Whilst we have a wonderful relationship with every bride that sets foot through the chapel doors, Sophie is one of those brides that really connected with every member of the Miss Bush team, so when her email dropped into the inbox last week it was no surprise that every one of us crowded round and cooed over her perfect images! Sophie’s modern country wedding day to husband Nick took place at St Mary’s Church in Shipley, West Sussex followed by a marquee reception at the home of a family friends in Coneyhurst.
Over to Sophie to tell us all about finding her dress, and the inspiration behind their day…
JESUS PEIRO 8004 LACE WEDDING DRESS
I absolutely LOVED the detailed lace bodice with the thick waist band detail. It’s such a delicate, classic,elegant and timeless dress. As soon as I tried it on I just knew!. I was so excited about it I genuinely couldn’t sleep the night after trying it on. I loved how the bodice was well fitted but then the skirt had the option to go with or without a petticoat depending if I wanted that extra bit of volume. I opted for the petticoat with the thanks to Rosie and Corrine’s help but during the evening I was able to take this off for a freer and more relaxed fit for partying the night away! I also loved the fact it had pockets… so different!
(the spooky thing is when Corrine was writing the details of the dress down for me, I realised it said 8004 and the numbers 8004 have been my password and passcode for things ever since a little girl…so for me it was definitely a sign of fate)
DRESS SHOPPING
I bought my dad with me when I found the dress. This was a hard one for me, as having my mum pass away at the age of 11 my dad has played both the mother and father role ever since. I knew he’d like to come along with me and I really felt strongly about having him there but at the same time I was very anxious as to what a bridal shop would think of having a dad come along as I am sure it’s not something they see often!. Miss Bush couldn’t have been more welcoming though and as soon as we got to the shop we felt at total ease and any worries about having dad there were soon gone. I massively thank you girls for that! We both loved the JP 8004 dress and I soon booked a second appointment to come back and show both my dad’s partner and my future mother in law who also confirmed they loved it so I made it official and said yes to the JP dress of dreams!
My favourite part of the dress shopping experience was the staff! The Miss Bush ladies are all so lovely, they honestly made me feel so at ease about everything. I felt that I was in the best possible care throughout which made the entire experience both completely stress free and enjoyable. It also such a lovely experience being set in the most idyllic chapel!
STYLING
I had a veil (from Miss Bush) and a delicate flower crown. I was desperate to wear a flower crown and I felt it really went well with the dress. I didn’t want a heavy one so opted for white wax flowers and delicate greenery. (all the bridesmaid and flower girl had the same). It all pulled together perfectly! my shoes were ivory satin ballet shoes with silk ties (being a tallie myself I wanted to wear flats especially when being photographed all day standing next to a couple of my absolutely gorgeous 5’0” bridesmaids).
A NATURAL AND MODERN COUNTRY WEDDING
We both had such a vision for our day. We wanted a very country style wedding but something also very different and personal to us.
We opted for a traditional style marquee with king poles and wooden finials and decorated the venue with lots of flowers and greenery. We hung wooden ladders between the king poles (they tied in nicely with Nick having a building and carpentry business) and decorated them with greenery, flowers, hanging tea lights and milk bottles filled with posies. Having being engaged for nearly two years meant we had lots of time to collect lots of bits we loved such as hundreds of hand thrown terracotta pots for the table centre pieces as well as many other props.
Nick made a horse trailer bar (which is now available to hire from Okehurst Design & Endingeering) and also a bar for the inside of the marquee, loads of wooden wedding signage as well as many other bits and pieces we had on display. Nick wanted something classic but different suit wise so we decided brown tweed suits would fit in well with our theme and also go perfectly with the colour of the girls dresses.
Our main colour theme were dusky pinks and greens.
THE BEST BITS
Our favourite part of the day was rowing over the lake after coming back from the church. We were rowed over the lake in a beautiful vintage wooden boat with a glass of bubbles in hand and we sat and watched all our guests gather on the bank ready to welcome and congratulate us. The sun was shining, and it was an incredibly amazing and happy feeling.
ADVICE FROM THE BRIDE
I would suggest trying on such a wide range of dresses. I know everyone says this but it really is true. Throw in a few wild cards as you just never know. There are also so many dress styles to try and many that you can make tweaks and adjustments to that make it perfect to you. and you’re only going to do it once so you may as well try lots on to get a great feel for what you really do or don’t want. You may try one on and be completely surprised!
I would also say just enjoy every moment. The planning, the dress fits, the organising, the hen do’s etc. Enjoy every single moment as they are all such amazing times to look back on! (and you’ll hopefully only be needing to do it all once!).
GALLERY
SUPPLIERS
Our lovely photographer: Liam Smith Photography
Marquee: Wigwam marquees
Cake: The House of Eliza
Catering: Alice Cooks (she is amazing!!!!!)
Hair: Amy Huttley at Vicki Lord Hair
Make up: Harriet Franklin
Florist: The Wild Flower Box (Antonia)
Bridesmaid dresses: Ghost
Mobile trailer bar: Okehurst Design and Engineering
Videographer: Ioannis Crouch
Grooms and Groomsmens suits: Victor Valentine
Printing (invites, table names, table plan, order of services, menu’s invites etc….): Danielle Bleuse