Mat & Melissa’s St Augustines Priory Wedding
Hey Folks! Today’s blog is all about Mat & Melissa’s Wedding day! Mat & Melissa tied the knot at St Augustine’s Priory in Bilsington, Ashford.
‘We chose this venue as we had always envisioned in getting married in a church but because we aren’t religious as such, Bilsington Priory ticked all the boxes, we could have a civil ceremony there to get the feel of having our wedding in a church but without having to be religious. The grounds were also another reason we chose to get married there, it was so private and the land was stunning which was ours for the whole day. We loved how you didn’t have to move of site all day, we could have our ceremony here along with our reception drinks on the lawn and our wedding breakfast in the marquee.
For their flowers, Mat & Melissa went for a neutral palate of colour throughout, to go with their colour scheme of peach, pinks, cream & mocha. Melissa’s first choice of bloom was her favourite, cream Peonies, accompanied by peach and pink roses and Hydrangeas.
Melissa chose a simple strapless fishtail dress, with a sweetheart neckline, she added a stunning crystal belt to finish the look with some sparkle, her belt also matched her Jimmy Choo shoes which she’d always wanted!
‘When I was looking for a dress I had always envisioned a long sleeved lace dress for myself, but lace wasn’t suiting me in the slightest, however the day I went to try on dresses the owner of the boutique had suggested for me to try this particular dress on, I wasn’t keen in the slightest and I said that I didn’t think it was my kind of dress, as I didn’t want to show my arms. She insisted and persuaded me, in which I did. And who would’ve thought it? I LOVED it! It was the one, it was the dress I chose which I was completely in shock about, but was super happy with it, and was down to her to Thank!’
Melissa kept her make up very natural with a slight added boldness to the eyes to make them stand out and a neutral pinky lip colour. For her hair Melissa chose a half up, half down style, with loose curls slightly brushed out to give a natural wavy look.
The Groomsmen went for a royal blue navy 3 piece suit, which was slim fit. And they each had a mocha tie to fit in with the colour scheme. Mat had the same along with an ivory tie to match Melissa’s dress and a pocket watch and tie pin to accessorize . The Bridesmaids wore different shades of neutral colours.
‘We had Claire in Mocha, Hayley in Champagne, Sian in Dusky Pink and Ellie-Mia in nude pink. They have their hair tied up loosely in a bun with flowers tucked in the top as an accessory.’
‘Over all the day couldn’t have gone any better from the moment us girls got up to get ready in the manor house to the minute I was ready to walk down aisle to greet Mat. It was beautiful, everything went to plan how I’d hoped and Mat and I couldn’t fault the staff at Bilsington Priory, they were amazing and so many commented on how great the service was that day. The weather was spot on, a little windy at times but the sun was shining throughout – it really was perfect. One memory that sticks out for us both was our Gospel Choir. Ever since I was a little girl, I used to talk about how much i loved Gospel Choirs with my nan, and right from the word go I knew I wanted a Gospel Choir at my wedding one day, I ran this past Mat whilst we was planning and he agreed and thought it would be a lovely touch to have, especially bringing something into the ceremony that’s originally from his Mum’s roots. They were AMAZING and everyone had said to me how much emotion was in the chapel that day, before the bridal party had even arrived. As soon as we entered the chapel I could hear them singing our entrance song, I welled up straight away! The other memory we have is how much emotion was around us on the day, it was an incredible feeling to know so many people could share and feel this journey with us whilst being so so happy, it was just lovely. It was a shock to see Mat cry (although he still pretends he didn’t haha) and to not see a dry eye in the room was just really special. It was happy tears all round, and I think we both cried majority of the day!’
Enjoy!
