The Couple – Harry and Bethany

Real Bride blog - Harry and Bethany

Wedding details

Partners name – Harry
Venue – Royle Forest
Date – 27 April 2024
Dress – Elysee Cecile

The Couple

How did you meet?
We met back when doing A-levels and were in the same IT class and have been together ever since.

Your engagement story?

We got engaged in Sorrento, Italy in August 2022. Harry had actually carried the ring around Capri all day and followed me round moaning about how hot, sweaty and swollen my fingers were (oops). He had tried to propose the night before but there was a wedding on where he wanted to propose and he was moody for the rest of the evening. The proposal was perfect and quiet and right infront of the sunset.

What was the first thing you booked for your wedding and why?

Venue, I knew exactly where I wanted to get married even before seeing it in person. We actually attended an open day the weekend we got back from getting engaged.

The Wedding Vision

What was your wedding aesthetic / decor?

The decor was minimal because of the forest setting. Our colours were navy and gold something we always levitated towards. Just very classy clean and sophisticated. A lot of the decor I DIYed myself.

Moment for the Dress

Dress name and designer, what did you accessorise with? What style did you choose for hair and makeup? Shoes etc
Dress was Elysee Cecile just absolutely stunning. Accessorised with a long veil complete with 3D appliqué flowers to match also from Mimi Toko.
My shoes were Jimmy Choo Averly and just stunning with the asymmetrical bows.
Hair was a soft Hollywood wave and makeup soft glam.
My jewellery were borrowed diamond earrings from my mum and a simple pearl drop trio.

Wedding dress shopping

Let us know when you started dress shopping, how many boutiques visited/ dresses tried. Did you pick the style you thought you would go for? Did you know it was the one straight away? If not, how did you know it was the one?
Funny story is that I saw my dress online, I asked Rosie if they stocked it and they did and I booked my whole appointment on the basis they had this dress.
Before visiting Mimi Toko I visited another boutique and tried on varying styles and silhouettes and found it really hard.
Looking back at the photos it was absolutely clear that Cecile was my dress but given I found it online I was trying to convince myself it wasn’t the one. I proceeded to try on about 40 dresses across 5 boutiques and came back to Mimi Toko because I couldn’t stop thinking about Cecile!

Tips for future brides

Is there anything you would have done differently? Anything you wish you knew before wedding planning?
Have an open mind as to what style dress you want, what you want may not suit you.
Listen to yourself and take minimal voices to your appointment a lot of opinions can really tarnish the process. I found it a really nice bonding experience with my mum.
Just enjoy the process it can be stressful at times but at the end of the day you are marrying your best friend and that’s all that matters. If something goes wrong on the day, only you know that it’s gone wrong it’s highly likely nobody else knows about it so just go with the flow!

Supplier Shout out

Please include any suppliers instagram handles or websites for us to share

Hair – rock_n_roller_hair
Makeup – bethanyjoybridal
Ceremony Music – thefosterbrothers_
Wedding Breakfast –  blackpeppermintfoodco
Band – dirtyweekendband
Live artist – joshgriffithsstudio
Evening food – chefstef
Flowers – flowers.in.the.wild
Dog Chaperone – thatspawfect
Cake – lovelifeeatcakeo

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