Hatty and Ben married at Bore Place in Kent in early June and despite a severe weather warning, it was an absolute belter of a day filled with love and joy – the rain didn’t matter in the slightest. Thanks to calm planning and a thoughtful wet-weather backup, everything ran seamlessly, and they even managed their outdoor confetti line and portraits without getting wet.
Hatty had always loved the aesthetic of director Nancy Meyers’ films, and wanted that same sense of warmth and understated polish, with an English country garden feel. Bore Place suited that perfectly. We are so delighted to have learned that Hatty discovered multiple suppliers through the Love My Dress Directory; Luna And The Lane took care of the day so everything flowed easily, while Sarah from The Way to Bloom filled the barns and marquee with abundant, seasonal and absolutely beautiful flowers. Hatty wore the Ophelia gown by British designer Sassi Holford and her bridesmaids wore soft blue Rewritten dresses. The result was a black-tie celebration that felt completely relaxed and elegant. Enjoy!
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I have always loved the Nancy Meyers wedding aesthetic, and so I wanted the day to feel polished – but not too polished. I love how Nancy’s films make you feel right at home but, at the same time, everything has been beautifully curated and every frame is utterly beautiful. I was going for an English country garden version of that, I suppose!
The Bride
Venue/Inspiration
Our venue was Bore Place in Kent. Ben is very close to his extended family and weddings have always been a big occasion for them to come together. It was a priority for both of us to have all of his friends and family from across the US and beyond. We were so excited to see them and loved hanging out with them the week before, having dinner, brunch and afternoon tea in London.
As our crew are based in various states, there was no one US location that made sense. Some of my close family are also less able to travel and so we quickly settled on a UK-based celebration.
We knew many of our overseas guests would want to spend time in London around the wedding and so we narrowed our search to venues within a couple of hours of London. A countryside celebration felt right for us as we are very outdoorsy.
To maximise our time with our guests, we set out looking for a venue that would allow us to host as many people as possible in one place for the full weekend and showcase the English countryside.
Our final non-negotiable was finding a venue that didn’t charge corkage, as Ben was set on us stocking the bar ourselves and we didn’t want our budget to be too constrained by this.
Those criteria narrowed it down pretty quickly but few venues had the relaxed, family home vibe we were looking for. We wanted somewhere people could eat breakfast together in their pyjamas, go for a morning run together, play board games or even watch some TV. Somewhere unstuffy, relaxed, and homey but still quintessentially English.
Somehow, after much googling, I stumbled across Bore Place. It ticked all the boxes. We visited on a dreary November afternoon and despite the grey skies, felt right at home. Ben loves animals and I love cheese so the cows at Bore Place’s dairy farm were a big hit, too! With our wedding being responsible for so many air miles, it was important to us to make the rest of our wedding as sustainable as possible.
We were lucky enough to visit Bore Place’s again a few times in the run up to the wedding and each time were struck by the lovely gardens. These fully delivered on our wedding weekend even when the weather didn’t, with the gardens looking lush and green in the rather heavy rain!
Bore Place was the perfect blend of the formal and the casual, with its wood panelling, mirror pond and many cosy sitting areas. I hope our guests felt as if they had been invited into our home to celebrate with us (nothing stiff or overly formal here!) – at least that was the goal!
Love My Dress was a fabulous source of inspiration throughout the planning process. I did a real deep dive at various points (the content filters are super helpful for finding weddings with a similar vibe to what we were looking to achieve). I loved seeing which suppliers brides had chosen. Our photographer, Red on Blonde photography, has previously been featured on Love My Dress several times. All the galleries I saw shot by them made it feel like we were actually there living the wedding day along with the couple – that really sealed the deal for us.
A Few Favourite Venues
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My beautiful bridesmaids all chose their own dresses. I wanted a colour that would suit everyone and had seen some gorgeous examples of bridesmaids in mismatched blue dresses. I asked everyone to choose their own dress with a few guidelines, and it turned out so perfectly! The dresses went so well together and everyone chose something that suited their style and figure, and hopefully now they each have a lovely dress that they can wear again.
Ben has a few very close female friends and cousins, so we also had four groomswomen. I found it so tricky to choose something for them – we tried a tuxedo-style jumpsuit but it didn’t work out. I loved the satin options from Maids to Measure but struggled with choosing a colour.
I took one of the girls to Maids to Measure with me, and Jess at the Fulham shop was so helpful. She was clear that either black or champagne would look best with the tuxedos and would not clash with the blue bridesmaids’ dresses. I wanted something summery so champagne it was! The girls all chose their own style and it turned out beautifully again.
I gave each of my bridesmaids a pair of earrings from Monica Vinader on the morning of the wedding. I chose simple mini hoops and studs so they could get lots of use out of them. They didn’t wear them on the wedding day but they have all said they’ve become their go-to everyday earrings, which is so lovely.
Our lovely flower girl, Ben’s cousin’s daughter, looked so pretty in a dress by Nicki Macfarlane who designed the bridesmaids’ dresses for the now Prince & Princess of Wales. I fell in love with the bows on their dresses back when I watched the Royal Wedding on television as a teenager and had always wanted to include something similar if I was lucky enough to have a flower girl at my wedding. Luckily, Ben’s cousin also loved the dresses chose a beautiful one for her little girl. The bow! The flowers! She looked every inch a princess.
Our flower girl’s dress was perfectly complemented by some cute little tuxedos for our page boys, picked out by their moms from shops local to them.
The Ceremony
My dad walked me down the aisle, which was so special. We couldn’t stop giggling and we are both big weepers, so there were a lot of happy tears!
I struggled to choose what to walk down the aisle to but settled on some music from Bridgerton to fit with the English garden elements of our wedding. It was perfect and it’s so nice now to have some special pieces of music that take me right back!
We wanted our ceremony to feel completely personal to us, and so we asked one of Ben’s closest friends, James, to officiate. He did a wonderful job – as he knows us both so well he knew exactly how to sum us up as a couple to all our guests, and it was a comfort having a familiar face doing the honours!
Although we had a non-religious ceremony, the string trio played an instrumental version of the hymn “Make me a Channel of your Peace” which was really special to me as I sang in chapel choirs and at school throughout my childhood and at university.
Without a doubt one of the most special moments of the day was when my lovely friend Lucy sang Fauré’s Pie Jesu during our ceremony. Although Requiem isn’t a wedding-y choice at all, I’ve always loved this particular setting and it was such a pinch-me moment to have it sung during our ceremony. Lucy is incredibly talented and I can’t thank her enough for singing for us. So many people commented on how beautiful it was. I found it very soothing amid the emotional intensity of the ceremony and just about managing to stop crying listening to Lucy sing!
Another very different but equally special part of our ceremony was having our dog, Juliet, as our ring bearer. She was so excited to see us at the ceremony and cannonballed down the aisle to see us. It was wonderful to have a light moment amid the otherwise very emotional ceremony and made for some hilarious photographs! She also stuck around for some photos afterwards. She’s a big part of our little family and we loved having her as part of the day!
We wrote our own vows, both on the morning of the wedding when we were deep in all the emotions of the day. I really struggled to get the words out because I was so emotional but it was such a special moment. I remember promising to be excited every time Ben walks through the front door, which was my way of saying that I’ll never take having him around for granted.
Ben’s vows to me were another one of my favourite moments on the day. I have never felt so loved than in that moment. His promise to enjoy the quiet moments alongside the big adventures perfectly summed up our relationship.
Ben and I also wrote each other letters to read on the morning of the wedding. I was in floods of tears reading his note to me, which was so incredibly special and moving. I tear up even just thinking about it now – he set out his feelings so beautifully and it meant so much to read that before walking down the aisle.
We chose a non-traditional reading from Bill Bryson’s Notes from a Small Island. Ben has been living in the UK rather longer than he had initially intended when he first moved here – finding an English wife was a bit of a surprise! – and so it felt important to us to acknowledge some of the best aspects of British culture to our very international guests. It’s a lovely piece about learning to love a new country; so much of our wedding was about celebrating our love and appreciation for the other’s home country and culture.
Our rings were extra special. Ben’s ring previously belonged to his beloved grandpa, who sadly passed away the year before we met. I know he would be so proud to see him wearing it now.
My engagement ring was originally my mum’s, and she very kindly gave it to Ben to propose to me. It has a high cage so doesn’t really sit with a wedding band. I also love the look of a diamond solitaire ring with a plain gold band to match, so had a set made by a local jeweller with a diamond my mum gave to me. It came from the survivor of a pair of earrings she inherited from my grandma (one of which was sadly lost years ago down a plughole!). I now wear my wedding band set on my right hand and my engagement ring on my left, unusually – but it works for me!
Photography & Videography
We knew we didn’t want our day to feel like a photoshoot as neither of us is at our most comfortable in front of the camera. We wanted natural, relaxed shots that felt like “us” – so documentary-style photography was always what we were looking for. We also wanted someone whose photographs captured the light beautifully, and the just-married glow.
We found it really hard to choose a photographer as many great options just didn’t feel quite right. I had seen Red on Blonde featured on Love My Dress and loved how they captured both the details and the mood of each wedding day. They capture facial expressions better than anyone! We really wanted to feel confident that our photographs would help us remember the emotions of the day.
We loved meeting with Hannah and Toby – they are both such lovely, relaxed, friendly people. Toby shot our wedding day and we are absolutely lost for words, still, even though we’ve had the photos back for a while now. We can’t thank him enough and will treasure them forever. Looking back through the album it truly feels like being right back there on the day again.
Toby was a delight to be around on the day and so many people commented on how friendly and chatty he was. We’re so glad to have chosen him.
Initially, I wasn’t set on having a wedding video. I hadn’t really seen any suppliers that spoke to me and didn’t want one just for the sake of it. We considered “vlog your wedding” options, a DIY video, or not having one at all. We watched plenty of professional examples but none fit the bill and so we all but gave up.
We started exploring options again fairly last minute and through a series of recommendations, were directed to Brontë of Tin Box Memories. Her videos blew my mind. I was in floods of tears at the examples of her work on her website. She captures the emotions of each wedding so beautifully.
Brontë was an absolute delight to be around on the day and has captured not just how everything unfolded, but how it felt, so very beautifully. I am eternally grateful that we found her and will love our video for years and years to come. I can’t wait to show hopefully future generations. It’s so special.
We have gotten the loveliest feedback on the video, having shared it with all our friends and family. My parents recently went to a party where fellow guests they had never met before were coming up to them and commenting on the beautiful video of their daughter’s wedding, which had somehow found its way to them – it really is that good.
Like many people these days, Ben and I met on the dating app, Bumble. Ben is originally from Chicago and moved to London for his MBA, staying here for work after he got his master’s degree. We definitely would never have met in real life if it hadn’t been for Bumble, so I’m eternally grateful we did! Our first date was at a bar in Soho in London called The Black Book, which is where Ben arranged our (surprise!) engagement party 14 months after our first date and in the same week as we bought our flat – it was truly a whirlwind romance! We were engaged for a further 19 months before our wedding.
How They Met
We settled on a black-tie wedding as a way to incorporate another fun American tradition. I love a summer black-tie event so it was a no-brainer. My dad is very into fashion and so he took Ben under his wing in the run up to the wedding day.
They had a boys’ day out to Gresham Blake in Brighton where Ben was kitted out in a very suave new tuxedo, along with a fabulous purple velvet smoking jacket for the evening.
Ben selected black velvet bow ties for himself and his groomsmen which made their tuxedos that tiny bit more luxurious. He also wore black velvet loafers and the Christopher Ward watch I had given him as an engagement present.
I gave Ben a pair of gold cufflinks as a wedding present, engraved with our wedding date written in the American format on one cufflink, and the British format on the other. I bought them at a local jeweller at the same time as my pearl wedding earrings. (Ben’s wedding gift to us was matching fluffy vests for our outdoor adventures!)
Hiring an On-The-Day Co-ordinator
Luna And the Lane provided on the day coordination. We had never really wanted to go for a conventional wedding venue where they do most of the planning or set the structure / tone / vibe of the day. We wanted the freedom to do things our way. We also wanted to relax and enjoy the day and the lead up as much as possible and so we quickly decided that help with the planning would be essential.
I found Sally and her team at Luna & the Lane online and from the moment we first met them, we knew we were in safe hands. Sally and Charley did an incredible job supporting us every step of the way – even though we had only booked their on the day service. They helped with so many things, including calming our nerves on various occasions! They fully took over around 8 weeks before our wedding and it was absolutely seamless. They are the best in the business! I’d recommend them to any couple getting married.
The day itself ran seamlessly even with a severe weather warning for rain. Sally and Charley had developed an incredibly comprehensive wet weather plan and everyone stayed nice and dry! We even managed an outdoor confetti line and some lovely outdoor photos, miraculously.
I was so worried about the rain and had a pit in my stomach all morning but somehow you can barely tell from our photos and Sally and Charley managed it beautifully. I cannot thank them enough for all their work! They are both such lovely people and I actually miss chatting to them regularly.
Sally and Charley have such a wealth of knowledge and they were always so helpful at providing a steer when we needed some guidance. Having them involved was without a doubt one of the best decisions we made.
The Reception
Bore Place asked that we have a capri marquee so as not to damage the grass, given their focus on preserving the natural environment – which fit in perfectly with the underlying ethos of our wedding.
We chose Capri Marquees as our supplier after contacting a few companies because they were so friendly, helpful and flexible. They did a great job setting up and taking down the marquee, and were very reassuring when we had a severe weather warning for wind and rain! The marquee held up beautifully and everyone stayed dry during dinner.
From early on in the planning process, I was obsessed with the tablescapes. I couldn’t stop thinking about how to make sure our dining tables looked picture perfect. I was eager to fill the blank canvas marquee with colour and texture. I fell in love with all things tablescape and Ben was kind enough to let my imagination run wild, which it definitely did.
I genuinely lay awake at night thinking about taper candles, charger plates and napkin colours. I took screenshot after screenshot. I agonised over how to make everything look just right, without blowing the budget. In hindsight, I completely lost the plot here – but it turned out perfectly, so I have zero regrets!
Our lovely wedding coordinator had recommended Black Saucers for rentals. As soon as I saw the gorgeous range of napkin colours, the vision for our tables came to life and I was sold. I chose a blend of four blues and greens for our wedding breakfast to bring out the colours in our flowers. From there, everything fell into place in terms of colours and styles. Our coordinator also recommended candles from Esther & Erik, which I ordered in a range of beautiful shades to match the napkins for the wedding breakfast. We combined these with some pretty tea lights.
I really went all out with the gold for our wedding breakfast, hiring gold candlesticks and cutlery from Black Saucers. I also chose gold charger plates which added a glamorous touch to our otherwise rustic celebration!
One of the best choices we made for the tablescapes was having colourful glassware. A recently married work colleague recommended this and she was absolutely right! We chose blue water glasses for the wedding breakfast, hired from Touch of Vintage. They have a really comprehensive selection of colours which worked out perfectly.
Our floral designer was Sarah Tappen of The Way to Bloom. I was absolutely blown away by Sarah Tappen of The Way to Bloom as soon as I saw her portfolio. Sarah is incredibly talented and just so lovely to work with. I cannot recommend her enough. We had various calls in the planning process and Sarah even did a venue visit. She was so flexible and accommodating as our plans (and my beloved tablescapes!) evolved and pulled out all the stops.
I wanted all white bouquets to keep the wedding party look really classic, and came up with the idea of a “gradient of flowers” as we moved through the day. We had beautiful pastel pinks, blues and yellows in our show stopping ceremony florals which progressed into beautiful sunset colours and cornflower blues for our table flowers.
One of the loveliest things about a June wedding was being able to have peonies, which were so perfect for an English garden wedding. Sarah also pulled in so many other gorgeous blooms including a few stunning hydrangeas.
Sarah cleverly suggested using rattan bud vases and baskets for texture, which was just perfect and tied everything together so well. I loved the stone bowls and urns she used, which were so classic and beautiful.
Having a huge floral arch was top of my wish-list and Sarah truly delivered. The first thing I noticed when I walked down the aisle was the incredible smell of the flowers, and it’s one of my favourite memories of the day.
Sarah very kindly set up a little bouquet bar for us on Sunday morning to make sure all the flowers went home with our guests. I also had my bouquet preserved and I can’t wait to see the design when the flowers come out of the press in a few months! It will be so special to have them on the wall forever and hopefully they’ll survive for generations to come.
Serving plenty of delicious food was always a priority for us. No one wants 120 hangry guests! Bore Place had a great list of recommended caterers, and we enjoyed meeting them all. We quickly settled on Vine & Dine after visiting their (sadly now closed) pub in Buxted. We were so impressed with all the dishes.
We were very open minded about what to serve as the wedding breakfast itself. Vine & Dine provided some great options – substantial to make sure everyone was well-fed on a long wedding day, but not too heavy for a June wedding.
We started with some delicious canapes – arancini, watermelon & feta skewers and pork belly squares. We then chose a salmon tartare starter with a roast chicken risotto main course, or burrata and a wonderful spinach and ricotta cannelloni for our vegetarian guests. We both wolfed down every bite. It was the perfect combination of quality and quantity.
No discussion about our wedding food would be complete without a moment of appreciation for Stuart from Vine & Dine. He was a ray of sunshine in human form all weekend, even when he was walking in torrential rain from the marquee to the kitchen. He did a little happy dance every time we saw him and I cannot tell you what a joy he was to have around. I cannot recommend Vine & Dine enough. One of our best choices by far. I wish I had another event coming up so I could hire them again (and I’m sure I’ll find a way one day)!
Ben had always wanted a traditional white, tiered cake. A work colleague recommended Fat Anne’s for their delicious cakes, and lovely Annie made us a wonderful carrot cake (Ben’s favourite flavour). My mum and aunt very kindly decorated it with some lovely fresh flowers on the day. We served it as pudding with some British strawberries to make sure it was properly enjoyed and we’re still getting rave reviews!
I have coeliac disease, so we also had a smaller heart-shaped gluten free and vegan cake decorated with dried flowers, to make sure no one missed out. I loved the contrast of the dried and fresh flowers! Our gluten free and vegan cake was from Vida Bakery, one of my favourite spots in London for a treat. It’s so nice to be able to stop by for some of the same cake we had for our wedding cake whenever we want! Everything they make is delicious.
Some friends who married the year before us recommended Emerald Paper Design and my goodness, the calligraphy is gorgeous! We complimented this with some lovely menus I found on Etsy from Georgia Eleanor Designs
Our stationary had gold accents to match the details of our tablescape, with gold calligraphy place cards and table names and gold wax seals on our menus. It felt really special and caught the candlelight beautifully given the rather dark clouds overhead during our dinner! (Luckily the marquee kept everyone dry and comfortable).
We wanted favours that our guests could enjoy right there and then. Ben suggests miniature shots of Malort, a (rather strong) liqueur originally from Chicago and which Ben is famous for bringing along to parties. It was certainly a talking point!
Evening & Dancing
My evening dress was from Coast. Once of Ben’s priorities was having a live band for our evening party and he was absolutely right. Blue Lion Band brought the party. The dance floor was packed all night and Blue Lion Band are without a doubt our most-complimented supplier!
We found it hard to narrow down a band – there are so many out there – and liked that Blue Lion Band had a showcase we could go to in London before making a booking. They of course nailed it and we booked them the very next day. A favourite moment was their rendition of American Boy, of course.
Our first dance was to Do You Wanna Do Nothing With Me by Lawrence. Ben is a longtime Lawrence fan and I will always remember being introduced to their music the first time Ben ever cooked me dinner. We’ve been lucky enough to see them live a few times now and it’s always an incredible night! Do You Wanna Do Nothing With Me perfectly captures how Ben’s and my relationship works. As Ben said in his vows, we enjoy the quiet moments just as much as the big adventures. Blue Lion Band very kindly learned the song for us and did a great live rendition!
We are not dancers, so we enlisted some help from my lovely friend Georgia, who also happens to be a professional dancer. She taught us an easy routine that we (mostly) learned before the big day and made for some great dancefloor “wow” moments before our guests joined us. We won’t be joining the cast of Strictly anytime soon but hopefully we were entertaining, at least!
My favourite part of the day was hitting the dancefloor with our very best friends, having the time of our lives with everyone we love. There’s no feeling like it. My wedding was the best party I’ve ever been to – hopefully that’s an acceptable thing to say!?!
The marquee we hired and the barn at Bore Place were both blank canvases and we knew we wanted to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Grizzly Bear events provided some beautiful classic string lights for our marquee and gorgeous rattan lampshades with more string lighting for the barn. Originally, we had hoped for an outdoor ceremony but given the truly terrible weather forecast, we moved it inside to the barn – and I was so grateful we had invested in some beautiful lighting! It gave everything the perfect golden glow.
Love My Dress was such a wonderful source of inspiration. I think the key difference with other blogs is that you hear from the bride directly and so get a real insight into what the planning and the day itself was like. There is so much to love about Love My Dress. What stands out is the range of real weddings featured, the diversity in styles, cultures, budgets, approaches to getting married – it always reassured me that every wedding is different, but every wedding is special.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
There’s no feeling like celebrating with the person you love the most, surrounded by everyone else that you love – and it is absolutely worth all the effort and planning it takes to bring everyone together.
We were very selective about which traditions we chose to include and which we chose to skip, and no one batted an eyelid! Design your wedding to fit with what you want to do and don’t worry about what other weddings have done – but do feel inspired by them because they are all so beautiful and special!
Make sure you choose suppliers you trust entirely and enjoy working with, because you’ll end up spending a lot of time talking to them in the run up to the big day. I can genuinely say that I loved working with each and every one of our suppliers and I’m so proud of the little village we created.
When I wasn’t sure about a wedding decision, I asked myself (and Ben) “how do we want to feel on the day”? That lead us to make lots of decisions with feeling happy and relaxed in mind, and I think it paid off as that how we felt on the day.
We didn’t have a registry and actually asked guests not to give gifts. We are already so fortunate to have so much, and many people were flying long haul and taking time off to celebrate with us – including my maid of honour, who came in from Sydney, Australia to be there. Having them there was all we wanted!
We made the absolute best of our budget and resources, and I’m still blown away that we pulled it off!
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