Our post today features the wonderful Autumn wedding of our bride, Lauren, to her husband Sam. The wedding took place at the beautiful Greenhill Farm in Otham, Kent, with a romantic outdoor ceremony and magical 'Midsummer Night's Dream' inspired styling for the marquee reception.
Lauren was our very first bride to wear one of the incredible contemporary gowns from Australian bridal brand, Maticevski. Lauren chose the striking, structural Allegro wedding dress. This stunning gown combines Maticevski's signature architectural elements and sculptural draping to create an elegant, striking silhouette.
Lauren styled her dress with an epic statement crown made from polished brass and crystals which looked incredible against her chic platinum blonde bob. To finish the look, Lauren added a simple veil, and simple white block heels.
Read on to find out more about Lauren and Sam's day, and discover more details about Lauren's fabulous Maticevski wedding dress.
Maticevski Allegro wedding dress
I chose the Allegro dress by Australian designer Toni Maticevski - the very first shipment had only arrived at Miss Bush the week of my first appointment, and I believe I was the first UK bride to wear that design which was super exciting!
I knew as soon as I tried it on that it was the perfect dress for me - it encapsulated perfectly the vibe I had in my head, something modern and a little bit different but still very pared back, unfussy and structured. The stretchy, almost scuba like material, sculputral neckline, exposed zip and hourglass silhouette were just the right balance of sexy minimalism with an edge.
Interestingly it wasn't one of the dresses I'd shortlisted online ahead of my visit - it looked completely different on the model than it did on me (thanks to multitude of ways you could style the sculptural shawl neckline) and I just couldn't envisage how it would look on my petite yet curvy frame - but when Emma picked it out for me at the end of the appointment I was immediately convinced. It was fitted but still flattering, didn't drown me and crucially it enabled me to wear a bra - something that was really important to me as I have a larger chest for my frame.
I felt really glamorous wearing it - it was a little bit Old Hollywood but with a fashion forward edge - but I also felt incredibly comfortable, which meant I could just relax and enjoy myself without worrying about my outfit.
I went shopping with my Mum and our family friend Sandra - and whilst they liked several of the dresses I tried on before, they both agreed immediately when I put on the Allegra that she was the dress for me.
I know they had both been really excited about the dress finding experience (probably more so than me as I was a little apprehensive!) so it was great to have them with me when we made the final choice.
Dress Shopping
I was actually dreading the dress shopping experience - I was nervous about not finding something that felt like me, or that suited my figure - and I was turned off by that typical 'Say Yes to the Dress' twee shopping experience. Miss Bush put my mind at rest immediately, I could tell even from the pre-shopping questionnaire that they were completely different.
I really valued Emma's expertise as a stylist - it was clear that she was fully immersed not just in bridal but in fashion more generally, and she was clearly invested in helping you find exactly what you wanted, not just pushing styles or designers because that's what was in-store. She was honest in her opinion, whilst still always making you feel confident and comfortable which really helped with the decision making process. It helped that I felt like she immediately 'got' my personal style and vision for what I wanted to look like at the wedding.
Problems or issues Miss Bush team helped with... I had been recommended MIss Bush by a friend who was also a Miss Bush bride, and had also read a few magazine articles recommending it for brides with a fuller bra size. This was a major consideration for me, as I had felt in other boutiques that this just wasn't something they were interested in catering for, or they dismissed me for not having a 'big enough' chest to be worried. Emma considered this from the start, and showed me designs and hacks that could work with my existing underwear, as well as flattering my shape - supporting my chest whilst not drowning the rest of me as I am only 5ft 1.
Styling
Even before I found the dress I knew I wanted a statement headpiece. In my day to day life I am rarely without a headband, and so it wouldn't have felt right not to wear one on the big day.
Given the sculptural, pared back style of the dress I knew I didn't want something fussy or twee and so I ended up choosing the Danbury Crown from New York based hair accessory designer Epona Valley. The headband was a simple, wide brass band studded with with crystals - a kind of modern take on a medieval crown. It worked with my short hair which I wore slicked back behind my ears and brought a pop of colour to my final look - I have platinum blonde hair and pale skin, so combined with the all-white outfit I neededed something to bring a bit of contrast.
My hair and make-up was by Hannah Monk - and MUA and hair stylist that I work with through my job in beauty PR, and who has also done my make-up at two of my friends' weddings in the past couple of years. She created a natural, glowing look - and in the evening I changed it up with a bright orange-red lip.
For my veil, I originally tried on a Juliet cap style veil which I adored, but when I tried it on with the headpiece it was a little bit too much like a historical costume, so I swapped it for a super minimal, delicate full length veil, which didn't detract from the sculptural neckline of the dress or the crown.
My shoes were simple pointed white block heels from Zara, they needed to be comfortable for dancing all night and not sink into the grass on the farm and so they were perfect. Again, I didn't want anything competing with the design details of the dress. For my jewellry, I kept it quite minimal and gold - apart from a saphire ring borrowed from my Mum - my something borrowed and something blue.
In the evening I changed into an Emilia Wickstead mini dress with a huge bow on the back that almost looked like a pair of wings, which I hired from Hurr. I knew I wanted something for the party that I could dance the night away in, and it felt like complementary foil to my main dress, with the minimal styling and sculptural bow - the perfect mix of playful and classic.
A magical countryside wedding at Greenhill Farm in Kent
We got married at the beautiful Greenhill Farm in Otham, Kent - a working farm cum wedding venue which is owned by the parents of one of my best friends and bridesmaids, Hannah.
Because of this, the venue had special significance to us and many of our guests. I've known Hannah and her family for over 20 years, and we'd spent many summers as teenagers and young adults camping out and having parties in the valley at the farm - so it was a full circle moment being able to host our wedding in those same rolling green fields.
The ceremony itself was held in a woodland dell on the farm - they were able to host the legal ceremony there which was great, as it meant we didn't need to factor in a separate registry office appointment, plus it had a magical, Midsummer Night's Dream vibe. We loved the fact that our guests were then able to walk through the woods and the valley to reveal the sailcloth marquee on the edge of the lake, where the reception took place.
Our venue was a complete dry hire so absolutely everything was sourced and put together by us, from the cutlery and the glassware to the catering ovens and the furniture - it was a LOT of work, but it meant that the final vision was exactly what I wanted. I work in PR and part of my job is planning stand out events for luxury brands, which was a blessing and a curse - the logistical knowledge of how to host a large event was invaluable, but it was a learning curve readjusting my budget expectations when we were paying for it ourselves rather than a client!!
My bridesmaid's sister (and other daughter of the venue owner) runs a marquee hire company called Holmsted Events and they provided all of the major infrastructure for the wedding - a gorgeous white sailcloth tent, outdoor lighting and all the boring but crucial elements like a generator, toilets and a floor. Their Auntie - Sue Davies - and her business partner JoJo Blooms did all the florals, so we were able to keep it a real family affair.
Despite getting marrired on a farm, we didn't want a typical rustic or festival-adjacent aesthetic - we wanted it to feel super chic and considered. The colour scheme was all white with touches of olive green, and I designed all of the stationary and printed elements myself. The flowers were white and scluptural to match my dress, but with a slightly more undone, wild look about them to be in-keeping with the rural location. We loved the broken arch that Sue and JoJo created for the ceremony, which was later transported to the marquee entrance - it really made an impact.
Our other favourite part about the dressing was the whisky hut by the lake - we had a firepit outside the marquee, as well as a little wooden hut where we set up vintage style velvet sofas hired from the Little Wedding Warehouse, complete with a help yourself whisky bar and sisha pipe - I went to university in Scotland and my parents live in the Middle East so we wanted to bring in a fun nod to that for the party.
The best bits
It is so hard to isolate a single, favourite part of the day - it's no exaggeration to say that I laughed from the moment I got out the car with my Dad until the moment I went to sleep - I have such a cheesy grin in every single photo. I didn't really believe it when people told me it was the best day of your life - it all felt a bit hyperbolic - but it really was.
For me, I just loved how much FUN it was, and what a good time everyone had - it was such a privilege to have so many of our friends and family join us from all over the world to celebrate with us.
Other than the general vibes, I knew the food and the party were going to be the most important for us. I am a vegetarian and I was distinctly unethused by most of the local wedding catering suppliers, so we ended up asking a favourite Indian restaurant that was local to us in South East London - called Babur - if they would consider catering for us. Luckily they said yes, even though I think we were only the second wedding and first sit down meal they'd ever catered for at that size - and they were INCREDIBLE, everyone was raving about the food. Our DJ was from Festival Wedding DJs - we were nervous at first as had really wanted to go with someone who was a personal recommendation but they were great. Everyone was on the dancefloor all night and he even had us up crowdsurfing...
Lauren's Advice
When it comes to finding a dress, my advice would be to get out of your head and trust the process - but make sure you're working with people who get you and understand your vision (like Miss Bush ;)) I enjoyed the experience SO much more than I thought I was going to, and am so glad I tried on dresses that felt out of my comfort zone when I saw them on the hanger.
For wedding planning in general, I found that being incredibly organised during the planning process (we organised the whole thing in eight or so months so didn't have that long compared to a lot of weddings) enabled me to relax on the day confident that everything had been taken care of. My husband laughed at my multi-tab wedding excel manager and printed wedding handbooks - but there is a reason that I use them when planning events at work and I applied the same logic to the wedding. Plus, we ended up hiring a wedding co-ordinator for the day itself, which was worth its weight in gold - because we didn't have a traditional venue this didn't come as part of the package, and we simply wouldn't have been able to get everything set up and running smoothly on the day if it hadn't have been for the Wedding Dolls - they implemented all of our planning so we could get on an enjoy the day.
Finally, just try to enjoy the day with your partner, it goes SO quickly and it can easily become a bit of a blur, so it's important to jsut try and drink it all in and enjoy yourself!
Suppliers
Photographer: Marianne Chua
Venue: Greenhill Farm
Marquee and infrastructure: Holmsted Events
Bar: Tippled Pink Bars
Prop hire: The Little Wedding Warehouse
Florals: Sue Davies Flowers and Jo Bo Blooms Florist
Catering: Babur
Hair and Make-up: Hannah Make Up
Headpiece: Epona Valley
DJ: Festival Wedding DJs
Wedding Co-ordinators: The Wedding Dolls