Sweet Peas And Country Garden Style For a Grace Kelly Inspired Summertime Bride

Good morning lovely people, did you manage to catch this early evening addition to our vast archive of real weddings last night? This morning I've great pleasure in sharing the wedding of Rachel and Matt with you. Rachel, a childrens oncology nurse, and Matt, a GP, tied the knot on 13th July, 2013 at Taitlands, Stainforth located in Settle in the Yorkshire Dales.

I love that this couple chose to 'go back to basics' and involve their family and friends as much as they could in their delightful DIY day, and those sweet-peas were a wonderfully pretty touch.

"We wanted everyone in the family to have a part to play as they have all been so important to us as a couple, and will be throughout our lives. It wasn’t just a celebration of the two of us, but of our two families coming together. We went back to basics and utilised the talents and skills of those in our family."

"Matt and I met as students, both just finishing our training on a night out in Leeds. We dated for six months or so until we became ‘official’. A long courtship involved sea bass concoctions, food festivals and ‘romantic’ lunches in the local hospital! We got engaged in July 2011, which gave us two years to create a DIY spectacular!"

"We chose our venue, Taitlands, as it was a brand new wedding venue, not a conventional location. As Emma, the owner said, we ‘took a gamble’ on them and it massively paid off! The beautiful countryside setting and relaxed attitude of Emma were the main pulls for us.

My mum had stayed there on a residential fifteen years previously when it was part of the Youth Hostel Association, as had Matt’s granddad, so it felt very much like a family affair."

"My shoes were the Mimi design by Rachel Simpson – I found them in the Fur Coat No Knickers bridal boutique in London."

"My dress was a design by White Rose Bridal, and I purchased it from the Confetti and Lace boutique in Leeds."

"I felt like Grace Kelly, old Hollywood glamour, which I would never get the opportunity to wear again. Classic and timeless was how it made me feel."

"Me, my parents, Matt’s parents, and various other family members grew Sweet Peas for all the bouquet’s, buttonholes, cake decorations and room decorations. We visited various local Sweet Pea growers to find the most effective types and growing methods to get the best flowers for the day.

Work started ten months before the big day, with ground preparation and careful nurturing of the seeds into strong plants that thankfully romped in the Yorkshire sunshine despite the terrible spring we had."

"A big thanks goes to Darren from Myers Sweet Peas, and Andy Hubbuck, who spent much time and effort answering my MANY questions about everything to do with my favourite flower! My mum and dad have grown sweet peas on their allotment since I was little, and there was no question that these beautifully scented annuals would be the main theme of my day. An English country garden classic!

We used fillers and other country classics such as cosmos, climbing roses and alchemilla which were again all from our own gardens and we arranged them all ourselves, with the day before the wedding dedicated to this. The lovely women at Firenza Floral Design, and Leafy Couture, also offered nuggets of advice on my arrangements via Twitter, proving to me how friendly the wedding industry actually is."

"For my hen do, we went to the fabulous independent art workshop/cafe in Headingley, Leeds called the ‘Bowery’. My hens donated the bunting that we made to use at the wedding venue for decoration, along with fairy lights, Diptyque candles and obviously, the sweet peas!"

"Our cake was three-tiered and made by our family. My grandma’s infamous fruit cake was the bottom layer, the middle layer was double chocolate fudge cake made by Matt, and the top layer was victoria sponge made by my mum. All three were iced with white fondant and decorated with ribbon and sweet peas. A cupcake tower was made by my sister, Hannah, and decorated with iced sweet pea flowers."

"The amazing Carly Bevan was our photographer! Who was more than a photographer and became an event planner on the day! Her understanding of what we wanted was perfect and her relaxed, ‘storytelling’ style really suited our day.

We arranged a meeting with Carly, and went with our instincts and trusted her completely. Nothing was too much trouble for her and she really cared about us as a couple. We would recommend her to anyone, and will be using her again for family shoots in the future."