WHIRLWIND A winter Not wanting to wait the usual 18 months to two years for a wedding date, Emma and Ant planned their beautiful big day in just four months Images courtesy of Soul of My Lens Emma and Ant connected online and met for a coffee at their local farm shop. They soon knew there was something there, and the dates kept coming. One of the early ones was a trip to Spitalfields Market where they popped into a photo booth but missed their first two shots. Luckily, their second visit to the same booth on a separate occasion went much more smoothly – it was the time Ant proposed. The couple had their sights set on an intimate wedding. However, as Ant is a drummer it was important to him that they got the music right, which meant including a couple of bands plus his own. “All the smaller venues we saw would have made it a bit of a squeeze, but Balcombe Place was perfect,” Emma says. “It was intimate, romantic and had enough space without feeling cavernous.” When Emma and Ant got engaged, they knew they didn’t want to wait years to get married. Balcombe Place had a date available in February, so they went for it! Happily, the venue had a fantastic list of recommended suppliers the couple could lean on. With a winter date chosen, they selected a fitting palette of burgundy and dusky pink. The theme included a few throwbacks to important moments in their relationship, such as photos, cocktails named after their dogs, a burger van from their village, and of course, Hartley doughnuts from the location of their first date. Once the florist knew the colours, she ran with it, creating arrangements for the foot of the stairs that could be moved to the table ends for the wedding breakfast, and additional bud vases for the tables. The latter were also used for Friday night’s dinner. Emma’s mum collects antique candelabras, so these were also dotted along the tables. Meanwhile, for a personal touch, each guest was gifted a photo of them with the happy couple in a frame for their place setting as wedding favours. Emma’s mum had the idea to style the music room as a jazz club for the evening reception with small circular tables placed around the edge of the dance floor. “It was one of my favourite parts of the wedding,” Emma shares. With the wedding date on the horizon, Emma was told she’d struggle to find a dress in time. But then she discovered Minster Bridal in Chichester: “We were just so well looked after,” she remembers. They helped her find a sample dress in her size and she took it away then and there. “It was a rollercoaster of a day!” Ant hired his suit from Moss and his party were dressed to match. Hartley (their beloved fur baby, named after their first date location) wore a suit from Etsy, while the pageboy looked super smart in his own suit from Next. The Postmodern Pops played in the Morning Room as the evening guests arrived. “One of our only regrets was that we didn’t do our first dance with them so we could have joined everyone on the dance floor earlier,” Emma shares. The sparkler walk was the subject of many of the bride’s favourite photos. Leading across the terrace, it brought everyone back to the Music Room where Ant’s band played a few songs to get the party started. Dawson Avenue then took over and played into the evening. Reflecting on the big day, it’s the ceremony that will stay with Emma: “When I had the dress on and I was waiting to go down, I was totally overcome with panic and convinced it wouldn’t happen. The registrar even struggled to get me to confirm the spelling of my name! But once I saw Ant at the end of the aisle and our eyes met, there was no one else in the room, and no nerves. It was just one of a million moments that validated why I married him, and what an excellent choice that was!” REAL WEDDINGS 29
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