mum was appointed the wedding’s creative director and ran with the jungle theme. The bride also got involved making placemats from premium junglethemed fabric. Ioana visited both bridal boutiques and pre-loved wedding dress shops in a bid to find her dream gown, but nothing felt right. “I always felt like I was dressing up or playing a part and never truly felt like me,” she explains. Until, that is, she saw a video of the Nova Cocotte dress by Vivienne Westwood on Instagram and fell in love. She went to try it on assuming it would be another in the long line of rejected dresses, but instead knew right away it was the one. However, it was completely out of budget, even the pre-loved version. So, Ioana took matters into her own hands. “I decided to make it myself,” she tells us. “I won’t pretend it was an easy journey, but I’m beyond proud that I walked down the aisle in a dress that I made completely myself.” Rob went back to Ireland to get his suit made, while his best man wore a suit of his own. The two wore matching ties. Ioana’s sister Eva was maid-ofhonour and was dressed in navy blue. They had a dress ready to go, but, deciding she wasn’t happy with it, she ordered another 48 hours before the wedding. “She looked stunning,” says Ioana. “It was absolutely the right call. Like me, she just wanted to feel like herself.” Immediately after the ceremony, the newlyweds and their guests enjoyed tea and cake in the Chapel’s inner quad. “It was a gorgeous space and the food was incredible,” Ioana shares. She’d spent a year thrifting antique fine English china from car boot sales and charity shops for the occasion. “This was exclusively a Barry’s Tea-only zone due to Rob’s Irish heritage. He has very serious feelings about a proper cup of tea,” she continues. For the wedding breakfast, all assembled sat down to a family-style meal. “The food at Stanmer House was phenomenal,” Ioana shares. Later in the evening when it was time for a top-up, bacon baps were served, followed by cheesy chips as a further latenight snack. After dinner, guests played some silly party games fuelled by mojitos, switching up the vibe and avoiding a lull. A band provided the evening’s entertainment and the couple put out Disney sunglasses along with glow sticks to aid the party atmosphere. There was also a live painter to paint guests, which proved a real crowd pleaser. The highlight of the day for Ioana was taking a walk with her new husband at golden hour. “We took time for ourselves and spoke to each other about the day and how we felt,” she remembers. REAL WEDDINGS 37
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