The perfect marriage proposal came when Sophie was least expecting it, one casual Saturday morning at home. Simon was playing with their little daughter Beau in her bedroom when out of nowhere he announced that he had a surprise for Sophie. Simon bent down on one knee and 18-month old Beau presented her mother with a beautiful vintage ASHOKA diamond ring.
Before discovering Notley Abbey, Sophie and Simon viewed only two other wedding venues. However, as they started their approach down the romantic tree-lined driveway towards the house, they knew they had stumbled across ‘the one’. Sophie had always dreamed of getting married in a beautiful country grounds and the walled garden at Notley Abbey was the ideal location. The couple had a couple of years to plan their perfect celebration and in that time had a son, which meant that both of their children could be at the wedding.
Sophie, accompanied by her Mum, Aunty and Maid of Honour, Emma, visited the luxurious Pronovias wedding dress boutique on New Bond Street in London. Sophie found that the style of dress she previously had in mind didn’t compliment her figure as she’d hoped, but after trying on numerous designs, the fifth gown she tried was absolutely perfect.
As Simon wears a suit to work every day he wanted to wear something a little bit unique for his wedding day. He bought suits for himself and his groom’s party Suit Supply with matching shoes from Russell and Bromley. To compliment the grey and white wedding colour scheme, the men all wore a smart light grey trouser along with a checked waistcoat with a dark grey tie and jacket. Simon decided against buttonholes as he preferred the look of a pocket square in the suit jackets.
The ceremony itself was short and sweet as they couldn’t wait to say their vows with their young children by their side.
After a memorable drinks reception in front of the historic county house wedding venue, the couple and their guests were invited back into the Monks’ Refectory for to be welcomed by a carefully chosen wedding banquet menu. In terms of table décor, Sophie specifically wanted small centre pieces so her guests could easily see each other around the table. They went for white flowers within a round glass placed on mirror circles, and glass tea lights candles; a simple but effective design.
Each reception table was named after well known Chelsea football players and each guest had a silver, laser cut, personalised place setting and a shot glass as a favour which said “Sophie and Si have tied the knot, take a shot!”
As their first dance song, the couple chose ‘Wherever You Will Go’ by Charlene Soraia and the couple said their evening entertainment ‘Hekyl and Jive’ were great and topped off what had been the perfect day; the dance floor was full all night!
Bride Sophie said that although she couldn’t pick a favourite part of her day, seeing her guests enjoying themselves was a great feeling. Her advice to future wedding planning couples is to “make sure that on the day you take some time alone to go for a walk and catch up; enjoy a moment together”.
Suppliers
Photographer: Richard Galloway | Hair Stylist: Gemma Sutton | Wedding Dress: Estella by Pronovias | Florist: Ben Corrigan | Make-up Artist: Amy Lee | Suits: Suit Supply | Bridesmaids: Polka Bridal | Cake: The Pretty Cake Company | Evening Entertainment: Hekyl and Jive
