The look of their day was decided upon in equally serendipitous style, with the colour scheme chosen after Mary-Anne found her gorgeous Caroline Castigliano dress, which featured a full skirt, low back and layers of lace over a nude bodice. 'It made me feel like a ballet dancer rather than a princess and was also super light and comfortable!' she says.
Rivalling his bride on the style front, Sam's bespoke made-to-fit suit was customised with his new initials and wedding date sewn into the jacket lining. 'He's taken my surname as a middle name,' explains Mary-Anne. 'For someone who spends his life in sports kit, he looked very handsome all suited up!'
The floristry was another key component of the day's aesthetic, comprising rustic-style flowers with lots of greenery and proteas in Mary-Anne's bouquet to reflect her South African heritage, with soft colours to complement the nude blush undertone of her bodice alongside pops of coral.
The wow factor flowers didn't end there. Erica of Bleujen also created a spectacular floral arch and wove foliage into the lighting of the ceremony barn, filled milk churns from the farm with flowers, and set up incredible hanging floral designs in the reception barn.
'We set up a table in the entrance with wooden crates and a stepladder dressed with family wedding photos, flowers and candles and also a photo board displaying photos from throughout our relationship. In the same place we left a fingerprint tree we bought last minute for guests to make their mark, which tied into our table names. It looks brilliant and is such a lovely reminder of the day framed on our wall at home,' adds Mary-Anne.
A ceremony replete with piano music by Einaudi, Fabrizio Paterlini and Per-Olov Kindgren also featured a trio of personally poignant readings. 'Sam and I walked out of the ceremony to 'You Are The Best Thing' by Ray LaMontagne, which still makes my heart soar every time I hear it!' reminisces Mary-Anne.
A menu designed around the couple's favourite foods saw starters of manchego, chorizo and asparagus tart followed by chicken breast in a lemon sauce rounded off with a 'Cape mess' for dessert: a delicious South African passionfruit twist on the traditional dessert.
The evening continued to treat guests to fun and food aplenty ' including barbecued crispy bacon rolls, 'his and hers' cocktails, a sweetie bar and three-tiered cake ' and entertainment from a Polaroid station (that cleverly repurposed the floral archway) and 'effortlessly cool vibe' of XY Duo.
'The entire day was a dream, but we've both said that the moment when we saw each other at either end of the aisle is something we'll never forget. Everything else just melted away!' says Mary-Anne of her all-time favourite memory.
'Choose your suppliers carefully, share your vision with them and trust their expertise and experience. You'll then be able to just relax in the knowledge that they've got it all sorted,' she offers as indispensible words of advice.
'Enjoy the day as it flies by so quickly!' she adds. 'We relinquished all plans and control and everything flowed perfectly. It was genuinely the most amazing day of our lives and we made memories with all our favourite people that we'll treasure forever!'
Photographer McGivern Photography mcgivernphotography.com
Venue Launcells Barton launcellsbarton.co.uk
Videography Gione da Silva Images gionedasilva.com
Wedding coordinator Shaun Johnson shaunjohnsonevents.com
Catering Guess Who Is Coming To Dinner guessevents.co.uk
Dress Caroline Castigliano carolinecastigliano.com
Groom's outfit Dress 2 Kill dress2kill.com ties TM Lewin tmlewin.co.uk
Flowers Bleujen bleujenflorist.com
Hair Hannah Woodgates Hair Design hannahwoodgateshairdesign.com
Make-up Sarah Karran sarahkarranmakeupartist.com
Cake Hannah's Cornish Cakes hannahscornishcakes.co.uk
Entertainment XY Duo hireaband.co.uk/xy-duo
Stationery Pear Paper Co pearpaperco.co.uk
First dance Paul Prifti at The Dance School thedanceschool.co.uk
Copyright Wed magazine 2019
