Despite taking the same physics course at Bath university, Charlotte and Tom actually met through mutual friends. "We hadn't crossed paths before because I was much better at attending lectures than Tom," Charlotte laughs. The pair soon became inseparable, and ten years later, Tom planned a surprise trip to Bath – the city where they met.
“He booked for us to stay in a stunning suite at the Royal Crescent Hotel to celebrate our tenth anniversary,” Charlotte says. “When we arrived, there was a bottle of champagne waiting in the room and he popped the question. After ten years it came as a huge – but very happy – surprise!” After spending the rest of the weekend celebrating, the newly engaged couple came home and started planning their perfect wedding for 24th August, 2019, at Court Farm, Standerwick. We caught up with Charlotte to find out how they did it…
The blank-canvas venue allowed the pair to make it their own and their guests could enjoy all the different spaces it had to offer. It was a beautiful summer wedding, with a relaxed and rustic vibe accented with a pastel colour palette. "My good friend, Imogen, runs The Botanical Alchemist," Charlotte says. "I love her style, which incorporates wild flowers and free-form arrangements, so I gave her my brief and let her take the lead.
The florals were the main focal point of the centrepieces and I trusted Imogen completely." The arch that the couple got married under was a real labour of love, as it involved the bride and her maid-of-honour getting up at the crack of dawn to head to New Covent Garden Market to buy dried flowers!
Charlotte and her maid-of-honour, Jennie, were brave enough to create the wedding cake themselves. "I did splash out on a cheese stack from West Country Cheese Co though, as I love cheese!" Charlotte says.
Loved ones were also treated to homemade elderflower gin as favours, which was produced by the maid-of-honour and painstakingly bottled by the best man and his girlfriend.
Despite feeling a little self-conscious during the ceremony, the newlyweds soon relaxed into what they called the best day ever. "It was so wonderful to be surrounded by our loved ones and see our months of planning come together," Charlotte says. "A memorable moment for me was the speeches. We asked a number of our party to make short speeches, and we didn't put any pressure on them. Every single one was personal, funny and individual. I didn't realise how important that part of the day would be."
Band
Bride's dress
Catering
Cheese stack
Flowers
Groom's suit
Hair and make-up
Marquee, furniture and toilets
Photographer
Stationery
String quartet
Venue and prop hire