GLOBAL Going Bethan’s and Bradley’s vision for their big day encompassed their favourite holiday hotpots including Barbados and the U.S. Images courtesy of Jade Greenbrooke Beth and Brad met a decade ago at Sussex Cricket Ground where Beth ran the bar. At the time, Brad’s brother was a professional cricketer and Brad would often hang out there. Although she was spoken for at the time, five years later, when she was single again, he showed up in her DMs in response to one of her posts. They met up to take a lockdown walk together and have been inseparable ever since. Brad proposed in Barbados in 2024. It was a special place for him having grown up taking family holidays there every year. “A sunrise stroll on our third day of the holiday turned into the best moments of our lives,” Beth shares. The couple visited just one venue and it was where they ultimately tied the knot. “We instantly fell in love with its uniqueness,” Beth explains. “When we walked into Architectural Plants and stood under those palm trees, we knew we’d found our Barbados wedding vision in Sussex!” Given the enormous character of the venue, the couple decided to lean into this and enhance the greenery already present. They opted for a Grecian theme with urns, linens, floaty florals and structural plants with olive trees and staggered cypresses in the wedding breakfast room. Meanwhile, romantic draping hydrangeas lined the ceremony aisle. As an extra special touch the couple penned poems for guests and used them as place cards. “One of the best things we did was play around with the traditional timings of the day,” Beth tells us. “We went straight from the ceremony into the wedding breakfast meaning we didn’t have a lull. We had live music in between courses and then moved to the lake at around 5pm for cocktail hour at sunset. It was absolutely perfect.” Chef Dan Matthews curated the pair’s dream menu. “We love the U.S. and two years ago took an amazing road trip from Austin to Nashville, so we decided to emulate this through our food,” Beth explains. The starter was a mixed board of options, followed by a taste of Texas barbecue of smoked beef brisket, slow cooked pork shoulder, Buffalo chicken, cauliflower steak and a selection of sides. The meal was finished with blondies and brownies served with espresso Martinis during their lakeside cocktail hour. The bride wore a Chosen by Kyha gown, which she personalised with extra draping on the skirt and detachable lace sleeves for the ceremony. She removed these for cocktail hour and added a Rebecca Tembo scarf. For the evening festivities, she bustled up her gown and added spaghetti straps before hitting the dancefloor. Brad meanwhile looked dapper in a custom dinner suit from Clements & Church including an initialled shirt. His party was dressed to match – their shirts also personalised with initials on the sleeve. Guitarist Sean Ahern set the atmosphere playing several sets throughout the day before the DJ took over in the evening. A saxophonist and trumpet player joined them during the chorus of their first dance song, Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You, and surprised everyone assembled. REAL WEDDINGS 25
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