Jenney and Steve’s Cotswold Wedding

Tell us about the journey to your wedding day?

Steve and I have been together over 11 years, so we already knew we didn’t want a huge wedding as neither of us particularly like being the centre of attention in crowds of people. We had our son in April 2021 and Steve proposed while I was pregnant at Xmas 2020. Having Henry, it made us realise how much we wanted all the children to be involved and accommodated for at our wedding. Previous family weddings hadn’t involved many children but during Covid our wider family had had a bit of a baby boom so we knew there would be lots of people with tiny toddlers. Having not seen lots of our family who are spread all over the place much or at all for a couple of years we decided we still wanted a party (instead of eloping!) and I had always wanted to get married at St James’ where both my parents and my sister had got married. We decided the easiest and most central location to have a reception was in Chipping Campden itself and the Cotswold House Hotel with its beautiful gardens, accommodation and option of a BBQ reception was perfect as all the kids could enjoy themselves without it being too formal. In the end we had about 55 adults and 8 toddlers/babies aged 3 months-2 1/2 yrs old so definitely a kid friendly day!

Tell us about your wedding day. What was your theme? Did it all go to plan? What was your most memorable moment?

I decided that after I had Henry and got some beautiful flowers from my parents with blue and white colours that I wanted the same blue theme for our flowers at the wedding. I have always loved navy blue, so I chose this colour for the bridesmaid dresses too. We live in the North East so I had already decided that it was too far to bring my huge horse down all the way, but I incorporated her horseshoes into the theme by painting small wooden ones which the florist hung in the gardens, some blue ones which I decorated with buttons for favours and my horse’s own huge shoes which a family friend painted with flowers for all the tables.

Everything went pretty much to plan on the day, but we weren’t strict on timings as we tried to keep it as informal as possible. I was about 15/20 minutes late to the church but never mind!!

There were so many memorable moments of the day but some things that spring to mind are Henry walking on my dress during the service to peer and smile at me wondering why I had a veil over my face making me laugh, all our friends and family all in one place and everyone mixing, getting Steve to actually do a joke mini first dance with me and Henry on the dance floor in front of everyone to “Stuck in the Middle with You”.

Would you do anything different? What tips would you give couples from your experience of planning your wedding and the day itself?

I wouldn’t change anything as it didn’t really matter what happened on the day as we would have enjoyed it no matter what. For any couples planning their wedding I would say to have fun and don’t plan a formal wedding with set timings if you have lots of kids coming. Not having a seating plan meant people mingled more and people who live hundreds of miles apart found surprising links and things to talk about which they would never have done if they had been confined to one table.

Other tips for weddings with toddlers are party bags for the church/ceremony as it kept them all going when I was late. We also put some games and a Little Tikes truck in the garden which kept them occupied all afternoon!

Tell us about what you had in mind for your wedding gown?

I knew I had always wanted a dress with sleeves as I don’t like the style of strapless dresses. I also had always wanted a full-length veil and over my face too. I like lace but was worried a full lace dress might look wrong on me.

I had done some research online of some dresses I liked, and I knew V-necks suit me best, but I wasn’t sure on the other design really until I tried them on as to what would suit me.

In the end I am very decisive and when I have something in mind that I want I just have to find it. I knew that the first dress I tried on at Boho Bride was the one as it ticked all my boxes. Being practical, it had lace sleeves so I wouldn’t be as hot, it had a V-neck and it flared out at the waist so you couldn’t see my baby belly! Of course, I also really loved it as it was quite classic and simple, not over the top with lots of bling but still a proper wedding dress with beautiful lace on the top half.

Tell us how you found Boho Bride

First off, I knew it was going to be tricky trying on dresses with a 3-month-old while having my mum and bridesmaids there with me particularly when everyone lived so far apart, and my bridesmaid had a 14-month-old son too. I did a lot of googling to try and find bridal shops nearby that were close to play areas!!

The location was great as we all stayed at my parents’ house for a few days and were able to have lunch together at the garden centre before my appointment and Lynette was able to book me a slot, so we had plenty of time and the playground outside was perfect for my bridesmaid’s son.

Unlike some bridal shops I had looked at online, Lynette didn’t mind Henry coming in in his pram and even when we had to take breaks during the appointment to change and breastfeed him which helped me feel more relaxed.

Tell us about your experience with Boho Bride

Lynette was great at fitting my appointments in to suit when I was able to drive the 220 odd miles down to stay at my parents

She knew straight away which dresses would suit me best and let me try on whatever I wanted but guided me with what would suit my figure.

Luci was excellent at fitting my dress and I felt really comfortable that she was taking her time to fit each individual part of it, particularly as I was quite a bit smaller when it came to fitting compared to ordering it not long after having Henry.

Tell us how you accessorised your wedding gown

I decided to have very plain simple ballet type pumps to wear to walk down the aisle where not much would be seen other than the fronts. For the reception though I had my heart set on the bridal trainers I had seen in Boho Bride with the lace down the side but comfortable and quirky enough for the BBQ reception.

I borrowed some pearl earrings from my mum on the day and got given a new blue garter. The dress was so pretty I didn’t want to take away from it, so I decided against wearing a necklace and asked for a simple plain satin belt which Luci kindly made for me to match. Carolina styled my hair to suit the dress with a half up half down with matching clip in extensions which could be seen through the veil at the back and the wired roses added to it were exactly what I had hoped for as they were classic and not too much.

My main accessory I did get made though was a small neat, plaited horsehair bracelet made from hair from my horse who I lost last year.