"It was a bizarre meeting that could've only happened by fate," reveals Jessica of her and Nick's first serendipitous encounter. "It was a random Thursday evening when neither of us would've normally been out. Mutual friends introduced us and - the rest is history!"
"Nick asked if I would like a drink and in an attempt to look sophisticated I opted for a gin and tonic (my first ever). Interestingly he had the same! We now know this was also his first gin and tonic and he only had it because I did. It's now our drink of choice and was the theme of our wedding!"
Having previously made it known that grand public gestures aren't her thing, Jessica enjoyed a private and very poignant proposal during the couple's annual trip to London.
"Nick had hired out a screening room at the One Aldwych hotel as a surprise and screened my favourite movie, 'A Walk To Remember,' arranging a bottle of my favourite pink fizz, chocolate-covered strawberries and popcorn. The credits didn't roll but cut to a slide show of photos of us both. It was utterly romantic and really special because we were the only two in there."
Pairing a barn feel with modern decor, Upton Barn proved the perfect venue for the couple, inspiring a colour scheme of white with gold accents. "The venue is so beautiful that classic decor was all it needed to enhance it," says Jessica.
"Our table names were different gins and our table plan (which was based around gin bottles filled with flowers) was amazing. There were flowers everywhere you looked, which was exactly what I wanted."
The food proved just as enticing as the surrounds, with canapes including gin and tonic cured pollock gravlax, starters of chicken liver parfait and beetroot salad and a main course of beef fillet Wellington and roast pumpkin. A trio of chocolate and salted caramel polenta brownie, honey-infused panna cotta and a gin and raspberry jelly made for a mouth-watering dessert.
"Nick's colleague Andrew is an amateur baker and very kindly gifted us our four-tier wedding cake," says Jessica. "It was breathtaking and tasted incredible."
"I hadn't seen Nick in a while so stood back and ended up taking in the room," explains Jessica. "Watching 200 people who are there to celebrate your wedding is something so humbling and amazing. I then found Nick and made him do the same. I'm so glad we took those moments to realise how lucky we are to have so many amazing people in our lives that support us."
She is replete with advice for others in the midst of planning. "Make to-do lists, create a spreadsheet for finances, have regular planning meetings with each other and delegate easy tasks."
"Let people you trust help you," she adds. "And remember why you're doing it. It'll fly by - soak up the moments."
Photography Evolve Photography evolvephoto.co.uk
Venue Upton Barn uptonbarn.com
Dress Cymbeline from Browns of Totnes brownsoftotnes.co.uk
Groom's outfit Ted Baker suits from Moss Bros moss.co.uk
Bridesmaids' dresses Debenhams debenhams.com
Hair Jodi Locks jodilocks.co.uk
Make-up Sophie White sophiewhitemua.co.uk
Enya Zofia Makeup facebook.com/pg/enyazofiamakeup & Yjumye MUA facebook.com/pg/makeupbyyjumye
Flowers Weddings at Poppy's weddingsatpoppys.co.uk
Catering Pickle Shack pickleshack.co.uk
Travelling Pizzeria travellingpizzeria.co.uk
Entertainment Melissa Bel melissa-bel.com
Ride The Fire ridethefireband.co.uk
Copyright Wed magazine 2018
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