Classic and relaxed was the order of the day for WWW followers Fay and Mike, who held their country wedding at Coombe Lodge in Somerset. The summer weather was glorious with sunshine and the most amazing sunset.
I love their pared back style featuring simple decor, blush pinks and greens and gorgeous outfits. Look out for the pretty cake, stunning hair do and very pretty florals.
Thanks ever so much to James and Kerrie Photography for sharing with us these stunning images. Enjoy them all below!
Classic Somerset Country Wedding
The Proposal
Mike and I had visited Penzance for a little ‘anniversary’ getaway in May 2021.
We had just had a lovely meal at a local pub and we were taking a wander along the promenade back to where we were staying. We decided to sit on the sea wall to watch and listen to the waves for a bit. It was getting quite late in the evening (maybe 10-11pm) so I suggested that we start making our way back. I stood up and turned around to see Mike down on one knee behind me. At first I thought he had bent down to tie his shoelaces, but clearly I was wrong when he asked me to marry him – to which I of course said yes!
The Vision
Our vision was a relaxed gathering in a beautiful countryside setting, with a focus on celebrating with our closest family and friends.
We wanted it to feature an outside ceremony with a mixture of elegant and natural elements like soft lighting, displays with local seasonal flowers, and a tasty locally sourced menu. We wanted to create a relaxed and fun atmosphere where everyone could join in and share our special day.Â
Budget
Originally we set a budget of approximately £20,000 however we did go slightly over this for a few extras that we didn’t originally think we wanted. We have no regrets on our decision though!
The Ceremony & Music
We are both big fans of Lord of the Rings, so it was a no-brainer to include at least one song in a part of our day! We picked ‘Concerning Hobbits’ from the first film to play whilst our guests were waiting for the ceremony to begin. I then chose an acoustic version of ‘Romantic Flight’ from How to Train Your Dragon to walk down the aisle to – again, another of our favourite films!
For the signing of the register, we chose ‘There She Is’ by punk rock singer-songwriter Frank Turner, who is probably our favourite artist! We then walked back up the aisle to ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’ by The Darkness. We are a pretty laid-back couple and didn’t want anything overly soppy or romantic, so this was a perfect choice for us to set the tone for the rest of the day!
Finally, we chose ‘Four Simple Words’ by Frank Turner for our first dance. Neither of us were particularly looking forward to this part of the day, so we chose a song that involved a bit of audience participation! The first minute allowed us to have a little sway and a twirl, but then the guitars and drums kicked in and we ushered everyone into the dance floor to join us. We are so happy with how it was received by everybody, it was the perfect choice for us!
The Venue
Since a young age I knew the exact venue that I wanted to get married in. I grew up in a village not far from Coombe Lodge, a beautiful English country house in Blagdon, Somerset. We would often drive past the venue on the way to other places, and I would often admire it from the road as we passed.
As soon as we were engaged I knew I had to at least organise a visit. We took both our parents along to the viewing and knew immediately that Coombe Lodge was the venue for us.
Your Outfits
I was really unsure of what I wanted when I visited my first shop to try on some dresses. I rarely wear dresses (let alone a white, floor length one!) so I was feeling quite out of my comfort zone! I visited Rookery Bridal who were fantastic, and ultimately helped me to find my dream dress.
I picked Style 5028 by Paloma Blanca which is a soft, organza a-line dress with corset detail at the waist and a sweetheart neckline. It felt incredibly ‘me’ as it was very simple (no bling for me!) but still elegant. I wore a pair of chunky ivory heels from Rainbow Club. I added a small hairpiece and a few simple pearl clips to my hair, which had been styled in a half-up do, and a singular pearl pendant necklace to bring the look together.
Mike decided to have his suit tailor-made by Clifton Suits. He chose a dark green tweed-style fabric with a royal purple lining, brown leather boots and a gold pocket watch. He also wore a pair of personalised cufflinks (with our wedding date engraved) in the shape of a D20, a 20-sided dice used in DND (Dungeons and Dragons).
The Styling & Decor
We wanted a quite simple but classic theme, with our flowers being the main decoration. We chose a colour palette of mainly greens, which we then accented with soft blush pink, peach, cream and white.
Mike and his groomsmen and groomswoman wore dark green suits, and the bridesmaids wore sage green dresses.
Our florist created a beautiful display for the aisle, centrepieces, cake and for the bouquets. We chose a stationery suite which perfectly complimented our flowers.
Your Photographer & Filmmaker
We used James and Kerrie Photography as our photographers for the day. They were the first supplier we booked after we confirmed our date and venue, as we knew we absolutely HAD to have them shoot our day. They have been absolutely incredible from day one, with their helpful guides, tips and tricks, and Zoom calls in the lead-up, all the way through to the big day itself. Nothing is too much to ask and they genuinely made the planning process so much easier!
Myself, and particularly my husband, really aren’t naturals in front of a camera. We decided to do a pre-wedding shoot with them a few months beforehand and I would highly recommend this if you are anxious. They put you at so much ease, guide you through every step of the way, and by the end of the shoot you really wonder what you were worrying about. The weather wasn’t on our side on the day of our shoot, but the results were beyond our expectations – absolutely beautiful!
By the time our wedding day arrived, it felt like James and Kerrie were old friends. Our nerves about being in the spotlight had significantly diminished, and they captured some of the most incredible moments. One memory that stands out is rushing out after our first dance to take some breathtaking sunset photos – they truly go above and beyond to get the best shots!
Their speed is exceptional, receiving our sneak peek photos the morning afterwards, and our full gallery around two weeks later. The results are beyond what we hoped and capture the day perfectly, and we cannot thank them enough.
We chose KB Wedding Videography for our filmmaker. We decided early on in our wedding planning that we weren’t going to have someone film our day, as we felt that photographs would be enough. About 4 months out, we felt that we were going to regret our decision and we had a change of heart – and we are SO glad that we did and that we chose Kien and his team.
The way that Chris blended in and captured our day was incredible, the videos make me feel like I am right back in Coombe Lodge with all our friends and family celebrating and doing it all over again. We laughed, cried and went through all of the motions watching our videos back – they are absolutely priceless. We couldn’t be more grateful to them for what they have done for us. The videos are something we will cherish for the rest of our lives.
The Honeymoon
Six months after our wedding we took a two-week trip to Mauritius, an absolutely beautiful island off of the South East coast of Africa. We relaxed on beaches with the whitest sand and clearest blue water you have ever seen, went snorkelling in coral reefs, saw dolphins, tortoises and macaques, and ate and drank some of the best food and drink we have ever tasted. It really was a trip of a lifetime.
Memorable Moments
One of our most memorable moments was just after our first dance. I had told our photographers that we would really like some golden hour sunset photos, and the absolute perfect lighting had just appeared. After a a few frantic moments of trying to locate my bouquet and Mike’s suit jacket, we half-sprinted across the grounds of our venue and into a nearby field. I don’t think we’ve laughed so hard in a long time! Our photographers captured some of the most stunning shots of that moment, for which we are incredibly grateful!
Advice For Other Couples
When you first start planning a wedding it can seem like an impossible task and can feel quite overwhelming. I found that keeping track of my to-do list using Excel or a similar spreadsheet software broke it down into more manageable chunks, and made it feel less daunting. It allowed us to see what we had left to do but also see how far we had come – a godsend when you’re feeling like you aren’t getting anywhere!
Oh such a special celebration.
Fay and Mike, I can’t thank you enough for sharing with us your classic country Somerset wedding story.
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