WPC Real Wedding: Charlotte & Will's Spring Garden Wedding

Will let himself into my flat when I was at work and hid some flowers and champagne before hiding round the side of the building. I got home and was watching a rerun of Love Island when Will appeared in the doorway, popped the champagne (before he’d even asked me), and gave me the flowers and a ring. We then went out to dinner.

We knew we wanted to get married at my parents home. My sister got married at home four years before I did. We decided to use lots of the suppliers again because they’d all been so brilliant.

The personal and flexible service really shines through at The Wedding Present Company. Nothing is too much trouble and they always go above and beyond to make life as easy as possible for their couples. We tried to buy a house just before the wedding which ended up falling through. Through the stress of all this we didn't rearrange our WPC delivery, so it was a particularly painful reminder when our BBQ turned up at our flat (which doesn’t have a garden). This was no problem for WPC. They took it straight back and stored it for us with no questions asked. The delivery is so easy to organise – I’ve lost count as to how many deliveries we’ve had. That, teamed with their amazing selection of brands, and the countless friends who recommended them, made our decision to use them a very easy one! 

We got married at my parents’ house in Hampshire. We held the ceremony in the village church and then had a marquee in the garden for the reception, dinner and party. It was so special being able to get ready at home with all my family around me, and see our visions for our marquee come to life in the days leading up to the wedding. 

We used Marlin Marquees. They had done the marquee for my sister's wedding and were absolutely amazing on both occasions. They’re just so flexible – we knew not to rely on the British weather, especially in April but they reassured us they could sort a contingency plan at the last minute to house the drinks reception, should we need it. When we saw that the weather wasn’t going to be good, they arrived with exactly the marquee extension that I’d wanted and put it up in a flash. There was no fuss and everything worked seamlessly. We also had a wind warning the day of the wedding but everything stayed in place!

I wanted a country wedding feeling, but nothing too twee and too 'done'. With the marquee being in my parents garden, we wanted to incorporate the garden inside the marquee, creating a seamless flow between inside and outside. Lots of flowers and foliage were key to this! I also didn’t want anything to be stiff; I wanted the flowers to be really natural and almost wild looking. Having lots of foliage meant that I wanted to choose a colour scheme for the flowers that really stood out. I ended up going for bright pink which worked so well. It certainly had the wow factor I was hoping for when guests saw it for the first time! 

Flowers were such a huge part of our decor, and they ended up being one of my absolute favourite things about the day. The wonderful Catherine Coombes created exactly the effect I was looking for. She was so relaxed and the flowers were so beautiful. She totally understood my ideas and helped me turn my vision into a reality. Catherine also sourced lots of amazing candles for the tables and for the lanterns outside.

Tephi made me a bespoke wedding dress and veil. I could have asked for anything and Chessie would have said they could do it. She was amazing. I changed a few things at the last minute which was no issue, despite the fact that Chessie was 8 months pregnant. She was so supportive and came with me to choose my fabric. It was also really easy getting appointments with her. I loved the final result and love that no one else will wear the same dress. 

My something old was a bracelet I’ve owned for a while and something borrowed were my Aunt’s beautiful Cassandra Goad earrings. I was so lucky to get to wear them and am very grateful to her for trusting me with them! My something new was my wedding dress and veil, and my something blue was my engagement ring which is a sapphire.

Alan from Errol Douglas did my hair and Laura Webb did my makeup. Both Alan and Laura were so calm on the day and I would really recommend them. Alan has been cutting my hair for years and so I felt incredibly safe in his hands (he also did my sister’s wedding). I had never had my make up done professionally before, so this was something I was a little apprehensive about. Laura was absolutely brilliant. We did a trial a few weeks before the wedding to make sure I was totally happy with the final look. She does really natural make up which is exactly what I wanted.

Will and his ushers all wore traditional morning suits. 

We only had little people for our wedding party. We bought all their outfits from Sue Hill. We wanted something traditional but also comfortable! Sue was so helpful and responsive to all of our queries and the outfits were delivered to us immaculately. The children looked so sweet on the day.

McCrimmon & Reid created the most incredible food for our wedding. I think their food was the thing that was mentioned most in the thank you letters we received! Will and I were so happy with it, and the tasting before the wedding was our favourite part of the ‘wedmin’. My parents also had a big drinks party the next day and used them for the canapés. Despite having such a demanding weekend, everything was perfect. We were really, really happy with the food. Two great friends are using them at their wedding this summer off the back of ours. We cannot recommend them highly enough. 

My father has to be credited for the wine and champagne. He turned up at home with about 15 options of white and red for us to taste and made a trip to France to get all of the champagne. He also sorted all of the after dinner booze for us as well.

Forever Cakes made our beautiful wedding cake. They dressed the cake at the marquee so it looked really amazing. We wanted the cake to reflect the rest of the decor, so it was very rustic and covered with beautiful flowers!

Chris Jelf was one of the easiest decisons we made when choosing our wedding suppliers. He had done my sister's wedding and her photos were just beautiful. We are absolutely thrilled with the photos, and we are so looking forward to getting an album from Chris (which we are yet to organise!).

Clem Cusack captured every tiny detail throughout the day but I didn’t see her at all. She was so lovely and was so professional and discreet. Her video is so special – there are little moments that she captured which are so fleeting, I don’t know how she did it. We also received the video really quickly. Again, we couldn't recommend her highly enough. 

We had two bands, one for the day reception and one for the party in the evening. Diamond Boys were our reception band and were incredible! They are a four-man acoustic band who are really interactive and move through the drinks reception serenading people. In the wedding video you can literally see people crying with laughter and really enjoying them!

Then after dinner we had 29 Fingers. We've heard them play lots of times at other weddings and have always really enjoyed their music and performance. I thought about choosing another band to be different from my sister, but when I looked back at her photos, they showed that the dancefloor was completely packed all night. I'm so glad we went with them, the same was true of our dancefloor!

We used Gee Brothers for our order of service and invitations. They were so helpful and the quality was brilliant. 

Will’s sister was in labour with her first child and we didn’t think she was going to make it to the wedding. However, when I turned up at the church, there she was, which was completely amazing. She read beautifully in the service and then went straight to the hospital. We won’t ever forget our nephew’s birthday!

I also loved the dancing after dinner when I could properly enjoy myself and not worry that everyone was spilling drinks down my dress.

Wedding List: The Wedding Present Company

Marquee: Marlin Marquees

Flowers: Catherine Coombes

Bridal Fashion: Tephi 

Hair: Errol Douglas

Make Up: Laura Webb

Flower Girls & Page Boys: Sue Hill

Catering: McCrimmon & Reid

Wedding Cake: Forever Cakes

Wedding Band: The Diamond Boys & 29 Fingers

Photography: Chris Jelf

Videography: Clementine Cusack

Transport: Ages Past

Stationery: Gee Brothers