Magical The Beacon Wedding in a Grand Pavilion Marquee

What a treat I have to share with you. Introducing David and Kate’s gorgeously intimate The Beacon wedding in Kent. They held their wedding in the Spring, with a church ceremony followed by a grand pavilion marquee reception. It was all just utterly stunning!

They rearranged their wedding 4 times and eventually tied the knot with a smaller guest list of 15. It turned out to be perfect for them and it was a real family affair. I love how involved their children were, the images by Lottie Topping of their family are adorable.

Then there was the sublime styling, cool neon sign, gorgeous outfits and splendid flower arrangements. Wow.

Beacon Wedding

The Proposal

This was a proposal at home on Christmas eve 2018. Just us at home with. Very low-key and totally perfect.

The Vision

Our wedding date was originally a 2020 wedding. May 9th 2020. However, due to the pandemic, this was eventually postponed to 8th May 2021 and was our 4th time organising. The original guest number was 100 and we ended up with the most intimate and wonderful day of 15 people and in the end, we would have not changed a thing.

Our vision was to be natural, classic colours of creams/whites mixed with greens and touches of gold.

My father’s birthday is 10th May and he is no longer with us so a May wedding on his birthday weekend was something to me which was very important.

The Venue

Penshurst Church, Penshurst and then The Beacon, Tunbridge Wells.

Your Outfits

David – His suit was tailored by Jones and Jones Bespoke. Sam who owns Jones and Jones was David’s best man and also tailored trousers for our son Myles to match his daddy.

Kate – my dress was Isabella Grace Bridal. I tried on a few dresses. And I just knew that when I tried on this one (Essense of Australia – Sofia) that it was the right one. The whole process with Isabella Grace was totally magical.

The Ceremony & Music

Penshurst Church, Penshurst.
Walked down the aisle to Alexis Ffrench – At Last.
First Dance – James Arthur – Say You Won’t Let Go (this was number one when our little girl was born).

Your Photographer & Filmmaker

Photographer – Lottie Topping

Filmmaker – Harvey White

The Styling & Decor

Favours – Candles – Leila Eldred

Sign – You are magic Sign – The Little Wedding Warehouse

We chose this sign as David’s Nan who was unable to attend on the day always calls people Magic and we loved it. So it was a must to have on our day.

The Honeymoon

We had a mini-moon. This we stayed locally at Downash Wood Treehouses. Totally Dreamy and peaceful, can’t recommend this place enough.

Memorable Moments

So many. However, my favourites would have to be:

Getting ready the morning of the wedding with my little girl, Alexa. Her face forever of how excited she was, completely priceless.

Riding in the car to the church with my mum and daughter. This was the same style/make of car that my mum and dad had their wedding day. Sharing this with my mum and daughter was magical, and my daughter talks about it all the time.

The moment I saw my husband-to-be at the end of the aisle. 11 years in the making, a home, 2 children and so many ups and downs. That moment was worth that wait, that’s for sure. Saying ‘I Do’. As you can see from the video, this was an amazing moment.

Also, we were a couple that was never keen on having a first dance. Due to everyone watching us. So many people said we had to and this is the ‘done’ thing.

So when we had to size down our big day, we were relieved that a first dance was not to happen. However, on the day, Lottie and Harvey took our little family off to the amp theatre at The Beacon and Harvey played what we would have wanted and we had our first dance.

Just us and our children and that is a memory that will be with me for our lifetime. Thank you to the dream team Lottie and Harvey for creating this totally intimate moment for David and I.

My father is no longer with us, and so it was my brother who did the ‘father of the bride’ speech. This moment, my brother did my father proud. This is again another moment that I am grateful for. The words that for decades I have waited to hear. That he would have been proud of the life we have created together.

Overall, after the year of the pandemic. Multiple rearrangements of our day. Being with our family and close friends, having a lovely meal and drinks was something we have always taken for granted. However, this was never a moment on our day that was, so this becomes an amazing memory. Just being together.

The smaller stuff. My Dad’s cufflinks on my flowers, I wore for something old my mother’s wedding band and these two things were so special and captured beautifully in our video and photos.

Advice For Other Couples

We were due to have a bigger day, more people, different location, more flowers, DJs. However, due to the pandemic our day many a time changed. We didn’t have our ‘big’ day the way we originally organised. However, the day we had, in the end, was total perfection and we would not change a thing.

Keep it small and intimate.

Don’t stress about the weather. The morning of our day, raining and windy…. As soon as I walked out the front door it stopped. What will be. This however is definitely something we would advise, is to have options for dry and wet weather. The Beacon were totally amazing with this and our wedding planner Laura was incredible from start to finish.

Photographer and Filmmaker – go with people you get on with. Sounds so simple, however, Lottie and Harvey on our day nailed it. We had a real laugh with them and made us feel so at ease. They created moments for David and I that will be with us forever and for that, we are beyond grateful.

Hair and Make-up – do it!! Book it in. This really adds to your day and allows you to just sit, which is very unusual especially as a mum of 2! Harriet and Liz…. great team.