We are so pleased to share Joshua and Lizzie's idyllic Ridge Farm wedding with you today! After postponing their wedding twice last year, the couple were finally able to marry this July and it looked like the most wonderful, magical celebration!

Lizzie looked beautiful in her Jesus Peiro 240 wedding dress, which she had made in taffeta silk, accessorised with a delicate silk Lily of the Valley headband and an embroidered veil.

Read on to find out all about the day in Lizzie's own words, alongside a gorgeous gallery of images by Paul Read Photography

Jesus Peiro 240 wedding dress

I chose the Jesus Peiro 240 dress in taffeta silk instead of satin. I always wanted a dress with long sleeves, but for my original June 2020 date I was worried I would be too hot on the day and chose a different style and neckline. The pandemic worked to my advantage in this instance... it gave me another year to think about what I wanted from my dress, and Emma at the team at Miss Bush were so helpful when I changed my mind. I went back in November 2020 and Emma had the long sleeved dresses hanging up waiting for me. I saw the 240 on the hanger and loved it...after trying it on we didn't bother trying on the others! We ended up getting married in July after 2 postponements, and I didn't worry once about being too hot in long sleeves!

I had some amazing shopping trips with my brother, Mum, sister and bridesmaid. It is a real once in a lifetime experience going wedding dress shopping - and particularly fun watching my brother pretend to be Patsy from AbFab - but at the end of the day I am very decisive and prefer shopping on my own. I went on a couple of trips on my own, and found those the most enjoyable, crystallising what I wanted for my dress. I was alone when I found my dress, and because of lockdown I couldn't show my Mum in person until my dress was ready in May. I always knew it was perfect but her reaction seeing it in person was very emotional.

Dress Shopping

I went to a couple of other shops, but Miss Bush was like no other in terms of knowledge, styling, technical expertise and warmth. I loved every trip to the chapel, from the Cala collection launch in August 2019 to my final fitting. I always left with great nuggets of advice, or recommendations with regards to styling, flowers or troubleshooting emergencies like "what to do when the videographer stops answering emails!". I loved it so much I have been back with my sister for her wedding dress appointments ever since!

Miss Bush were so helpful when it came to the pandemic. With the total uncertainty after each announcement, the communication was so quick, reassuring and concise. I often understood more about the latest guidance from one of Emma's emails than from watching the news myself. The team reassured that their supply chain was solid and fittings could and would happen really close to the wedding day if necessary. I was having a really stressful time at work, and instead of having to come up with the right questions and be very engaged over email, they would send clear updates that I didn't need to answer or chase. In terms of the build up it helped massively with the administrative burden of wedding planning in a pandemic.

Styling

I had a very strong vision of how I wanted to look on my wedding day. I have always loved the pictures of my Mum in her wedding dress, and think that she looked timeless in a crisp silk dress - despite a subtle 80s nod to the shoulder pad! I was also very inspired by images of traditional Spanish brides. I wanted sleek, clean lines with an embroidered veil for a delicate touch. I also planned flowers in my hair, but not as a flower crown which felt too boho for my overall look, but as a hairband. I really wanted Lily of the Valley (my granny's favourite flower) but spoke with my amazing florist Ali from Mad Lilies who said that it was the wrong season for it. My aunt Hilary Simon is a talented artist who paints on silk, and she recommended Anne Tomlin, who has a background in millinery, and makes the most delicate silk flowers. Working with Anne unlocked the whole look for me, as she helped design and create the hairband. I also got her to make matching buttonholes for Josh and my dad so that we would have something connecting the three of us on the day itself.

I found the veil in the Hermione de Paula sample sale, and it has tumbling wildflowers embroidered down it. They also added two personalised flowers for me - a shamrock so I could carry my Galway grandparents with me, and a bluebell because Josh proposed in a field of bluebells.

For the flowers, I knew I loved crisp white peonies and orchids, as well as some very pale pink roses and forest green foliage to match my hairband. At my styling appointment Emma was brilliant, and suggested the addition of delicate jasmine to marry the little flowers in my hair and from my veil. Ever since the smell of jasmine takes me back to our wedding day! Ali made a beautiful meadow of flowers for the altar and the end of the aisle which blew me away when walking towards it. I loved my flowers so much I refused to throw my bouquet at the end of the night, and instead one of the ushers caught some of the table flowers.

An idyllic Ridge Farm wedding

We got married at Worth Abbey, a beautiful and simple church in West Sussex. It is really special to Lizzie's family because her parents were married in that Church by the same priest in 1987. It is set in striking grounds, and Josh proposed to Lizzie in the gardens in April 2019. Our wedding reception took place at Ridge Farm in Capel. We were searching for wedding venues for a while based on proximity to Worth Abbey, and we were finding many of places lacking personality. We fell in love with Ridge Farm as soon as we got out of the car. It is a magical place, you have to see it in person to really capture its beauty and magic. It feels like the Secret Garden when you enter the boundaries. You can hire Ridge Farm for the whole weekend, and it has loads of space with the grounds, swimming pool, tennis courts and woodland. It felt like an abroad wedding despite being less than an hour from London. It could sleep our immediate families, bridesmaids and ushers comfortably (and that's with Josh having 9 ushers!). It has a little bridal cottage where Lizzie could sleep the night before and get ready with her bridesmaids, and then turned into the honeymoon suite for the wedding night. Having Ridge Farm meant we could have a cosy dinner party on the Friday night and a pool party on the Sunday - a real "post mortem" to debrief about the wedding day.

The best bits

The whole weekend was magical. Some highlights were my car journey to the Church with my dad (chauffeured by one of my best mates), clinging onto Josh when I finally made it to the end of the aisle, the ceremony and Josh's eye contact during the vows, walking into the reception where our ushers' band was playing Valerie, making everyone play rock, paper, scissors over a toffee vodka shot during my speech and without a doubt the first dance. Our MC had mixed the song Cheerleader in advance so that he could play the sax live over it. We walked in to our pals playing the sax and piano, and after a couple of twirls we had everyone around us jumping up and down on the dancefloor. We were euphoric, soaked in beer, in the centre of it all, screaming with everyone at the top of our lungs. It was the biggest explosion of joy after not seeing some of our family and friends in 18 months. Another highlight was Sunday, we could relive the day, let loose and hear all the gossip from the day before. The memories of Sunday are now hazy but there were minimal alcoholic leftovers after an afternoon in the Jacuzzi and a very vibey pool party.

Lizzie's Advice

Trust your instincts and trust Emma! Enjoy every second of the day, it goes too quickly.

Suppliers

Venue: Ridge Farm
Photographer: Paul Read Photography
Hairband: Anne Tomlin
Hair: Kaya from Clay Hair salon (Oxshott)
Make-up: Own
Florist: Mad Lilies
Bridesmaid dresses: ASOS / Ghost / Coast / Blue Moss Bros suit
Caterer: Chef Ian