricket Ground, Surrey.

Hannah wore Jesus Peiro 933, which worked wonderfully alongside the soft florals, pale pink bridesmaids dresses and Ed's smart morning suit. Read on to see more from their beautiful summer wedding day, with images by Carrie Lavers Photography.

Jesus Peiro 933 wedding dress

Ed always knew he wanted to wear a morning suit and I had always pictured myself in a 1920’s style dress but as soon as I put on the 933 (the first wedding dress I tried on!) I knew that this was the style for me. I loved the full skirt (I never thought I would) and the bow details and the plunging front - which felt acceptable because of the thick luxurious material and my non-existent cleavage! I didn’t opt for a petticoat as I was conscious of making the dress even bigger but actually I loved the way it fell and felt without the extra structure. I didn’t want to take it off - l loved everything about it. 
 
I also loved the Jesus Peiro 940 - a very different dress, I loved how effortless and comfortable it was and fun with the frill detail! These were my two favourites but in the end I think the 933 was more me and more of a statement, I knew I wouldn't ever wear a dress like it again! I didn’t give a second thought to any of the other dresses I had tried and when I thought about Ed in his morning suit, I thought the 933 was the perfect match!

Dress Shopping

I came to the Chapel with my mum and bridesmaids. I didn't feel any pressure to find the one and for everyone to have that amazing reaction but we did! it just happened with the first dress I tried on, the 933! I made sure to try on lots of other dresses too but I really wanted to put the 933 on again before we left and I think I knew then! 
 
I loved every moment of dress shopping! Going to Miss Bush was such a special day, it's amazing to have the Chapel to yourself and take time to look through all of the dresses and chat to Emma. She was so knowledgeable and despite meeting brides all day every day she made me feel really special and instantly at ease. Emma always gives honest, non-nonsense feedback and so when she agreed the 933 was the one it really made me feel confident in my choice! 

Styling

A dramatic thick lace edged veil was what I had always wanted, my original wedding dress inspiration but actually in the end it just didn’t work for me. In the end I went for a very simple tulle veil, thank you Rosie for your advice and patience with mum and I as we went back and forth between lace and plain for weeks! We decided to keep it elegant and simple so as not to distract from the clean lines of the dress. I wore it high on my head above my ponytail so that it framed my face - I wanted it to be visible from the front too and not just trailing behind. 
 
I wanted to do something fun with my shoes and I think my colour theme came together when I found these bargains in the Whistles sale! I went for a pale pink velvet block heel. Thanks to one of my bridesmaids who searched high and low and must have found the last size 6 in the whole country! I loved them – they were super comfy and just what I was looking for! 
 
I found some gold and pearl hair slides in the Accessorize sale, originally I thought the bridesmaid could wear them but actually they didn't really fit in with how the girls wanted their hair so I popped one in my hair and I loved it! I think it was £5, loved it! 
 
My pearl jewellery was from Lily and Roo.  A friend who couldn't be there on the day has sent me a gold Links of London bracelet which I also wore and haven't taken off since!

A laid back, natural and fun marquee wedding

Our main priorities were good food, lots of booze and lots of flowers! Being in a marquee there obviously wasn't any corkage or restrictions on suppliers which was great it meant we could do what we wanted in the most cost effective way!

Flowers are expensive but we both wanted there to be lots in marquee to bring it to life and make it feel special. So alongside the flowers we added lots of greenery which is obviously cheaper but I think can be really effective. We went for a floral ‘runner’ along the full length of each of our long tables – made up of leaves, ferns, single stems in onion vases and small arrangements which looked beautiful and were cost effective. When Marion, our incredibly creative florist mentioned hanging Birch trees in the marquee, I was hesitant but Ed loved the idea, we went for it and I am so pleased we did. They looked amazing and were such a statement.

We chose a canvas and wooden marquee in the hope it would tie into the secluded wild setting we had chosen. We hung reems and reams of handmade satin bunting around the inside of the marquee, the guy ropes and the fence at the edge of the field. A close family friend had made it the previous year for her daughter's wedding – it was really special to have something so unique and so beautiful.

I wanted to do something to mark all of the special weddings that had come before us and we had a small table of pictures of our nearest dearest on their wedding days including each of our grandparents. One of my bridesmaids wrote out our seating plan and place names on fancy card - it can be so expensive getting everything printed and I love the homemade look, they were perfect.

I made our confetti myself. Much to Eds annoyance often taking over our whole living room floor in the year before the wedding carefully drying all the roses Ed and friends had bought me – it’s so easy! My mum and a few of her friends also joined in and by the wedding we had just enough!

The best bits

My favourite part of the day was the church - walking down the aisle and seeing Ed for the first time after all the build-up and planning knowing that it was finally here and we were actually getting married. The service was so special and I loved listening to the readings and singing the hymns we had selected together. Seeing all of our friends and family for the first time together in one place just for us really was magical – cheesy but true!

Also the dancing! I don’t think either of us left the dance floor or stopped smiling for a second! We have seen The Domino's lots of times before and both Ed and I LOVE them so it was so amazing that they were there...pretty much planned the wedding around their availability but shh... It was so amazing to dance to our favourite band with all of our favourite people!

Hannah's Advice

Dress shopping can feel daunting but try to enjoy it! My advice would be keep it simple, don't try on 100's of dresses its confusing enough when you find two that you like! Just go to a few shops who have collections you like the look of. All brides look beautiful on their wedding day but it's about how you feel make sure you're comfortable and feel 10/10. Top tip try on styles that you don't think would suit you - you will be surprised! 
 
There will be a lot of opinions but the only ones that matter are yours, know what your priorities are and what you are both happy to compromise on. Weddings are expensive and you can’t do everything and more importantly you don’t need to. It doesn’t have to be perfect, use your creative friends, pull in favours and handmake as much as possible - it's fun to do things together with friends or family! Create a day that is perfect for you two and everyone will love it, I promise!  
 
Find suppliers you love and trust! We loved finding and supporting small local suppliers and having worked at both our caterers and our florist in my uni summers I knew they wouldn't let us down! Not having a wedding planner for a marquee wedding can be daunting but with amazing suppliers, careful planning and many spreadsheets it's totally doable!

Suppliers

Photography: Carrie Lavers Photography. We loved her romantic, dramatic shots as soon as we stumbled across them! Carrie is an absolute wonder and captured the best day of our lives so perfectly!

Hair and make up: Carolanne Armstrong . I found finding a makeup artist one of the hardest parts and Carolanne was a recommendation from Emma - so please I asked! She was amazing!

Marquee: Carron Marquees. The team were so helpful and it is great value for a beautiful canvas marquee - not always easy to find!

Venue: Holmbury Cricket Club. We hired the cricket pitch for the from Thursday - Monday, which meant we could really get the most out of the weekend. We had a bbq on the Sunday and there was plenty of time for set up and take down. Bob from the club is so helpful.

Caterers: Two Many Cooks. Emily and the TMC team were absolute super stars from menu planning to sourcing local suppliers to the team on the day – they made everything so simple! Having delish food and plenty of it was super important to us, to keep costs down we opted for more canapes and no starter. Canapes were some of our favourite things including the obligatory mac and cheese balls, honey and mustard sausages, peking duck rolls, arancini and salt and pepper beef skewers. Our main was BBQ leg of lamb served with tzatziki, hot buttered potatoes and roasted butternut squash and feta salad. Followed by an old favourite, lemon tart.

Florist: Kingfisher Farm Shop. Marion and the team are amazing and completely transformed the marquee - its strange as most of the flowers are delivered on Saturday morning and I didn't have time to pop up and how it was looking so the first time you see it all together is when you arrive with all your guests and it was perfect! We completely trusted Marion and knew it would look sensational!