Goldney Hall Wedding – Jennie & Dan
Jennie & Dan’s Goldney Hall wedding was without a doubt one of my favourite weddings this year. I loved every minute of it and it was a joy to capture the story of the day for such a fun couple.
Jennie herself has taken the time to tell you all about this very special day and how it came to be. For all the details scroll down to below the photos.
If you’re in the process of planning your big day and want to have a chat with me to find out more about my wedding photography package then drop me a line. I’d love to hear from you.
How we met… We met at the end of our first year at university in Exeter. My flatmate was having a party and some friends came along, which included Dan and friends. It was very much a student affair and we bonded over the washing up bowl of sangria…
The proposal… It was a complete surprise! As we’d been together quite a while our families had been dropping hints for years! On holiday in Prague, Dan got down on one knee in the Kinsky Gardens in a secluded spot overlooking the city. He completely winged it trying to pick a quiet spot (as he knew I’d hate him getting down on one knee in front of a crowd of people!) but it was perfect!
The venue… We lived in the All Saints parish in Bristol when we got engaged and the church itself was so beautifully different, with the stained-glass windows and modern altar. We knew we wanted to get married in Bristol – we’ve lived here for five years now but none of our family are from here so we wanted to give them all a taste of how amazing Bristol is! We looked at a couple of Bristol wedding venues before Goldney Hall but we were completely sold on The Orangery as soon as we stepped in, with its huge open space and stunning grounds.
The look… I wore a Brighton Belle tea dress by True Bride. I’ve always loved all things vintage and knew from the start I didn’t’ want a long traditional gown. I was thrilled with my final choice that I picked on my first visit – I was sold by the buttons! I bought a simple birdcage veil and vintage style jewelled hair slide online. My dad bought me a matching bracelet to wear that he gave to me on the morning of the wedding. My mum bought me a garter from Debenhams and we sewed on some of her and my old charms from charm bracelets, and an old sixpence. My shoes were Irregular Choice. I wanted shoes that were fun, part of the reason I picked a shorter dress was so that I could wear amazing shoes! Dan wore a dark navy blue three-piece Ted Baker suit. We picked it together but he loved the quirky linings in Ted Baker suits (his one had cogs printed inside it) and when the suit arrived we found the back was a dark green colour that almost matched the bridesmaid dresses perfectly, so it was meant to be! The groomsmen wore a two piece, slightly lighter navy suit from M&S with silver braces from Asos for a fun, vintage look and matching silver floral ties from Topman. The bridesmaids wore a deep green vintage style dress from a website called Joanie. This was probably the hardest decision!
The decor… There was a slight vintage theme, with fun and quirky hints to the day! We didn’t really have a particular colour scheme, although the deep green of the bridesmaid dresses cropped up in a few places. My mum and I spent hours putting the centrepieces together! I love books and the stacks of books were ones that belonged to the family or were from charity and second-hand shops. To make it a bit quirky and original we collected some old ornaments (mostly from my parents’ house) to put on the tops of the piles of books and then tied these up with ribbon. Most of the ornaments and some of the books are now dotted around our house as a memory of the day. Dan designed and printed the order of service, using a photo of All Saints Church that he’d taken. We used brown kraft paper to match with the invites and we roped in family and friends to help tie the twine around each one! My parents bought a vintage bike as another fun prop and filled the basket with French themed goodies – wine, cheese and a baguette! There’s a photo of me and my best friend from uni beside the bike which I absolutely love. My sister created the sweet stall, buying the stand and all of the jars. My mum, sister and her boyfriend spent hours packaging up all the sweets. We had planned to have a sweet stand of some kind but this was a huge surprise and another level from what we’d imagined, it looked so professional! The cardboard cut-out with Dan’s face was hilarious and a complete secret.
The cake… Dan’s sister made cupcakes for after the church service (she has her own small business in Sussex called Claire’s Cakes) and we had a cheese and pork pie cake from West Country Cheese to double up as both the cake and the evening food. Dan’s never been a huge cake fan so this was definitely more up his alley. We added a ‘just married’ bunting cake topper and two little clay mice.
The flowers… We were lucky enough to have Dan’s cousin, Jo Wilkinson, who is an amazing florist. We went for fairly neutral colours that complemented the bridesmaids’ dresses – avalanche roses, spray roses, gypsophila, lisianthus, ammi, freesia, thistles, succulents and eucalyptus foliage.
The party… We had a Pimms and canape reception with garden games like croquet, badminton and giant jenga. For the evening we hired a vintage style photo booth, which also doubled up as our guest book, and we had a live band for the evening dancing. We created our own playlist for the early evening until the band arrived, with a mix of all our favourite tunes from all eras.
Best bits… The service – the vicar was fantastic and jovial, making everyone feel relaxed and the service felt so meaningful and special. The coach journey – setting off, all the waving and beeping as we headed to the church and again en route to the venue. The first dance – I was particularly nervous for this, with everyone watching! But it was such great fun and we danced to ‘All About You’ by McFly which is a song we both know well…
The honeymoon… We went on a minimoon to the South of France, starting in Provence. I work for Canopy & Stars so we went ‘glamping’ and stayed in a luxury safari tent for a few nights, then went on to a hotel in the Gorge du Verdon and did some kayaking and hiking (and lots of lazing around the pool and jacuzzi!) and then spent a few nights in Nice. We love France and wanted to get away after the wedding, but for our wedding gift asked for contributions towards our honeymoon so we hope to do a bigger trip next year, potentially to Cuba, Mexico and Belize.
Other fabulous suppliers who made this Goldney Hall wedding happen:
Hair and make-up: Lizzy Westney
Coach: Mervyn’s Coaches
Catering: Fosters
Band: Fake Plastic Chairs
Photo booth: Booth Nineteen
