Poor old Autumn. The third season of the meteorological calendar is oft overlooked when it comes to choosing a wedding date. And while the weather at time of writing is soggy to say the least (take a bow, Storm Ciarán), we absolutely adore this time of year.
Before you ask, we’re not just saying this because we happen to have a couple of Saturdays in November 2024 still available. Would we be so cynical? (Email for details!) Oh no. We genuinely love the golds and reds of the turning leaves, the low afternoon light, and the infinite stylistic inspiration the season provides.
Don’t believe us? Still think we’re trying to hawk our last remaining 2024 weekend dates? (Email for details!) Well, read on, and be amazed at the autumnal awesomeness of Kat and Jack’s October wedding…
Contrary to popular belief, a wedding doesn’t start when the bride walks down the aisle. It starts when the bride wakes up at 6am, knocks back half a bottle of Prosecco, and sits down for hair and make-up.
Meet Kat - our stunning bride - pictured below in the good hands of Jade and Beth, aka Bow and Blush.
Sisters Jade and Beth spent the morning spreading good vibes and expertly administering make-up and crafting the coiffures of Kat, the Mums and the bridesmaids.
Once hair and make-up had been finished, attention turned to the dress. The dress.
“I had absolutely no idea what sort of wedding dress I wanted,” says Kat. “I tried everything, from ballgowns to slip dresses. I didn’t originally pick out ‘the one’ but, after Leanne at The Harrogate Wedding Lounge listened to what I liked and what I didn’t like about the dresses I was trying on, she brought me ‘June’ by Maggie Sottero.”
“I instantly fell in love with the way the chiffon skirt fell effortlessly and glided with me as I moved,” continues Kat. “My absolute favourite thing to do, both in the shop and on our wedding day, was twirl and swish around in the dress!”
“The material and fit were incredibly comfortable which was really important for me. I wanted to be able to eat, drink and dance the day away without worrying about a thing! The pearl buttons running all the way down the back, the capped sleeves and the lace details in the bodice all added the perfect amount of detail,” says Kat. “It felt romantic, girly and sophisticated all in one.”
Kat looked picture-perfect in her dress. And her choice of bridesmaids’ dresses was equally on point.
“I always knew I wanted an autumnal colour scheme to go with our October wedding date,” explains Kat. “We loved the flowy skirts of these classy one-shoulder dresses from Krisp Clothing - the flowy skirts tied in with the style of my dress. The girls all looked stunning.”
Meanwhile, outside, groom Jack stared into the middle distance…
Anyone with reasonable visual acuity can confirm that chisel-jawed Jack successfully pulled off the autumn aesthetic. Here he is wearing traditional tails. He and his groomsmen went for navy suits and burgundy cravats (to tie in with the bridesmaids’ dresses), and all suits (including tuxes for Kat’s brother and Jack’s four brothers) were hired from Impeccable Suits, a small independent hire shop in Pinner, near Harrow.
“Jack’s one rule for our wedding that it could not be a hot day! So we were always going to stay clear of spring and summer,” explains Kat (thus furthering our argument that autumn weddings are ace).
She continues: “My one rule for our wedding was that I wanted to get married before turning 30, so we snuck our date in before my big 3-0 in November. October seemed like the perfect time for both of us, so we went big on the autumnal-rustic style. The Normans doesn’t need any grandiose décor - it does the talking itself, which is one of the many reasons we loved the venue so much! So we went for minimalistic greenery with pops of autumnal colour for our flowers.”
Said greenery was provided by none other than Kate Mell.
“We had two gorgeous large bouquets at the end of the aisle and some smaller decorative flowers on the tables to bring the pops of colour, plus my gorgeous rustic bouquet,” says Kat.
“The bridesmaids had white flowers and greenery only, so as to not take away from the bold colour of their dresses. Kate Mell decorated us and The Normans beautifully with greens, whites and autumnal colours.”
With so much care and attention paid to the wedding-day aesthetics, it was little wonder that Kat’s entrance into The Ceremony Barn - and the ceremony thereafter - was quite simply breath-taking.
Once declarations of love had been made, and vows exchanged, Kat and Jack ran the gauntlet of flying flower petals and led their guests to the safety of The Courtyard for drinks and canapes.
There’s nothing like a marriage ceremony to work up a good appetite and Kat and Jack didn’t need to be asked twice to get stuck into the canapes.
The drinks reception is always an opportune time for bride, groom, groomsmen and bridesmaids to escape the throng for photos.
Shout out to the lovely Laura of Lumiere - the lady behind the camera at Kat and Jack’s Big Day.
Laura is one of the best wedding photographers in the business because she’ll go to great lengths to capture the perfect shot. For instance, forcing her couples to risk their life and limb by dancing in the middle of a busy public road.
(Okay, it wasn’t that busy…)
After two hours of drinks, canapes and a number of Highway Code violations, it was time for the wedding breakfast.
The Grain Shed dining area - all a twinkle with abundant fairy lights looked all the more splendid thanks to the personal touches added by the couple.
“In terms of stationery, we stuck to simple and rustic,” says Kat. “We wanted something sustainable and it just so happened that Jack had gone to school with Amy who now runs her own sustainable wedding stationery business - Beloved Creations. We worked with Amy to create elegant designs on seeded plant-able paper, in-keeping with the rustic-chic theme. Our table names were all special places that Jack and I had either lived or travelled in the past, bringing some lovely memories to the day.”
“We adored the romantic lights dotted around the various barns at The Normans, which gave such a homely, special and sparkly feel to the venue,” continues Kat. “We decided to light up the back of the stage with light-up-letters from Love Lights The Way to add even more sparkle around the stage area - a great backdrop for the band in the evening. Because who doesn’t love LOVE!?”
Meanwhile Jack’s Mum was let loose on sweet-table styling.
“She came up trumps,” says Kat. “She produced an incredible pick-and-mix table with some hilarious photos strung up, bringing more memories to the day.”
The wedding cake, meanwhile, was crafted by the talented Alice at Copper Spoon Bakery.
“It was very in-keeping with our burgundy and navy colour scheme,” notes Kate. “One layer of sticky gingerbread and the other layer of lemon and tart blackberry. We froze a lot of it and are still occasionally enjoying a piece to this day!”
The gorgeous couple were welcomed into the wedding breakfast with near-hysterical fervour from their fans (guests)…
… and proceedings started with humorous yet heartfelt speeches.
And what was it we were saying about the loveliness of the autumn afternoon light?
Whatever it was, the sentiment is perfectly captured by this photo, taken after the wedding breakfast and before the evening party picked up in earnest.
After their sunset smooch, Kat and Jack were coaxed back inside for the first dance, which was entrusted to the mad musical skills of Mona Vale Acoustics from Entertainment Nation (a music agency not some weird sovereign state).
… and the dance floor was quickly overrun by a most unruly mob (aka Kat and Jack’s close friends and family) who spent the night finger-pointing-in-the-air, shouting, and some impressive interpretive dance.
“The Normans team couldn’t do enough for us in the run up to - and during - our big day. We were both completely at ease the day before, the morning of, and during our wedding day, which was testament to The Normans as a venue and the brilliant Oliver and Sharon”
