Who doesn’t love a crisp Autumn morning with leaves falling, mist lifting, changes in colours, cosy moments, incredible romantic lighting?!  We certainly do; there’s just so much to embrace during this time of year!

We thought we’d share some Autumn wedding inspiration to get the creative energy flowing for couples booked, or looking to book an Autumn wedding.  As always, we’ve shared some rather beautiful images from recent wedding days here at Millbridge Court, and we hope you love all the gorgeousness just as much as we do!

 

L – Holly Rose Photography, Longacres; R – Aurora Grey Photography

 

L –The Springles, Hannah Berry; R – The Springles, Meadowfolk

 

L- Holly Rose Photography; R- The Springles, Meadowfolk

 

L & B- The Springles; R- Alice Cunliffe Photography, Hannah Berry

 

Jonny MP, Jenni Bloom

 

Alice Cunliffe Photography, Hannah Berry

 

T- Alice Cunliffe Photography; L- Jonny MP, Jenni Bloom; R- Holly Rose Photography, Longacres

 

 

Aurora Grey Photography, Bud Flora, Kalm Kitchen

 

L- The Springles, Hannah Berry; R- Aurora Grey Photography, Bud Flora

 

T- Jonny MP, Jenni Bloom Maria Antoinette Cakes; B-Aurora Grey Photography

 

Alice Cunliffe Photography, Hannah Berry

With the warmer summer days coming to an end, and the cosy autumn nights here to stay for a little while, we wanted to take a minute to reflect on what a wonderful season we have had.  We feel so lucky to have been a part of so many beautiful celebrations and we cannot thank our couples enough for choosing Millbridge Court!  We are very excited to see what the next few months bring and look forward to hosting our beautiful winter weddings…

But before we get too excited about the festive period, we couldn’t not share a day full of so much colour, love and the most stunning hand crafted dress!  L&A’s celebrations were nothing short of the perfect Spring day!

Tell us a bit about yourselves – how did you meet and what’s the proposal story?

We met at medical school 9 years ago. We were living in the same flat in the halls of residence. We were really good friends, and then eventually got closer and started dating – Adam came to meet my parents before Christmas! I took Adam to one of the nearby country parks by the sea, and we had a really lovely time, and it was beautiful. Adam took me again 7 years later, but this time popped out a ring! A really beautiful proposal, with just the waves and sunshine to witness it!

Why did you choose Millbridge Court?

We got warm, friendly vibes when we visited. We loved the décor, and the outside ceremony area was stunning. We could imagine it well and it was always a dream to get married outside with lots of greenery and flowers! Living in England though, we were very much aware that it might rain, but loved how Millbridge were so flexible with deciding on inside/outside on the morning of the wedding. The wedding hall is also beautiful, with high ceilings and so much natural light!

What did you love about having a Spring wedding?

The outside ceremony 100% – we were SO lucky that on the day it was super sunny, honestly very blessed! The garden and the flowers were looking stunning outside too and the guests could all hang out and have drinks outside too.

Tell us more about your suppliers and why you chose them.

We chose Gill Pike for our flowers – she was suggested to us by Millbridge but also, we loved her style. She was very friendly and personable when we met her, and we loved how chilled she was. When we talked about our ideas, she always kept in mind our budget and made sure we kept within. The flowers were beautiful – she killed!

Botanico cakes by Naomi was our wedding cake designer – again she delivered so well, made a scrumptious cake that all the guests complimented, and managed to create a stunning cake with her intricate flowers.

The band that we had were called Slingshot – we loved their music list and the sound of them, and they had amazing reviews. They absolutely smashed it – all our guests were up on the dance floor and asking for their contact numbers by the end too!

The wedding dress was by Sophie Rose Bridal – she did the best job of creating Lynnie’s dream dress, we could not have asked for more. She was so personable, and her studio was such a welcoming environment.

We had photography and videography done by VLA. They are a married couple who have worked a lot at Millbridge – they are very passionate about their work. They captured so many magical moments, and created a beautiful wedding video that we still love to watch.

The wonderful Stephanie Dorelli was in charge of making Lynnie look her absolute best on the day. She had a trial arranged a few months beforehand, and Stephanie’s studio created the most relaxing and friendly atmosphere for having a pampering day. Lynnie was quite anxious beforehand because she had had a previous experience of where she didn’t look herself after having make up done for her. So it was really reassuring when Stephanie asked for Lynnie’s pictures beforehand so she knew what look she normally went for so that on the day, she would still look like herself, just a very glowed up version! Stephanie did the best job with the make up, but the hair was the best part – she created the most beautiful whimsical look with braids and a flower crown – it was even better than we had imagined. She also offered to help with our bridesmaids’ hair and helped pin in flowers and do the finishing touches which was really appreciated – thank you!

Did your vision for the wedding change over the planning process?

Not really, we always Imagined an outdoor wedding with lots of flowers, people dancing and enjoying themselves. I think the weather was very much the biggest factor in this, which was out of our control. However, we knew that If it was bad – we would still have had the incredible indoor area. Millbridge were so thoughtful and considerate about everything, nothing was a chore!

Are there any memorable anecdotes from the day you could share?

One of our groomsmen had a few too many drinks and had to have the microphone taken off him. He was getting a bit too risqué with his announcements – this made us laugh a lot and is a story we reminisce on when talking about our wedding day!

For both of us, the moment we saw each other, as Lynnie walked down the aisle was one of the best moments of our lives. It was emotionally overwhelming, with so much happiness, seeing all our loved ones and each other. The beautiful outdoor setting made it even more joyful, everything just coming together and feeling so perfect, It was amazing.

Tell us something that we wouldn’t know about your day from the pictures.

Lots of Lynnie’s family had flown over from Myanmar. We weren’t sure if they would be able to make it. We haven’t been able to see them for around 4 years because of COVID and then the political situation in their country, so to have them there was incredibly special.

When we first met at university, we were put in a flat together with 4 other people. All of us are still friends 9 years later, and all of those original flatmates were at the wedding.

Favourite part of your wedding journey?

The whole process was very enjoyable, from booking the venue to picking the flowers. But it was really nice to see how it all culminated on the day, walking into the venue and seeing all the wonderful flower arrangements and tables set up was an incredible feeling. But most of all when we saw each other for the first time on the day as Lynnie walked down the aisle. That was the best part of the whole journey.

Any words of wisdom for future couples?

Start by giving yourselves plenty of time to plan – we had 2 years from getting engaged to getting married, and it meant we had time to enjoy the whole planning process rather than having to rush to get things organised. Then, on your wedding day, make sure you take some time for yourselves to absorb everything. It is one of the best days of your life, but it goes so quickly and you want to savour it as much as possible.

We first met Dan & Alex in February 2019 and after many postponements, we are beyond thrilled to say we finally hosted their special day in August this year!

With creative input from Alex, who sparked the big ideas, and Project Manager, Dan, taking the lead on the organisation, we knew the day would be carefully curated with every detail given thought.

We caught up with them to share with you a little glimpse of their journey.

Let’s start at the beginning, how did you two meet?

We met at Southampton University – Alex used to be in the musical theatre society alongside one of my housemates and so I got dragged along to watch their version of ‘Wicked,’ it was there I first laid eyes on Alex and knew I wanted to meet him properly!  Once we’d started talking, we very quickly became inseparable.

So when you had decided on forever, why did you choose Millbridge Court?

Millbridge Court was actually the first venue we visited.  We loved it straight away, the high glass fronted ceremony and reception rooms, the grounds, the staff, the relationship with Kalm Kitchen and the fact it lends itself to your own styling suited us perfectly.  Though as we were yet to see any other venues in person at this stage, we held fire on a booking and continued with other viewings.  At each venue we found ourselves constantly comparing back to Millbridge Court, or looking for ways to reshape how that venue worked to make it more like MC and so quickly realised that it was the one for us!  It couldn’t have been a better decision as everything came together even more perfectly than we could have hoped.

We loved working with you on your wedding journey!  Tell us a bit about what inspired your day.

As a same sex couple, we knew there were elements of the day that weren’t as traditional as you may see at other weddings.  We wanted to make the day our own while nodding to tradition where we felt we could – for instance, we each had three ‘Groomsmaids’ and our Mums walked us down the aisle.

The food was a big thing for us and the highlight has to be our starter.  We got engaged in Hong Kong and wanted to include an element in our day inspired by the city.  Kalm Kitchen created a Dim Sum dish which was absolutely delicious and something our guests really enjoyed, especially as it was a little unusual for a wedding breakfast!

We tried to give some thought to the little details that could make the day feel a bit different to weddings people had been to before (no easy task as people are so creative and have thought of almost everything!).  We managed to include a sky banner, timed to go over during the drinks reception which made for some amazing photos, and with the money paid being donated to charity, it was a win all round.  A ‘Lip Sync For Your Life’ sign complete with 5 toy microphones was also great fun in the evening and helped people get even further into the party mood!

Tell us more about your suppliers and why you chose them.

We found the MC recommended suppliers list and attending the ‘Details Date Night’ so useful, it’s where we met a number of our suppliers!

Our florist, Alice at Meadowfolk, did an EXCEPTIONAL job!  The installation at the end of the aisle was absolutely stunning and everything she did exceed our expectations.  On top of this, she was also the most lovely, calming and reassuring person to have involved in the day and came up with so many of the ideas we managed to include.

Matt Tyler is the most incredible photographer and we never had the slightest doubt in him capturing photos we would love.  We were introduced to him by some friends who had booked him previously and we felt there was no comparison between his work and any others we looked at.  He was also a remarkably calming presence on the day.

Kate and Dave were the most incredible duo, who played during our ceremony and drinks reception. We deliberated for a LONG time over the song to walk down the aisle to and had toyed with ‘Two in a Million’, but worried a song by S Club 7 would come off as a bit cheesy – Kate sang it beautifully and the acoustic version they put together was perfection.  With people not quite able to place the song but loving the meaning behind the lyrics – exactly what we hoped for!

Forever Cakes designed and delivered the most incredible, delicious 5 tier wedding cake.  Karl at Moment Weddings captured the perfect video of the day so we can continue to relive it in years to come.  Simon Alexander entertained the guests with magic during the drinks reception (and got RAVE reviews from our guests!).  Caz Watts designed all our stationary and had so much patience as we made (a rather high number of) tweaks!  We found Bubblegum Balloons‘ ceiling installation in the dining hall a brilliant way to fill the space with extra colour and their team are also incredibly friendly.  Farnham Sound & Light helped us with the personalised dance floor, putting the ‘logo’ of our names across a vinyl print for some special photos during our first dance.  Our DJ was recommended by Jonny Ross Music, DJ Freddy de Lord got the music spot-on and his sax sets went down an absolute treat!

There were so many people involved in bringing the day to life, too many to list here but everyone did such an incredible job and we could not be more grateful for their efforts.

 You both looked absolutely fab!  Tell us about those suits…

We were SO happy with the way our suits turned out!!  They were made by King and Allen, a tailor we’d both highly recommend.  We felt in safe hands from the start as they had a 2-Groom wedding section on their website.

Again, looking to keep certain traditions in place, we didn’t want to see each other in our wedding outfits until the ceremony itself.  To make sure the colour of our outfits complimented each other, we visited and selected the cloth for each suit together – no one would want to see clashing suits on the day!  Once we’d picked the cloth, we followed the rest of the journey separately, visiting for fittings and adjustments at different times.

The lovely thing about having them made for us was choosing the extra details, like the bolder patterned linings and having our new surname sewn into each jacket!

Tough question, favourite part of your wedding journey?

Oooh this is an interesting question!  It actually has to be the week before the wedding, being in that bubble knowing the big day is finally approaching (we’d had nearly a 4 year wait… thanks COVID!).  I had heard from a number of people that the days ahead of the wedding could be stressful and so we were determined to be in a position that would allow us to enjoy that special time.

In the months ahead of the wedding, we worked through the ‘to-do’ list, making sure something was done every couple of days to really spread out the tasks.  It meant by the time we were a week away from the day, all we needed to do was pack and get ourselves to Surrey!

The morning of the wedding day was equally relaxed and full of excitement with Charlie (from MC) doing an *EXCEPTIONAL* job at looking after us and taking care of everything to allow us to just get ready and enjoy our time.

Any words of wisdom for future couples reading this?

We would have to say spread your to-do list over time.  It made the build up so much more enjoyable and avoided any last minute stresses.  Make sure you also plan the day for you and don’t get too caught up in what other people want/think.  While you want the guest to enjoy themselves, they will do exactly that just by seeing how happy you are on the big day.

 

 

(Top to Bottom- The Springles | Kirsty Mackenzie Photography)

Upon setting foot in Millbridge Court you are welcomed into our stylish front lounge with oversized sofas and a log burner, this makes for a wonderful place for guests to relax with a glass of something delicious in hand throughout your day. This space transforms in the winter months as the venue takes on a cosy and romantic personality with the roaring fire and flickering candles a plenty.

 

(Top to Bottom- Kirsty Mackenzie Photography | Clara Cooper Photography | Philippa Sian Photography)

(Left to Right- Clara Cooper Photography | Julie Michaelsen Photography )

Drawing you towards the heart of the building is a stylish mirrored lounge, ideal for those needing a rest from the dance floor! We have eight boutique hotel bedrooms, as well as The Hideaway which is set within the grounds of its very own secret garden. After a wonderful night’s sleep guests return to the lounge, where just past our marble island is a private breakfast room ideal for that all important coffee and much needed catch up on the night before.

 

(Top- The Springles | Bottom- Philippa Sian Photography)

(Left- Julie Michaelsen Photography | Right- Dominique Bader Photography)

We adore the Autumn & Winter months here at Millbridge Court; the crisp weather, the romantic lighting, the change in Colour Palettes, the unique styling details, there’s just so much to love. So with that in mind, we thought we would share just a few tips for those Couples who have booked, or are thinking of booking an Autumn or Winter Wedding Day and as ever, we’ve included some rather gorgeous imagery from recent Millbridge Court Wedding Days.

Tip 1. Embrace the Season with your floral design and Colour Palette.

(Top) Jonny MP Photography | Jenni Bloom Flowers, (Middle) Emmie Scott Photography | Michelle Geldhill, (Bottom) Catherine Carter Weddings | Hannah Berry Flowers

(Left) Catherine Carter Weddings | Hannah Berry Flowers; (Right) Jonny MP Photography | Jenni Bloom

(Both) The Springles | Meadowfolk

Tip 2. Offer a festive or seasonal drink to your Guests.

Cranberry Mimosa & our Gin Station captured by The Springles, Espresso Martini’s captured by Gin Fizz Photographic

Tip 3. With the daylight hours being shorter at this time of year, you can really make the most of the magical atmosphere that additional lighting and candlelight can create.

(Top Left) Kit Myers | Lavender Hill Company (Top Right) The Springles | Jenni Bloom Flowers (Bottom Left) The Springles | Creative Spark Services | Topiary Tree by Carrie Macey (Bottom Right) The Springles | Bubblegum Balloons

Tip 4. Offer a Menu that features warming dishes. Carve at the Table is always such a popular option throughout the Autumn and Winter months

(Top) Philippa Sian Photography (Bottom) RS Brown Photography

Tip 5. Beautiful Couples Shots happen all year round, so embrace the cold, even the rain or snow (!) & make the most of the gorgeous Winter light.

(Top) The Springles, (Middle) Diana V Photography (Bottom) Eleanor Joy Photography

(Left) Emmie Scott Photography, (Right) The Springles, (Bottom) DM Photography

Tip 6. Be sure to capture a magical photo under the festoon lights.

(Top) Jonny MP Photography (Bottom) DM Photography

 

Supplier Links:

Catherine Carter Weddings

Diana V Photography

DM Photography

Eleanor Joy Photography

Emmie Scott Photography

Gin Fizz Photographic

Jonny MP Photography

Kit Myers

Philippa Sian Photography

RS Brown Photography

Hannah Berry Flowers

Jenni Bloom Flowers

Lavender Hill Company

Meadowfolk

Michelle Gledhill

The Topiary Tree by Carrie Macey

Bubblegum Balloons

Creative Spark Services

 

 

With the Winter months upon us & the New Year just around the corner, we thought we would chat to some of our fabulous Millbridge Court Partners & ask them about what trends they’re seeing coming through for 2020 Weddings. This is the first of a few Trend Reports, so below we’re talking Cakes, Hair & Makeup, Stationery, Food, Styling & Lighting & props…

For Cakes

“The use of natural grasses is becoming popular. Sage green as a colour palette is continuing to be a popular trend & increasingly Couples are looking to have a pop of coral with accents of metallics.”

-Vanessa from Forever Cakes @forever_cakes_weddings

For Lighting & Props

“Looking into 2020 we believe the use of Custom Neon Signs will increase massively. This year we have seen these introduced & take off, especially with the use of our stock neons such as “Happily Every After”,  often replacing the need for Giant Lettering!

We have also seen a large increase in requests for outdoor lighting.  This enables us to create the perfect ambience by lighting up large tree’s, buildings & pathways with any colour imaginable.

Lastly, we have been inundated with requests for our DJ & Sax combo, something which is fairly new to us yet seems to have gathered momentum & we’ve gotten amazing feedback. Watch this space for a live video popping up on our social media channels!”

-George & Ollie from Farnham Sound & Light @farnhamsandl

For Hair & Makeup Artist

“2020 is all about the romantic, chic yet timeless look. Glamorous yet natural makeup enhancing features with effortlessly styled hair.”

-Olivia from Olivia Mills Hair & Makeup @oliviamillsmua

For Stationery

“So what’s in store for 2020 trends? It’s looking like soft colour palettes, monograms and hand drawn illustrations will be big next year. But in all honestly I prefer not to stick with trends and concentrate on styles that are everlasting.

Just like the little black dress, black and white remain a firm favourite in modern wedding design and play a big part in my brand on a whole. Vellum is here to stay, as is textured card, layering, unique shapes and bold pops of colour.

However there are a few trends that are creeping in to 2020 that I heavily endorse… sustainability and individuality.

Being individual – Moving away from standard, formal wedding text in stationery design and into a more personal tone of voice is on the rise.

Being eco-friendly – 2020 is set to see an increase in sustainable paper sources, recycled papers and biodegradable goods. Choosing sustainable materials doesn’t mean compromising on style or quality, it’s just about choosing the right supplier that is conscious of this. Good for you, good for the environment, hoorah!”

-Nat from Nats Paper Studio @natspaperstudio

For Styling & Food

“We are seeing a lot more people considering every aspect of the Halls and the connecting rooms, from up high to down low. Ceiling arrangements for big impact are becoming popular– balloon clouds, hanging lighting, disco balls to name a few, & we’re seeing more & more Couples use floral aisle runners that are continuous flowers down the entire length and on both sides of the aisle.

With regards to Menu choices, sharing & feasting dishes are still a firm favourite for many as it is such a relaxed & fun option which creates a real buzz on the day itself & in addition that, more Couples are considering full Vegan or Vegetarian Menus for their Big Day.”

-Our very own Natasha

 

[Lead Image: Philippa Sian Photography, Sign: Farnham Sound & Light]