HOW THEY MET. Hazel and James met through a mutual friend, despite growing up 10 miles from one another and then going to the same university and never meeting. Hazel’s housemate after uni was James’ kickboxing instructor. Small world!
PROPOSAL. James proposed on a beach in Ireland where his mum’s ashes were scattered.
WEDDING. Hazel and James got married in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Stroud, with their reception at the stunning Kingscote Barn in Tetbury.
They chose the venue because of its beautiful rustic charm.
The couple began planning in November 2019 and originally booked for February 2021, but had to postpone until May. They went with the floral and rustic theme as Hazel preference is a relaxed style, and this fitted perfectly with the booked venue.
Bride's dress was A line with a beaded, strapped bodice and a tulle skirt. She bought it from Wed2B https://www.wed2b.com/ and spent £800 including accessories, which she considered a bargain! Hazel says: “I adored my dress. It was the second dress I tried and fell in love with it.”
The couple went slightly over budget. Originally they planned for £10,000, but Hazel says she honestly lost count of how much they have spent in the end! Probably a figure close to around £13,000 is about right.
They didn’t have a wedding planner, so other than help from the Wedding coordinator at Kingscote , Hazel did all the planning herself . She found Hitched https://www.hitched.co.uk and Bridebook https://bridebook.com/ massively helpful, as well as inspirations from Pinterest.
Whilst they were originally gutted about having to cut numbers, they loved the smaller more intimate wedding as they could spend time with everyone and enjoy the day.
The highlight of the wedding day was spending time with their closest friends and family following endless lockdowns and having to postpone the day few times.
Hazel advice is to just enjoy the day. She says:
“Our day went so quickly I wish I could relive it, but the photos are amazing to look back on and think about how perfect the day was.”
Wedding Suppliers Hazel & James hired
Photographer - The Kensington Photographer https://www.thekensingtonphotographer.co.uk/
Venue - The Kingscote Barn https://kingscotebarn.co.uk
Florist - Bijoux Floral Design https://www.bijouxfloral.co.uk
Caterers - Cleverchefs https://www.cleverchefs.co.uk
Make up artist - Louise Espley Make up
Hair stylist - Kelly Murphy
Cake maker - Cherish Cakes https://www.cherishcakes.co.uk
Magician - Darren Campbell https://www.darrencampbellmagic.co.uk