Chloe first met Harry when they shared accommodation at university. “We hit it off as friends, mostly because I had a habit of cooking too much food and Harry enjoyed finishing the leftovers!” laughs Chloe. “One night, Harry stole a kiss while out at a social event, and the rest fell into place!”
Harry whisked her away for what she thought was a spontaneous weekend break to distract them from the stress of buying their first home together. “He took me to the seaside for a stroll and picnic on the beach, and planned to pop the question under the sunset sky,” she explains. “Instead, it rained all day so we had to picnic in the car, we were drenched on the romantic stroll, and we missed sunset as we were on the wrong side of the hill! It was perfectly imperfect and we wouldn’t change a thing.”
Rockbeare Manor presented “the most magical place and people” for their May garden party wedding that had to be postponed until October due to Covid. “We wanted to keep elements of that original theme – a mix of natural foliage, sage green and white – while warming it up to suit the new autumn date, so we added burnt orange and maroons for a classic October feel,” explains Chloe.
She had her dress altered to feature Juliet sleeves, while on the day the unseasonal weather prompted another last-minute modification. “In the evening, I had an impromptu change into a jumpsuit I had on standby – I didn’t plan to change, but it was so hot and I was ready to party!” she reveals.
The rest of the wedding party were equally as eye-catching, with the bridesmaids a vision in burnt orange gowns and the groom’s party in debonair navy suits.
“Our flowers were a family effort, which was so special,” comments Chloe. “Harry’s mum had been growing flowers in preparation for our original wedding and some were still in bloom. We used these along with some wildflowers to DIY our own centrepieces and bridesmaids’ bouquets, and both my nans helped make all the arrangements the day before the wedding in my hotel room.”
After taking their vows beneath two huge trees in the Dining Room (described by Chloe as “our personal favourite touch!”), guests spilled into the gardens for lawn games before a feast featuring sirloin of Devon beef, whole lemon roasted chicken and sweet potato gnocchi. After a rather competitive quiz about the newly-weds, everyone tucked into their favourite pudding: an English afternoon tea comprising scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, apple cake, chocolate choux buns and raspberry pavlova.
“The cake was another family affair!” adds Chloe. “My mum made and decorated the cake, with my nan making the fruit cake base. My dad spent hours helping to wire the floral centres with my mum and they even added a fondant cocker spaniel as a way to include our fur baby on the day!”
“Overall, it was the laughter,” says Chloe of the resounding memory from the day. “You think of your wedding day as emotional and romantic, but what made it for us was how much fun we had, especially after the very difficult few years we all experienced.”
“Stop planning at a certain point!” she urges other couples. “In the end we realised that despite our best efforts we couldn’t control it all. Take a step back and enjoy the process, it goes so fast.”
Photography Sam Box samboxphotography.co.uk
Venue Rockbeare Manor rockbearemanor.co.uk
Dress Allure Bridals from Always & Forever Bridal & Menswear devonbridal.co.uk
Groom’s outfit Limehaus limehaus.com
Hair Debbie Wright Bridal hair debbiewrightbridalhair.co.uk
Décor hire/styling Unique Designs by Tina uniquedesignsbytina.com
Flowers In Bloom Devon inbloomdevon.co.uk
Lawn games The Prop Factory propfactory.co.uk
Entertainment DJ from Inspired Party inspiredparty.co.uk
Videography Moments To Media momentstomedia.com
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