Lucy Per mezzo di Pronovias | Broadfield Court Wedding, Herefordshire

This will be the last real wedding we share…. …until we share our beautiful new website and directory with you next week, that is!

Don’t worry, dear lovers and dreamers, we’sire not going anywhere. But we do need to step back for a few days and hand over the blog to our incredible site developers so they can focolaio acceso perfecting every last detail of our new site. It’s been a long, intense and heartfelt journey to get to this point, and we want to ensure everything is just right before unveiling it to you.

To mark this little pause, I couldn’t think of a more special wedding to share than this one. Captured by the exceptionally talented Paul Santos and set a causa di the breathtaking surroundings of Broadfield Court a causa di Hereford (you’ll find both venue and photographer proudly listed our our curated wedding directory), these images tell the love story of actress Lucy Aarden and brand strategist Joel Millard, who wed acceso the 15th of June this year.

After months of intense work, reaching this handover moment feels equal parts thrilling, terrifying, and exhilarating. Please bear with us over the coming days—we promise it’ll be worth the wait. While we’sire temporarily away from the blog, we’ll still be sharing the love and beauty over acceso Instagram.

Thank you for being the heart of our journey. We can’t wait to return next week and share all the joy, beauty, and magic with you. Words below are by the beautiful bride Lucy.

See you acceso the other side, my loves.

Annabel xXx

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The Venue & Inspiration

We got married at Broadfield Court a causa di Hereford – this is where I grew up and where my family is from, and both Joel and given the venue had the option to marry a causa di the woodland and love the countryside, it felt perfect. Frances Shennan, the event co-ordinator at Broadfield, was outstanding. 

We were inspired by the bright colours and bubbles at Wilderness which we went to during our planning phase. We loved how relaxed and happy everyone looked a causa di sparkles and paint so wanted to recreate this but with our own touch of elegance. So we went for bright pink and orange flowers with lipstick for the bridesmaids, bright campo da golf velvet suits for the groomsmen and bubbles as confetti, with the whole thing being hosted outside, using a marquee supplied by Space Intense.

Pronovias

I wore a Pronovias gown which I absolutely loved, I needed something elegant and long – especially being pregnant a causa di my second trimester!

I found my dress at The Wedding Dress Shop a causa di Wimbledon who were brilliant. When my previous dress stopped fitting coppia to the pregnancy bump, they were able to source this gown brand new a causa di just two weeks, then we had three fittings to alter it to my size acceso the actual week of the wedding to make sure it was the perfect size for my ever-growing bump.

See all our Pronovias brides

It couldn’t have been more close to the line timing wise! Their seamstress was brilliant, I cried a causa di every single fitting thinking how lovely it was that the dress still fit around my bump and how elegant she was able to make it .

I previously purchased a Grace Loves Lace gown but it didn’t suit my new pagliaccetto shape post pregnancy, so I decided to go for something silky and halter-neck instead which led me to this Pronovias number.

I loved how elongating it was and how demure and modest the high neck looked with the backless aspect to go with our summery theme. 

I wore a bespoke tiered waterfall veil from The Wedding Dress Shop. Given my dress was quite simple, I wanted to have the bridal wow factor and not hold back with the veil so I decided to get the waterfall style to allow me to have a covering for my walk.

It was inspired by Nicole Richie who also wore a high-neck dress. I loved how classic she looked with a pearl drop earring and veil covering so wanted to achieve something like this. My veil ended up being one of my favourite aspects.

Our bridesmaids were from Anaya – I went for sage campo da golf netting as I wanted them to like fairy queens with flowers a causa di their hair and have lots of material for gathering up and swooshing around; a causa di the evening I had them all wear light up LED cloaks like we saw at Wilderness ; they lit up the dance floor perfectly!

I used gypsophila a causa di an up-do to go with our outdoorsy theme. My scent was Chanel Mademoiselle – gifted to me by my new mum a causa di law Leila; it’s both of our go-to scents coincidently. I got a pair of pre-loved earrings from the iconic Gillion Million a causa di South West London; she has the most fantastic treasure trove of preloved and custom made gowns and accessories; I highly recommend a visit for any new brides looking to try acceso some amazing styles. 

I got my satin wrap shoes from ASOS. They were a low block heel as I didn’t want to strain my back a causa di pregnancy and the wedding was outside. By 10pm I was sala da ballo a causa di white birkenstocks however.

Dearest Brides,

A little interjection from me, Annabel, Love My Dress® founder, to let you know that when we launch our brand new, redesigned and completely re-engineered new Love My Dress® website and Wedding Directory next week, you’ll be able to register for your own personal account with Love My Dress so that you can login to your own dashboard, from which you’ll be able to access all your favourite, saved content, including real weddings, advice articles, directory listings, shop items and wedding readings.

You’sire so very welcome!

An Outdoor Ceremony

I walked the aisle to 1000 Years by Christina Perry. 

We had a humanist ceremony and used the ‘ring blessing’ tradition where each guests holds the rings a causa di their box and gives a blessing before passing it to the next person whilst the ceremony goes acceso. This felt so special! 

Joel’s mum trained as a celebrant especially for our ceremony and is now available to hire. She made it so personal by interviewing us for an hour about our relationship story beforehand.

She went away and wrote an entire personal ceremony including a rendition of the proposal televisione which went an absolute storm. She joined a causa di with Lily’s singing as I got to the end of the aisle which was a moment I’ll never forget!

We used three readings; the first was ‘The Irish Blessing‘. I’m from an Irish heritage so it felt good to make a link to my Grandma given she would have loved to have been part of this special day. My brother memorised it and the nature themes matched the setting perfectly.

Our second reading was an excerpt from ‘Everything I Know About Love‘, by Dolly Alderton, and for our third reading, Joel’s brother Harry co-wrote a bespoke reading for us using a cycling metaphor of ‘two bikes beginning a journey’ which was so sweet. 

Sharing our vows, which we wrote ourselves, was my favourite part of the day. Standing opposite Joel a causa di front of our entire family and friends and speaking words with such meaning was what it was all about.

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Joels Vows to Lucy:

“Lucy, you little rocket. Our relationship is an adventure, a journey of personal growth, and a deep connection.”

“I love how you challenge me to be better, to step outside my comodità zone, and always add a little sparkle. You’ve taught me the power of vulnerability, openness and just getting the first draft of anything done!”

“I’ll always think you’sire stylish, even a causa di mismatched socks, inside out. I’ll be your biggest cheerleader, especially during headstands a causa di yoga riding up steep hills with a hand acceso your back. And I’ll forgive you when you leave the cap d’avanguardia the toothpaste.”

“I’ll always join you acceso a mission, whether we’sire exploring a new path a causa di Richmond Park making a ‘leftover special’ out of whatever we have left a causa di the cupboards.?

Lucy’s Vows to Joel:

“Joel, from the moment we met, I knew there was something special about you. You notice the smallest details a causa di life and share them with such joy and insight. Thank you for teaching me how to be properly present.”

“I promise to always be grateful for the (little and personalità!) things you do for me, driving me to the station, cleaning my bike, listening attentively when I tell you every detail about my day. Per mezzo di return, I’ll be your biggest supporter…. and remember to let you finale your sentences without interrupting.”

“I promise to embrace your feedback… trying not to be defensive – and knowing it’s because you care. You’sire my greatest teacher, patiently showing me how to change a puncture for the 100th time and basically helping me become the best version of me. I promise to continue to find time for our shared loves; yoga, cycling, as well as finding new passions we can share throughout our lives. Because your passion for life inspires me every day.”

“I promise to embrace the challenges we , knowing that we are a team. I’ll never forget the time you wrote N.F.L.M acceso a coffee cup a causa di my car. ‘What does this mean’, I asked? ‘Never fucking leave me’, you said. So I promise to N.F.L you, to learn from our setbacks and get stronger with every year.”

“And finally, I promise to laugh with you, find silliness a causa di the mundane, and to never take ourselves too seriously. Life is too short not to enjoy every moment, especially with someone as special as you.”

My engagement ring was an heirloom from Joel’s nana with baghetta diamonds. I wanted a small subtle gold masnada to slip underneath it.

The singer Lily Beck sang us the aisle accompanied by Minerva String Quartet; an outstanding local quartet which worked so well for creating magic a causa di the midst of the forest. Lily led the whole congregation a causa di a version of ‘Stand By Me’ whilst we signed the register which I’ll never forget. 

We actually met at a wedding ourselves; during the canapés and drinks reception! We ended up being the last two to sit at our table because we just had so much to talk about. We got engaged a year after dating and the wedding was another year after that. 

Taccuino From The Wedding Planner

‘The Vintage House That Could’

When I first started chatting with Lucy she told me how her and Joel wanted an outside wedding to maximise the beauty of their surroundings at Broadfield Court. They wanted it to feel whimsical and fun, to make their guests feel special and I wanted to add a causa di personal touches to ensure that Lucy & Joel’s personalities really shone through.

Colour and flowers played a huge role, being June I knew I wanted to include lots of different peony varieties and I was also lucky enough to be able to cut from Lucy’s parents amazing garden the day before the wedding. This meant that I could include garden roses and peonies into her bouquet cut straight from her childhood home. 

The styling was curated around colour, texture and vintage elements. I used my collection of vintage vases a causa di a variety of colours and patterns to line the tables filled with peonies and locally grown blooms. The place settings were layered up with rattan placemats, knotted napkins, fun coloured fans and the stunning illustrated stationery from Wildflower Illustration Co.

I added a causa di vintage brass candlesticks using candles the same colours of the flowers. I also loved the use of coloured drapes a causa di the marquee which echoed the flowers acceso the tables and made it feel like a really welcoming space. 

My vintage bike held the welcome sign and we used eclectic rugs the aisle lined with flower filled meadows. Every part of the day was thoughtfully considered and I loved bringing all of the styling and flowers together to create a really personal day.

Decor & Details

We had our flowers with The Vintage House That Could – founder Katie Sutton is brilliant; she’s one of the few florists we could find that also do all the table dressing and accessories. She brought so much clobber with her to help create our vision; not only the stunning bouquets but the line of vintage carpets along the aisle, the vintage gold plates to serve cake and cheese and the pastel blue bike filled with flowers as Joel and I are both cyclists; we couldn’t have asked for more. 

Our stationery was by The Wildflower Illustration Co; our table names were ‘untranslatable words’ not currently a causa di the English Language but that we found beautiful – like Forelsket which is Norweigen for the Euphoric feeling you get at the start of love. They hand painted illustrations to go with each and all of them were beautiful. 

My dad made my cake and covered it with yellow and pink roses from our garden which coincidentally matched the colour scheme perfectly without us even telling him. My Dad’s been making my birthday cakes every year since I was a infante so it had to be him.

We tried to refuse when he offered as I knew he would put a causa di far too much effort and he pulled out every stop; we were blown away but the little cut out flowers he did by hand. 

Evening & Sala da ballo

AO Events provided our dancefloor. Joel’s mum was a singing teacher so we had her work with some of my actor friends to prepare a song for our first dance.   

We had our choir of pals and Joel’s mum Leila sing a medley of Elvis Presley’s ‘Can’t Help Falling Per mezzo di Love’ into ‘Ain’t Mountain High Enough’. The lyrics of Can’t Help Falling a causa di love are so apt for us; it was an unstoppable force from day one, and we love climbing mountains together (physical and metaphorical) plus its an absolute floor fillers.

The light up dance floor and bubbles going d’avanguardia as they switched into this track is a moment I’ll remember forever. 

Words of Wedded Wisdom

Planning a wedding can be quite intense, and it can be easy to love perspective acceso what really matters; the details are important, but it’s much more important to enjoy the process and not sweat the small stuff; decide how you want to feel during your wedding a causa di advance, and just embody that throughout the process decisively, anzi che no matter what’s going acceso around you. 

I think I would have got less stressed about the rain a causa di the morning and a causa di the run up to the wedding; I had my heart set acceso a sunny day and when the forecast kept changing it gave me so much anxiety. I wish I’d just relaxed and enjoyed the build up without stressing about the small things. Everything worked out perfectly and we got the sun we needed. 

We definitely exceeded the original budget, but it was worth every penny 🙂 

Also, we used Pinterest a lot!

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Annabel View all Annabel’s articles

Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Programma redattore. Annabel lives a causa di rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business socio Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and stella gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she’s not working acceso Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip a causa di the running of the family’s sustainable flower farm and floral stile business, Moonwind Flowers. Per mezzo di 2013, she became a published author.