Anna and Jack's Real Wedding by Douglas Fry

It’s no secret Douglas Fry is one of our favourite photographers, capturing heart warming weddings again and again. This week is no exception, Anna and Jack’s beautiful English garden wedding is stunning, from her gorgeous Liancarlo dress, to the rustic chic decoration, to the bridesmaids elegant pale green dresses; this week’s real wedding is the perfect inspiration for all you brides looking for an outdoors summer wedding.

Anna and Jack's Real Wedding

Bride and Groom… Anna and Jack

Wedding date… Saturday July 6^th 2013

We met… Through our respective best friends when we were at secondary school. They were going out at the time. It was very sweet sixteen.

The proposal… Jack proposed on the first morning of a long weekend in Paris. He wrote me a poem and recited it on bended knee while I was still half asleep in bed.

We knew it was ‘the one’… Anna: We had been together on and off for 10 years by the time Jack proposed. The realisation sort of crept up on me… Jack: When we started living together and things only got better.

Length of engagement… 1 year and 3 months

How did Confetti.co.uk help in your big day? I loved the Confetti mood boards, which gave us great ideas when we were putting together the little details and final touches for the reception.

Purple, yellow and white wedding bouquets

Purple and white wedding bouquets

My dress was… A Liancarlo dress. I went to three bridal salons in New York to find my dress, accompanied by my sister, one of my bridesmaids, and my very glamorous and opinionated aunt (who was stepping in for my mother who lives in London). I had a favourite dress at each salon, but finally chose a French lace, cap-sleeved, mermaid dress from the Liancarlo fall 2012 line. It completely captured the romantic, English-countryside style I was looking for. In the end I also bought a last-minute second dress from Phase Eight so that I could change for the evening part of the reception. And thank goodness I did, because I was roasting in my full length, many-layered Liancarlo!

French lace, cap-sleeved Liancarlo dress

Pale green halter neck bridesmaids dress

Bride getting ready for her big day

Bridesmaid helping bride get ready

White rose button holes

Our wedding ceremony was… Held at All Hallows Church, Tillington, West Sussex. It was a lovely Church of England service, conducted by the local reverend. The church was full of 160 family and friends who were delighted, and relieved that we were finally tying the knot. There were no dry eyes in the house after Jack’s sister’s reading of “Us Two” by A. A. Milne, and our two year-old ring bearer managed to keep his trousers on through the whole ceremony; the same cannot be said of the reception!

Wedding ceremony at All Hallows Church, Tillington, West Sussex

White, purple floral aisle decoration

Purple and white order of service

White and yellow flora decoration for the church

Groom in a Moss Bros suit waiting outside the church

Guests arriving to the ceremony

Order of service being passed to the reverend

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Bride in a black vintage car on her way to the ceremony

Bride with her father making their entrance in to the church

Bridesmaids in pale green dresses making their way to the ceremony

Bride and groom at the alter

Bride and groom enjoying the ceremony

Bride and groom kneeling at the alter

The newlyweds signing the register

The newlyweds

The newlyweds outside the church

Our wedding photographer was… Douglas Fry. Douglas did a wonderful job. We love his candid and natural approach, and the pictures captured the joy and relaxed mood of the day. He even gave some of our guests a lift from the church to the reception!

The newlyweds by Douglas Fry Photography

The bride with her bridesmaids by Douglas Fry Photography

The groom with his groomsmen by Douglas Fry Photography

Our bridesmaids and groomsmen were… My sister who was the maid of honour, and two school friends and a university friend were bridesmaids. Jack had two best men and four groomsmen. They were made up of a mix of friends from school and university.

The newlyweds with their bridesmaids and groomsmen by Douglas Fry Photography

The newlyweds with the bride’s parents by Douglas Fry Photography

The newlyweds with the groom’s parents by Douglas Fry Photography

Younger wedding guest by Douglas Fry Photography

Wedding guests by Douglas Fry Photography

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Vintage wedding car with white ribbon

Bride and groom leaving the church in a vintage car

The happy couple by Douglas Fry

Our wedding reception was… Held in a paddock on the Cowdray Estate, overlooking Cowdray House. Our original venue was the Cowdray Ruins, however, the planning permission for the wedding was denied so the Cowdray Estate offered us an alternative location. But it couldn’t have been more perfect.

Wedding reception on the Cowdray Estate

Bride with her wedding guests

Drinks for the wedding guests

Barbeque during the cocktail hour

Marquee wedding with purple, yellow and green centrepieces

Our wedding theme was… Chic with a casual country summer style. The colours were lavender and pale yellow, and we had big terracotta pots of fresh lavender surrounded by yellow roses scattered around the marquees.

Marquee wedding with purple, yellow and green centrepieces

Multi coloured place cards

Purple, yellow and green potted centrepiece

Lavender place card for the bride

Our Wedding Cake was… From Marks & Spencer and decorated by Angel Like Flowers

White wedding cake with purple, yellow and white flowers

The bride and groom taking their seats

Groom making his speech

Our favourite part of the wedding was… Anna: the ceremony. It was so special to be able to celebrate our relationship with so many people that we love. I was a bundle of nerves, but I couldn’t have been happier! Jack: the speeches, I was awesome. We were also incredibly lucky with the weather. Thirty degrees and brilliant sunshine made for a glorious outdoor reception.

Did anything funny or unusual happen at your wedding? The father of the bride made a very odd (and false) suggestion that the bride was pregnant! This led to some uncomfortable conversations following the wedding breakfast.

Father of the bride toasting the marriage

The wedding breakfast

Chalk board table number

Wedding breakfast served on jars

Trio of wedding desserts

Our wedding was unique and special because… The coming together of family and friends from all over the world, the very un-British summer weather, and the fact that nothing went wrong! Oh, and Andy Murray won Wimbledon the next day.

Wedding guests enjoying the wedding reception

Bride and groom cutting the wedding cake

Our first dance was… To a three song medley that reflected our 11 year relationship: Drops of Jupiter by Train, the song that we bonded over aged 16. Followed by We are never ever getting back together by Taylor Swift as we’ve had our ups and downs, and finally Fix up look sharp by Dizzy Rascal, the song we most love dancing to together.

What is your advice for other brides? Don’t worry about things too far in advance. Once the big stuff is decided and booked, the details only need to be added in the week or so before. Then go into full bridezilla mode.

Our honeymoon was to… Ten days in Hawaii, first in Maui and then Kauai. We did a “honeymoon fund” as part of our gift registry and were able to really splash out while we were away. It was the perfect mix of outdoor adventure, good food and relaxing in the sun.