Celebrating within the rustic lakeside surroundings of The Lost Orangery, Britten Bride Ellie joined traditional elements with modern details as she said 'I do' to groom Danny in the family's village church in the heart of the romantic Cotswolds.
Ellie's stunning bridal outfit, along with all the smiles and laughter of the wedding day were caught beautifully on camera by photographer Oli from McGivern Photography.
Ellie had unknowingly set her heart on the Aston dress from The Runawayscollection by designer Rime Arodaky, as she waited to attend an appointment at The Mews Bridal in Notting Hill.
'It took me a long time to find my dress and I found it quite stressful! I had a clear idea in my head that I wanted something simple and classic but with a modern twist. I’d had my eye on Rime Arodaky a Parisian designer, for a long time and knew I loved her designs, but I couldn’t get an evening or Saturday appointment at Mews (the only London boutique that stocks her dresses) for absolutely months, so I attended many other appointments around London, but none of them felt quite right. I had my heart set on a dress with an element of embroidery rather than classic lace, with a really low back, so when I finally got the appointment and tried the Aston dress I immediately fell in love, as it ticked all the boxes.'
The plunging backless design, detailed with delicate applique blooms, provided the perfect accompaniment for the elegantly dramatic cathedral length full lace edged single tier wedding veil - 'Ada' from Britten Weddings which was personalised with matching lace from the dress and hand embroidered.
Fixed at the crown of the head over an arrangement of entwined roses, the veil worked perfectly as part of a half up half down hairstyle with tumbling tousled brunette curls.
Ellie's seven bridesmaids wore Bombay Teal dresses from Twobirds and carried small bouquets of simple white roses with a sprig of olive from Flowers by Passion to complement Ellie's bouquet of blush pink roses and silvery foliage including eucalyptus, ornamental thistle, lambs ear, and, jasmine and a touch of blue nigella.
The design of the bridesmaids dresses allowed each member of the bridal party to style her dress in her own unique way whilst sharing elements in common with the others. Ellie's godsons took on the role of pageboy, wearing teal chino shorts and teal and blue floral ties both from John Lewis to match the colours worn by the rest of the bridal party.
Wearing a blue checked suit from Reiss and a grey tweed waistcoat from Heart and Dagger (via ASOS), Danny and his Best Man Ollie also wore blue textured ties from Hackett and tan brogues from ASOS.
Music and family factored highly throughout the wedding day. Ellie walked down the aisle to ‘Fly On’ by Coldplay, and later in the ceremony her brothers sang a medley of the couples' favourite songs including ‘Make You Feel My Love’ by Adele (originally by Bob Dylan) and ‘Use Somebody’ by Kings of Leon, during the signing of the register. And Danny’s sister read the poem ‘Love’ by Roy Croft.
I love you,
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am when I am with you.
- Excerpt from 'Love' by Roy Croft
Danny also found a band called Riptide on the Alive Network, who met both the Mumford and Sons style vibe and budget planned out by the newly-weds. The band performed an acoustic set in the garden for an hour, returning later to complete two further one hour sets, getting everyone on the dance floor until 1am.
The couple couldn't believe their luck when they found the venue for their reception.
'My mum lives on the other side of the valley from The Lost Orangery in the village of Colerne, so we’d been past the venue on many family walks and we’d always said to each other, “wow, this would place be our dream home”. As luck would have it a friend’s brother got married here a few years prior and when I saw the pictures I recognised the front gate…it was our dream house! I couldn’t believe they’d started hosting weddings, and so when we got engaged I knew we had to look around and boy were we taken aback…it’s like no place I’ve ever seen before and so much more spectacular that just the property you see across the driveway. The boathouse and lake, monastery wall and sculptured garden are just breathtaking and we just knew on that site visit it was our dream venue!'
Moving to The Lost Orangery following the ceremony, guests were treated to an informal and fun feast catered for by Sam’s Kitchen, consisting of Persian shoulder of lamb, side of salmon, burnt aubergine with sides of summer slaw, tabbouleh, and butternut squash. And, as the bride and wedding party heaped praise on Sam and his team for the quality of the food and service, the drinks kept on flowing, with Aperol spritz and bubbles for the reception drinks and Moscow Mules and Elderflower Gin cocktails on the bar for after dinner.
Ellie's 'something blue' came in the form of a surprise red velvet wedding cake made by her very talented Bridesmaid Ellie Mackenzie. Stunning and delicious!!
Instead of food in the evening, family and friends grazed on a locally sourced huge wedding cheese cake from The Bath Fine Cheese Company dressed beautifully with flowers.
The couple also surprised guests as the newly married duo took to the water in a rowing boat, lighting the fire pit in the middle of the lake as the wedding party lit up the night sky with sparklers and flashes from their cameras.
Thank you Ellie for sharing these stunning images from your truly unique and special day. We wish you and Danny lots of love, luck, and laughter in your future together.