Real Wedding

Victoria and David’s Wedding at Notley Abbey

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A Daffodil Themed Wedding at Notley Abbey

Victoria and David celebrated a spring wedding at Notley Abbey in Buckinghamshire along with their two sons and 86 wedding guests. They held their romantic wedding ceremony in the Abbot’s Hall, followed by a wonderful wedding breakfast and evening reception in the Monks’ Refectory.

About the Couple

Victoria and David met at a bar in Clapham, South London. They knew they were a perfect match from the start and when David felt that the time was right, he decided to pop the question whilst the couple were on a romantic weekend away. The couple were staying at a country manor hotel near Cheltenham for the weekend and during their stroll after dinner, David got down on one knee. Victoria, who was in shock, told David to get up, as she didn’t quite know what he was up to. But, David stayed on one knee, proposed from the heart and Victoria, of course, said ‘YES!’. David proposed with his grandmother’s engagement ring, which will now always be a sentimental memory in the family.

The Preparation

Victoria chose a classic, lace covered wedding dress with a glamorous twist, designed by La Sposa. It was perfect for her spring, country house wedding and Victoria knew that she’d found ‘the one’ by the reaction of one of her bridesmaids. She also couldn’t stop smiling when she tried it on – after having tried on 9 different dresses before lucky number 10. Victoria teamed her wedding dress up with a pair of shoes from Dune and she hired Clare Turner to style her hair and make-up. Her soft curls looked lovely in a half-up, half-down hair style.

The Bridal Party

Victoria chose two bridesmaids, her friends Marianne and Alison. The girls wore pale yellow, halter-neck dresses and carried vibrant bouquets of yellow wedding flowers featuring spring-time daffodils to complement Victoria’s bridal bouquet.
David had two best men, Joel and Piers. Their three suits were bought from Moss Bros and were a shade of blue, teamed up with a pale yellow tie, to enhance the spring colour scheme. David and Victoria’s young sons were also included in the wedding and wore very sweet khaki trousers with white shirts and navy blue pull-overs.

The Wedding Venue

Notley Abbey in Buckinghamshire was the only wedding venue that Victoria and David viewed during their search. They fell instantly in love with the beautiful, country house setting and the fact that the wedding venue was steeped in history. The couple also found the online planner extremely helpful and easy to use, which made the whole of their wedding planning process more enjoyable.

The Ceremony

On the day of their wedding, Victoria walked down the aisle in the Abbot’s Hall at Notley Abbey with her father and eldest son to ‘You’re So Cool’ by Hanz Zimmer. Her youngest son walked in with the bridesmaids, wearing his bright orange wellington boots, as he refused to wear his shoes. The registrar comically mentioned that this was the first time she had ever conducted a wedding where one of the members of the wedding party was wearing wellies.
Beautiful readings were read during the ceremony, focusing on family which is so important to both Victoria and David.

The Reception

Victoria and David held their wedding reception in the Monks’ Refectory at Notley Abbey. They’d carefully chosen a wedding menu of onion tart to start with, followed by braised beef and vegetables for the main course; for dessert, rhubarb and apple crumble with custard and ice cream was served. Later in the evening, the newlywed couple cut through their simple, M&S wedding cake which was covered in white icing and filled with vanilla sponge.

spring wedding

The Details

When decorating her reception tables, Victoria hired Sonning Flowers who helped create a real spring feel throughout the wedding venue. The bride opted for spring flowers in jam jars for the reception tables, as well as in the bridal bouquet, the bridesmaid’s bouquets and the button holes for the grooms party. Daffodil themed place cards and table numbers highlighted the pretty spring theme.

The Evening

The newlywed couple danced their first dance to ‘Give a Little Bit’ by Super Tramp and they’d hired a band called the Hot Shots who kept the guests entertained and dancing all night long. Instead of sending guests home with wedding favours, Victoria and David made a donation to a charity that is very close to their hearts.

The Honeymoon

To celebrate their wedding, Victoria and David went to Lake Como in Italy. They chose the destination as a couple and they truly enjoyed the Italian food throughout their trip.

Top Tips for Future Harper Brides

When asked what advice she would give future couples, Victoria said, “Don’t sweat the small stuff. It doesn’t matter if the groom’s pocket square is not the exact match to the bride’s bouquet. Nobody will notice! All of your guests want to see is the smile on your face. Don’t let the planning process overtake your life – it will all fall into place. Even little hiccups add to the memories!”

Suppliers

Wedding photographer: Eneka Stewart
Wedding venue: Notley Abbey, Buckinghamshire
Wedding dress designer: La Sposa
Wedding hair and make-up: Clare Turner
Wedding flowers: Sonning Flowers
Wedding cake: M&S
Wedding gift list: John Lewis Voucher

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