Manhattan Gown – Lydia & Jordan

July 5, 2019

Real Brides

Manhattan Gown – Lydia & Jordan

COUPLE’S NAMES

Lydia Scott and Jordan Chaston

Wedding Date

25 May 2019

LOCATION

We got married at a venue called South Farm, Royston, Cambridgeshire in the UK.

The whole wedding took place in one location. South Farm is such a beautiful venue and we fell in love at our first visit. The building is so beautiful and with the yellow paintwork of the farmhouse with its blue windows and red roses scaling the front you almost could believe you were in the south of France. There is such a calming relaxed atmosphere and that is exactly the tone we wanted for our wedding.

We chose to have our ceremony in the gardens of the farmhouse across the water from our guests in a small summer house which made it feel very intimate.

The Reception took place in the Tudor Barn across the courtyard from the house. The venue is still a working farm so plenty of animals can be seen around including beautiful white peacocks and little piglets.

GUEST TOTAL

120

PHOTOGRAPHER

Ilaria Petrucci. Ilaria’s style is romantic yet natural and this is just how we wanted our photos to be. She knows just when to capture those special moments and has now made these into memories we can have forever. Nothing felt staged and Ilaria made us feel at ease all day, we were able to enjoy our guests and these pictures will always take us back to that special day.

BRIDES DRESS

Bo & Luca Manhattan Gown. This was the only dress I wanted and the only dress I tried on. I knew as soon as I saw photos online that this would be my wedding dress and I have no regrets with not even trying on any other styles or designers. I am still getting compliments from everyone that was there on the day and everyone that has seen photos of how truly beautiful the gown is.

BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES

The bridesmaids wore dresses from Fame and Partners. The dresses were light nude in a satin material but had a hint of blush colour in the light. It was important for me to choose a dress that would suit them all and that they would feel comfortable in. The train on the dresses was beautiful and complimented my dress. I also had two little flower girls that wore beautiful ivory satin dresses from Ghost.

ENGAGEMENT STORY

We aren’t one for soppy stories or overly romantic gestures so for us our engagement was perfect. Jordan booked for us to go back to Pefkos in Rhodes which was where we had our first ever holiday together 4 years previous. It was our first morning and at breakfast, Jordan handed me a card which at first I thought was very strange. I am always moaning that he always forgets birthday cards and I appreciate a good card! On the front were the words: Lydia, will you marry me?

I was so shocked I got up from my chair and ran away only for him to come running after me with the ring. I then said yes and we then had such a lovely holiday. We were engaged for just under 2 years so we had a good amount of time to plan and make everything perfect.

WEDDING THEME

We didn’t have a theme as such, maybe understated? We just wanted everything neutral and sophisticated. We tried to be consistent throughout with everything as much as we could making sure all wedding stationery matched, from invites to table plans to name cards. I think with a venue as beautiful as South Farm we didn’t want to distract from this and I am pleased with how everything turned out.

WEDDING RINGS

My engagement is very traditional, a platinum band and solitaire cut diamond. My wedding ring is a diamond band made to the same thickness as my engagement ring. Jordan has a round edge platinum band.

WEDDING FAVOURS

I have an extremely talented friend who made our wedding favours. We had white personalised napkins with a drawing of the South Farm piglets that Danielle drew for us. We also lucky enough to receive the original print framed as a wedding present.

FLOWERS & BOUQUETS

My favourite flowers are peonies and this may have influenced the time of the year we had our wedding. The bridal bouquet and bridesmaids bouquets were beautiful with lots of texture all in neutral tones. The flower girls had wicker hoops with a small cluster of flowers on. The theme of the flowers was consistent throughout and completed the look of the wedding.

CAKE

We had a beautiful 3 tier cake, each layer a different flavour. Double chocolate, Lemonberry and Raspberry and coconut. The Cake was decorated with sugar flowers to match the bouquets and icing detail to match the Bo & Luca Manhattan gown.

WEDDING SONGS

Our first dance song was John Legend – Stay together. It has such beautiful lyrics and we felt it was very fitting. My dad’s favourite song is McFadden & Whitehead – Ain’t No Stopping Us Now and this was our second request. I would say the theme then ran on from there, lots of old school soul. The dancefloor was full from start to finish, the DJ knew how to keep the guests up dancing.

FOOD & BEVERAGES

South Farm produces as much of the food on-site as they can, growing all their vegetables, etc.. We had a traditional sit down 3-course wedding breakfast with the show stopper probably being the beef wellington. The drinks certainly were flowing all day, we had an open bar with our guests enjoying the cocktail menu that was on offer.

HONEYMOON

We went on honeymoon 2 days later. Starting with 4 days in Miami before heading to the island of Turks and Caicos. It was stunning, the beach had white sand and crystal clear blue water.

GIFTS REGISTRY

We did not ask guests for any gifts as spending our special day with us was enough, if they did, however, want to we asked for a contribution towards our honeymoon.

MEMORABLE MOMENT

I know it sounds cliché but I am not sure we could pick out one particular stand out moment, it was honestly the best day from beginning to end.

ADVICE FOR BRIDES-TO-BE

I kept being told by everyone I seemed “too calm” in the lead up to the wedding, and my advice would be for all brides to be too calm. Everyone loves a wedding and no one would know if anything didn’t go quite to plan to remain calm, don’t worry about other people the day is for you and your partner and enjoy every single second of it as soon as it is over you will wish you could do it all over again!