Jessica and Jacob were married in August this year, in Jacob’s home county, Devon, with Jess wearing the stunning Maggie Sottero Pierce lace wedding gown.
Although the couple now live outside London, they love spending time in the Devonshire countryside and decided to host their big day at the beautiful Kingston Estate, a stunning Georgian house surrounded by beautiful gardens.
The Dress
Maggie Sottero Pierce is an elegant, intricate lace sheath wedding gown featuring a scalloped v-neck, fitted lace bodice and deep open back, finished with a simple grosgrain belt to the waist.
Jess tells us all about her dress choice;
“In all honesty, dress shopping was a stressful process for me. I don’t know what I would have done without Miss Bush. I am a very awkward shape (two sizes smaller on the top), which meant that nothing I tried on fit very well and it was hard to get an idea of what it would look like. To make things more complicated, I had no idea what I was looking for and am extremely indecisive!”
“My first appointment at Miss Bush was with Corrine. She put me completely at ease and expertly helped me to narrow down my search to a style that suited me. What I liked about Miss Bush was that you can absolutely tell how carefully the dresses have been selected. They are all slightly quirky and even though I chose a Maggie Sottero dress, which is a fairly popular brand, I have not seen this dress in any other shops or even online.
When Corrine suggested the Pierce dress, I loved the lace immediately. When I tried it on, it just felt right. I like that it was slightly daring, with the low back and slightly see-through corset, with the button detail and ribbon at the back. The gold colour under the lace gave it a really warming colour. The seamstresses at Miss Bush made it look like it was made for me.”
“The first time I visited Miss Bush I went with my Mum and a friend. My dress definitely had a good reaction, but there was no definitive wow moment where everyone cried. This unnerved me as I felt like I should have had that movie moment!
I went for round two with my sister and bridesmaids. Great reaction but still no gasps and tears! I decided to go for it, but after leaving the shop the same evening, I had a sudden panic that I might have rushed my decision! I called back in the morning to ask to visit one last time on my own. When I went back on my own, I realised that I was fixating on something completely unnecessary. It was not the dress I was unsure about, it was just that I had been expecting a certain reaction, which I’m not sure actually happens to many people in real life!”
“The saving grace was the advice I was given by Gen and Emma. As an extremely indecisive person it was really helpful to me to have their confident and experienced opinions. They knew before I did that it was the right one, but their guidance helped me to feel confident in my decision.”
“I really enjoyed the fittings. Seeing the dress come together to fit me perfectly knocked away all my insecurities. The ‘wow’ moment and the tears finally came on the day when everyone saw the dress as it was meant to look.”
“Because the dress had quite a low back, I wanted a long veil for the ceremony. Gen helped me to find a beautiful two-tiered cathedral veil which gave the dress a really romantic feel. I wore flowers in my hair made by my very talented friend Martha using Hollyhocks flowers. I wore an Alex Monroe necklace that I normally wear day-to-day. I had others lined up, but on the day that one just felt right.
I wore an opal ring of my grandmothers, given to me for the wedding day as my something old. Opal is also my birthstone, so it felt very special. I also wore a turquoise bracelet given to me by my brother as my something blue. My extremely generous godmother bought me a stunning pair of Louboutins, which finished off the dress. With no sparkle on the dress itself, my shoes added a certain something!”
“Willow from Lips and Locks did my hair and make-up on the day. Willow was amazing! As soon as I met her on our trial she just totally got the natural look I was going for- and she is a lovely, lovely, person to have around on the morning of the wedding.”
About the Day
The couple chose to get married at the Kingston Estate in Staverton, Devon, as they liked the idea of being able to take over somewhere for the whole weekend and have everything on one site.
Jess tells us more about their wedding planning process;
“The on-site cottages meant that many of our guests could really make a weekend of it. As it happened, the weather was perfect and people said it felt like being abroad! The estate is made up of a beautiful Georgian house, where my family stayed and I got ready. The walled garden was perfectly intimate for our outdoor ceremony and the surrounding gardens made for some amazing photos. There was also a converted barn for the wedding breakfast as well as a secret underground bar for the evening, which really surprised everyone! It was great to keep moving to the next little area, which made the most of the venue.”
“Over dinner with a couple of my close friends, I explained that the bridesmaids skirts were gold and the tops were mis-matched, the flowers were bright colours, the boys suits were blue and the ties were orange. My friends very diplomatically asked me if I had any theme… mmm.. well no, not really, was my answer!
At first I tried to go down the pastel coloured where everything matches route. But, after meeting with our florist, the amazing Holly of Hollyhocks, we realised that it was just not ‘us’. Instead we asked Holly to do her thing- which she did to perfection.
We followed suit with bright colours throughout. I really wanted the bridesmaids to look like themselves and be comfortable and feel like the beautiful girls they are. I chose a gorgeous gold skirt from Coast and they all chose their own top and shoes to suit their style. Jacob chose a blue suit from the Kooples in Bath, who recommended their brilliant tailor, who virtually remade the suit to fit him! The other groomsmen’s suits were from MossBros, apart from Tom, who wore his Marine’s uniform.”
“We also had lots of wooden Morzine signs around the venue as a nod to where we got engaged; our cake topper and wedding favours were lego figures as a nod to our Legoland routes; the origami heart back-drop was made by my Year 6 students as I am now a Primary school teacher; the tables had a film theme, with personalised logos designed by our friend Adam.
My favourite part of the day was definitely the ceremony. I felt quite calm in the morning and was just desperate to get down there! As soon as I walked out with my dad and saw Jacob standing there, the tears began to flow!
One of my bridesmaids got married about a month before me and she described it as ‘a wall of love hitting you’ as you go down the aisle. She hit the nail on the head. When I got to the front, Jacob whispered to see if I was ok. I couldn’t help laughing, ‘I’m just so happy!’, to which everyone laughed. I think that set the tone.”
“There were lots of tears, but so many smiles everywhere I looked. One of my bridesmaids read ‘True Love Liberates’ by Maya Angelou and Jacob’s grandmother read ‘On Marriage’ by Kahlil Gibran, which were perfect. We also read our own vows, which was a stressful last minute decision, but I am so glad we did it.”
Final Words
Some words of wedding planning advice from our bride, Jessica;
“Go with your heart! Don’t feel pressured to fall into traditions or go overboard with things you don’t need. There were many things that we adjusted to suit us or just left out completely. Jacob and I sat down right at the beginning of the planning stage and wrote down a list of things that were important to us. We didn’t compromise on those things and let all the other little things go. At the end of the day, it made the day so much more intimate and really felt special to me and Jacob.
A lot of our suppliers were friends, which made the planning less stressful. It was just so much fun- as I’m sure you can tell from the photos. Just enjoy every minute. It is completely worth finding the right photographer so that you can relive those moments every time you look at the photos!”
Suppliers
Our cake was made by a family friend, Becca. Neither of us like icing and so it was a naked cake with one lemon layer and two Victoria sponges. It tasted incredible!
The wedding favour tiles were designed by my friend talented friend Martha, who also did the hair pieces.
Holly at Hollyhocks was responsible for the incredible flowers.
Willow at Lips and Locks did my hair and make up.
Our extremely talented friend Adam designed all our wedding stationary and table cards.
The stunning photography was by Luna wedding photography. Anna and Mike are a dream team. We couldn’t be happier with the results.
The food was really important to us. Posh Nosh did a really authentic Devon summer banquet with lots of meats, potatoes and salads, delicious puddings and Pie and Mash in the evening.
Our evening entertainment was the fantastic ‘All Night Long’ band featuring our friend Tom Worrall. They totally made the evening!
Jacob’s suit: Kouples, Bath
Jacob’s bow tie: Mrs Bow Tie
Groomsmen’s suits and ties: MossBros
Bridesmaids skirts: Coast
Wedding venue: Kingston Estate
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Thank you so much to Jess and Jacob for sharing their amazing wedding with us!
Leah x
