On choosing Pynes House as their wedding venue, Victoria and Mike drew on the idyllic location for the look of their celebration. "It is such a beautiful venue in a stunning setting that we really didn't need a lot of decoration - we extended the elegant style into our day," Victoria explains. A friend helped to achieve this by using calligraphy to create the welcome sign, table plan, table names, place settings and luggage tags for the vintage sweets, which beautifully set the stylistic tone.
The colour scheme was equally elegant, with the bridesmaids donning dusky pink dresses while the groom and groomsmen wore ties and handkerchiefs in a complementary shade. Victoria's bouquet also featured pretty tones of pink and pastel shades courtesy of a stunning combination of roses mixed with astilbe and snapdragon flowers. "Our florist, Emma Hewlett, also decorated the steps in the hall with lanterns, tea lights and scattered rose petals," adds Victoria.
"Our ceremony took place in the beautiful drawing room at Pynes House. My brother, James, my godson, Riley, and Mike's family friend, Maggie, read during the ceremony, which had a relaxed and personal feel," reminisces Victoria. After a champagne and canape reception, guests relocated to the beautifully dressed ballroom where they dined on prawn, crayfish and lobster cocktail, slow-roasted boned shoulder of lamb and lemon posset on tables named after the Tors and special places on Dartmoor the couple have visited together.
The newly-weds were blessed with an impeccably timed rainbow when they ventured into the autumnal gardens for photographs. The relaxed evening reception then got into full swing, with a DJ providing a party playlist as guests danced, mingled in all of the downstairs' rooms, tucked into the buffet and took some fun Polaroid photos.
Reflecting on their day, Victoria is hugely grateful for the guests who travelled from as far as Australia to join their celebrations. "It was a special reunion after not seeing them for several years and I still can't quite believe that they travelled such a long way to be part of our wedding," she says.
Looking back, Victoria and Mike encourage other couples "to enjoy the whole experience from the planning to your honeymoon. Enjoy visiting your shortlist of venues but avoid visiting too many places," advises Victoria. "And trust your suppliers - your chosen professionals will guide you through everything to ensure your wedding day runs smoothly."
Photography Helen Lisk helenliskphotography.co.uk
Venue Pynes House pyneshouse.co.uk
Dress Kenneth Winston from Catherine Francis Bridal Boutique catherinefrancis.co.uk
Bridesmaids' dresses Debut debenhams.com/Debut
Hair and make-up Lucy Milton lucymilton.com
Groom's outfit Ted Baker tedbaker.com
Flowers Emma Hewlett emmahewlett.co.uk
Calligraphy H S Lettering hslettering.co.uk
Cake Cherry Blossom Cakes cherryblossom-cakes.co.uk
Caterer Cru Events cruevents.co.uk
Entertainment DJ Francis Amara facebook.com/frank3000
Videographer Wedding Memories weddingmemories.org.uk
Copyright Wed magazine 2017
