{"id":355831,"date":"2024-01-25T07:00:13","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T07:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whimsicalwonderlandweddings.com\/?p=355831"},"modified":"2024-01-12T14:49:37","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T14:49:37","slug":"blake-hall-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/blake-hall-wedding\/","title":{"rendered":"Rustic Romantic Relaxed & Pretty Summer Barn Wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summer dreaming today courtesy of WWW readers Kira and Jack and their divine Blake Hall<\/a> wedding<\/strong> in Essex<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yes, that’s right, you are about to clap eyes on the prettiest of days, think rustic DIY decor meets seasonal summer flowers<\/a>. Then there were the stylish outfit choices, pearl accessories, meadow portraits and emotional ceremony.<\/p>\n

I also love Kira and Jack’s advice to keep to your top priorities and to remember that guests won’t know about those extras you craved during planning. Spot on advice guys! It’s the perfect way to manage your budget and<\/em> the planning to-dos.<\/p>\n

Gemma Giorgio Photography<\/a>, thank you ever so much for sharing with us these sensational shots of a very gorgeous celebration indeed.<\/p>\n

\"Blake \"Summer<\/p>\n

Blake Hall Wedding<\/h2>\n

The Proposal<\/h3>\n

Jack and I have been together since we were 16, and always talked about moving in together and getting engaged after getting our degrees. We finally moved into our house<\/strong> after 7 years, in August 2020, so I knew a proposal was coming at some point soon.<\/p>\n

During the first week in the house, we spent 14-hour days stripping wallpaper, putting together Ikea furniture and repainting every room, and being the time of COVID, we had booked a Monday night \u201ceat out to help out\u201d dinner to celebrate<\/strong> all our hard work (we were still very much students and unable to resist a discounted meal).<\/p>\n

My friends said that there was no way Jack would propose over a half-price weeknight dinner\u2026 but I knew him better, and had just enough time to do my nails on my left hand only before we were due to leave.<\/p>\n

As we were on our way out, Jack suddenly plopped down to pop the question<\/strong>, surrounded by the carnage of the half-decorated living room. He was so nervous and shot back up before I could say yes, but of course I did, and we celebrated over a very lovely (and very reasonably priced) dinner.<\/p>\n

\"Blake \"Bride \"Bride<\/p>\n

The Vision<\/h3>\n

We wanted our wedding to feel woodsy and rustic<\/strong>, but still be polished and pretty enough to feel like a proper wedding.<\/p>\n

I love all things pretty, girly, and glam<\/strong>. But we also spend most of our free time wind-swept and knee-deep in mud with the dog, so our wedding needed to marry those two things.<\/p>\n

\"Blake \"Blake \"Blake \"Summer<\/p>\n

The Venue<\/h3>\n

Blake Hall<\/strong> in Ongar, Essex; a stunning 17th-century barn venue on the grounds of a beautiful family home. The venue suited our vision perfectly.<\/p>\n

The Essex Barns is beautifully rustic and full of history, while the Hay Barn is more modern and home to the most stunning picture window, which is absolutely perfect for photos. The grounds are beautifully looked after and a lovely tranquil environment to spend your wedding day in.<\/p>\n

\"Blake \"Blake \"Blake \"Blake \"Blake<\/p>\n

Your Outfits<\/h3>\n

Bride<\/h4>\n

I knew from very early on that I wanted to wear something I could move in, perhaps with a little bit of colour. I tried dresses on in 3 boutiques and finally found the Bobbi dress by Madi Lane<\/strong> at Isabella Grace Bridal<\/strong> in Tunbridge Wells.<\/p>\n

The dress had a gorgeous latte-coloured underskirt which made for a bit of interest without being too non-traditional. The dress was originally twice my budget at \u00a32000, but a week later the sample went on sale for more than half price, and I snapped it up!<\/p>\n

I chose a fingertip-length pearl veil by Ami Elisah Bridal<\/strong> as I wanted to be able to wear my full bridal regalia all day, and bought super-cheap pearl hair pins to match on Amazon. I had another incredibly lucky sale find with my shoes, which were the Henriette Pearl heels from Charlotte Mills<\/strong> \u2013 they went on sale 2 days before my first dress fitting and arrived just in time.<\/p>\n

Bridesmaids<\/h4>\n

The girls\u2019 dresses were by Biba at House of Fraser<\/strong> and were (another) sale steal. The champagne colour matched my dress underskirt perfectly, the material was stretchy and comfy, and the fit was so flattering on all of my beautiful bridesmaids. The high street has so many lovely options for bridesmaid dresses now that you really don\u2019t need to spend much money at all.<\/p>\n

Groom & Groomsmen<\/h4>\n

Jack had his heart set on a dark green tweed-style suit and we ultimately found The Grooms Room<\/strong> in Colchester which had exactly what he wanted. We chose to rent the suits as the price was very reasonable and meant the guys wouldn\u2019t be stuck with an outfit they never wore again.<\/p>\n

\"Blake \"Blake \"Blake \"Summer \"Blake \"Blake \"Blake \"Blake<\/p>\n

The Ceremony & Music<\/h3>\n

We had our ceremony in the Hay Barn in front of the gorgeous picture window. We walked down the aisle to an instrumental piano cover of Late Night Talking by Harry Styles<\/strong>, and walked back up to Celebrate by the Jonas Brothers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

We spent so long changing our minds about whether we wanted something traditional for our music. We settled on these songs because they\u2019re fun and upbeat; we wanted our wedding to feel happy and festive rather than overly emotional!<\/p>\n

That being said, Jack started crying the second his niece Matilda started walking down the aisle as our flower girl, and didn\u2019t stop for the entire ceremony, and started again all through the speeches! Neither of us expected this at all, but it goes to show just how unexpectedly special it feels to really be getting married to your favourite person!<\/p>\n

We were lucky enough to be married by Maid of Honour\u2019s mum, Mandy, who is a registrar and has known Jack and I since we were at school. Mandy and I met up in advance of the wedding and tweaked the wording of the ceremony to reflect mine and Jack\u2019s relationship, which made the ceremony feel so much more personal.<\/p>\n

Our first reading was an excerpt from Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney<\/strong>, read by Jack\u2019s sister Helen, which we chose as we felt it reflected our love and gratitude for our families and all of their support.<\/p>\n

Our second reading was from Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton<\/strong>, read by my Maid of Honour, Rebecca. We chose this because it felt very us; it\u2019s silly and funny, and discusses the more mundane parts of being with your partner for a long time, but also how special it is to have someone to do all of the mundane things in life with.<\/p>\n

\"Blake \"Blake \"Summer \"Blake \"Blake \"Blake \"Blake \"Blake \"Blake \"Blake \"Blake \"Blake \"Blake<\/p>\n

Your Photographer<\/h3>\n

Gemma Giorgio Photography; Gemma did an absolutely incredible job with our photos and making us feel comfortable in front of the camera. We chose not to have a videographer so there was a lot riding on our photos, and Gemma did not disappoint.<\/p>\n

We knew she wouldn\u2019t, because we had also met up with Gemma in 2022 for a pre-wedding shoot with our dog, and the photos were stunning, and we had a surprisingly fun time taking them considering how nervous we both were!<\/p>\n

We would recommend Gemma to anyone looking for a photographer who will take beautiful, bright and airy<\/strong> photos you will treasure forever, without \u201cover-directing\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Blake \"Blake \"Blake \"Blake \"Blake<\/p>\n

The Styling & Decor<\/h3>\n

Blake Hall is beautiful and so well looked after that we didn\u2019t feel the need to add many of our own decorations. We preferred to keep most things bare to reflect the rustic theme<\/a>, and the few touches we did add were mostly DIYed to save money.<\/p>\n