An Essex Wedding - September/Ocotber 2020 (Issue 94)

Gaynes Park has such spectacular grounds for photos and a beautiful long walk through gardens to the aisle. We didn’t want anywhere too formal and the setting had it all: relaxed yet beautiful. We decided not to have favours, instead putting the money we would have spent on them towards an evening cocktail bar to start the celebrations. The bellinis went down a treat with guests! We also had wooden laser-cut place settings, which lots of our guests took home as keepsakes. We did lots of research and chose blush pink and white flowers, with a mix of roses, peonies and hydrangeas. We chose the florist Lavender Blue as I work with them a lot; we were over the moon with our flowers! We had a gorgeous arrangement behind the registrar’s table, which was a great backdrop for photos, while the centrepieces were glass cube vases filled with blooms surrounded by twinkling tea lights. Our four-tier cake had a different delicious flavour for each tier. It was decorated with rose gold sequins, sugar roses and our initials for a personal touch. At the bottom were some yummy fruit cupcakes. It was so beautiful we almost didn’t want to cut it. Luckily, we had some left over for the next day! Mediterranean Occasions supplied us with champagne-coloured sequin tablecloths – they really transformed the venue. We also had rose gold signage and a matching order-of-the-day. Outside, garden games kept the little ones entertained. 46