REAL WEDDING: Georgette & Cody

real wedding:

Georgette & Cody

27th of May
Hestercombe Gardens, Somerset
Photography by Charlie at Studio Westlake

A stunning real wedding in the heart of the Somerset countryside saw fun couple Georgette and Cody tie the knot in a laid-back but luxurious celebration with two wedding dresses, sparkly bridesmaids, and a giant Conga involving every single guest. What a party! Read their story…

How did you meet, and when?

We got together in 2015, just after Cody’s birthday. He had just turned 21 and I was 24 – he was mature for his age!

What was your budget? Did you stick to it?

We went about £8,000 over what we initially thought we would need to spend. That’s not to say we went £8,000 over budget, but when we initially wrote down numbers, we didn’t anticipate what the actual cost of services for a wedding was like, particularly for the style we were looking for.

How many dresses did you try on before you found the one?

I’m not proud of this… I went to 12 different places, so I probably tried on near to 80 dresses all across the UK, which is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS! And my excuse? 1. I can’t make a decision. 2. What I thought was the style I wanted, and what I should’ve actually been trying was completely different. Our idea of a venue changed multiple times as well which didn’t help the decision with the style of dress. The Eva Lendel I went with was sourced locally from the amazing girls at Brides at Waterfields in Exeter.

What made your one your ONE?

I felt like me in it, but bridal me. I could see the potential even though it didn’t fit. Plus, my mum and sister loved it. By now though, mum was just coming along via FaceTime which I can’t blame her for! My poor sister came to every bridal boutique with me though. It’s weird because I was looking for high neck, long-sleeved, details everywhere – basically the more the merrier, and ultimately I kind of went with the opposite, which they say is often the case!

Was there a theme or colour scheme for your wedding?

Yes, warm tones – happy colours, without sounding corny. Orange and yellow are favourite colours of mine, so translated to flowers it was cappuccino, sunset peaches, little hints of lemon, ivory, and we had dried bunny tails in both the buttonholes and table arrangements for a little nod to our house rabbits, aka our babies! The florist, Freya, did the most incredible job. For the bridesmaids dresses, I liked the idea of a bit of glitz, so they were in head-to-toe sequins in a dark gold/copper colour.

How did you decorate your venue?

Because the venue provided round tables, we had centrepieces in small gold urns. I really wanted an un-polished look, so some of the foliage was spilling out and giving height beautifully. I also chose to have larger candles surrounding the centrepieces, as opposed to tealights. I wanted to stagger the height between the flowers and candle holders gradually, to keep the impact, and they really complimented the overall look. Each table had six candles, three of each style, some plain cylinders, and the rest ribbed glass with gold edging.

For the signing table in the Orangery, I purchased an old, pre-loved desk as opposed to the table clothed folding table that they offer, and draped over lots of voile, a floral centrepiece, and candles.. I wanted something aged and with character to reflect the surroundings. That table took me so long to find.

We had bud vases with long stems on what used to be the fireplace, which were then used along the top table.

What were your best decisions for the wedding?

The venue. It meant a lot to me as my Grandad used to bring me there for picnics when my sister and I were young. He’s no longer with us, but felt it felt like he was there. Cody and I also went there mid-way through our eight years together, and he equally loved it. We needed to both love it.

We decided to swap around the top table to be on the opposite side to what it usually is. I could see that, with the number of round tables we were having, it would help with the flow and prevent there being a ‘bad’ table. It also meant the backdrop was the restored hall’s beautiful large windows as opposed to a wall.
The band. They were so interactive and had everyone on the dance floor and singing into their mics.
Having an evening dress! Helped me dance to the incredible band, particularly with the size of the train.
The singing waiters which I touched on above.

Did you make any cost savings, and how?

Designing my own stationery and getting it printed using an online printing service.

Also not having live ceremony music. I would have absolutely adored a string quartet, but we had to compromise. Instead, we had Daniel Jang’s violin cover of Can’t Help Falling in Love, which we listen to all of the time, now.

I would’ve also said, buying my wedding shoes from ASOS, but they were in fact my second pair after forking out a lot more for some beautiful Coast shoes with bows on them to match the bow on my dress. Once I had my dress fit on with the shoes, I realised the dress was very cream and the shoes were just far too white. I’ve still got them now.

What were your favourite moments?

Walking down the aisle, for sure. Not only because I was walking down it with my wonderful dad, and that my favourite people had just walked before me, but because I could see Cody at the end of the aisle – who was very emotional. It was a special moment and meant a lot.

Any funny things happen? Embarrassing moments?

Yes. One being some of the content in the best men’s (there were two) speeches, which I think is always a given! The other was a dance to Ginuwine, Pony, between Cody, myself, and a chair – we had drank a lot and the performance (which was requested as a bit of a joke by the band) was taken too seriously and had to be cut short. Third was that I had to be carried to the taxi after the final dance with all the remaining guests. They were all in a big circle – about 70 of them – and I was dancing to Queen in the middle of the circle on my own, thinking I was something out of strictly come dancing, accidentally flashing my underwear and everything! The night ended with me being sick on my lovely new PJs, but we laugh about it now.

Also, my veil was a bit of a disaster – it actually ended up coming from WED2B. I’d not looked after my original one properly and got it all creased. I tried everything the night before and the morning of the wedding to get the creases out. Hot shower, steamer… I even washed it. I then risked a cool iron and while it didn’t melt it, the creases still wouldn’t come out! So, I turned the iron up, tried it on the veil and, oops! I melted a huge hole in it. Luckily, my (now) husband’s friend kindly popped into Exeter to collect a new one and drove all the way to the venue two hours early to make sure I had it for the ceremony. He deserves a mention, so thank you Jordan Dyer!

Did you follow all the traditions?

Yes, we didn’t stay together the night before or see each other the morning of. We spoke the traditional vows, too.

What were the challenges of planning and organising the wedding?

I am unorganised, undecisive and leave everything to the last minute. I also don’t know what I want, but know what I don’t want, but also too laid back for my own good – a nightmare combination!

Any regrets? Anything you would have done differently, or included with hindsight?

No regrets but, looking back, the only thing I would have liked to have done but decided not to, was, during the ceremony, to turn around and have the registrar with her back to the guests, and have Cody and I facing the guests – so basically swapping positions. The Orangery, while beautiful, is smaller in size compared to some venues and I felt like we were blocking everyone out just behind us with our backs.

What advice do you have for other brides?

For both bride and groom, try to consciously acknowledge that everybody is there to celebrate you two. It’s exceptionally special and will only ever happen once. Also, only do the little things that matter and are important to you, because other people likely won’t notice the small stuff, but you will if it’s important to you.

The Details

Photographer: Studio Westlake
Wedding venue: @hestercombeweddings @hestercombegdns
Wedding dress designer: Eva Lendel @evalendel for the daytime, changing into Milla @milla for the evening
Flowers: @whisper_and_wild
Stationery: Designed by the bride including the Orangery sketch on the stationery
Shoes: ASOS
Hair: Jessica Mashford @hair_by_jess_x
Makeup: Michelle Lopez @makeupby_michellelopez
Cake: An independent cake maker all the way down in Cornwall called Cornish Maids on Facebook. The bride’s mother had to transport it for three hours the morning before the wedding!
Bridesmaids: Arabella (maid of honour and bride’s sister), Amy & Isabella (school friends), all wore Godiva. The two Page boys, Lorenzo (Isabella’s son and the bride’s godson) and Casey (Arabella’s son and the bride’s nephew). Arabella’s 10-week-old daughter, the bride’s niece Angelica was a tiny bridesmaid too!
Menswear: The groom wore a bespoke Zebel suit – @zebelofficial. The rest of the wedding party wore Moss
Entertainment: The “INCREDIBLE” The Party Manifesto, @thepartymanifesto – a 90’s cover band who absolutely stole the show. It took the couple eight months to find the perfect band, and they really were it.
Videographer: Studio Westlake – @studiowestlake – “Tim is photographer Charlie’s father and they make a great father-son team!”

Mill Meadow accommodation: Georgette: “We stayed at the beautiful eco lodges at Mill Meadow, about a mile down the road from the venue and absolutely incredible – I could not fault it. They even put up some ‘Just Married’ bunting and some treats for when we arrived back after the wedding!” @millmeadow

“The singing waiters, who performed just after the pudding, were faultless. They managed to get every single guest doing the Conga leading outside and back into the hall – it was so funny and lifted everyone after a three-course meal!” @johnprescottvocal

“Isabella Banks who, not only took on the responsibility of being my bridesmaid, but as a professional photographer, took some beautiful photographs first thing in the morning, behind the scenes!”
@isabella_banks_photography

Thank you so much for sharing your special day with us, Georgette & Cody. We loved your style and approach to life and love. A happy ever after to you both!

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