Tegan & Thomas 11/03/23
What made you choose Iscoyd Park for your wedding venue?
Unbelievably Iscoyd was the very first venue we looked at online when we started the hunt! We booked around eight different viewings in the end, just to see what else was out there – but the minute we pulled into the drive at Iscoyd it was game over and every other viewing was cancelled.
We had a few ‘must haves’ when it came to a venue…
1. We wanted it to have a church onsite or very close that was big enough for 125 guests.
2. We wanted it to feel personal and not like a wedding factory
3. We wanted close family and the bridal / grooms party to be able to stay onsite
4. We wanted to feel reassured that the venue team would have everything under control and we wouldn’t need to worry about organising or sorting on the day
Iscoyd ticked all those boxes and more! The minute we arrived for our first look around Charlie and Olivia made us feel like we were old friends and every question and idea we had was met with a “yes, let’s do it!” so we really felt this was a place we could make the wedding we wanted. Despite being a hefty 3.5 hour drive from our house it was worth every minute spent on the motorway!
What was your favourite part of your wedding day?
Honestly our whole day was everything we hoped it would be, so picking a moment is super hard…but two parts really stand out…
The service was so so special. St Mary’s is a gorgeous little church and Vicar Veronica made the entire experience so memorable and inclusive which meant a lot to us. We had hymns we had grown up singing at school and looking out at all our friends and family was such a beautiful feeling.
Our first dance also holds a special place in our hearts – we aren’t really ‘slow dance’ kind of people so knew we wanted it to be something fun. We timed it so the first dance came straight off the back of the surprise Singing Waiters we had secretly planned and it just meant everyone was full of energy and we felt like absolute rockstars taking to the floor. All the practice in our living room paid off too!
Tell us a little bit about your wedding theme.
We wanted to go for a full ‘English’ wedding – with a backdrop like Iscoyd it felt like the perfect choice. We chose English wine and fizz from Chapel Down, Morning Suits for the Groom’s party, British flowers and even the wedding dress was from a London designer!
Our main theme was dark green and gold but the flowers were bright multi-colours. We wanted the whole decor to feel really classic and elegant but without being too stuffy. March is just starting to see the first signs of spring but it can still be chilly so we felt that the darker green and gold would be the perfect base for a gorgeous pop of colour that would match the season. The bridesmaid dresses and groomsmen ties were in the emerald green while gold jewellery and light gold waistcoats finished the look. The benefit of choosing gold as one of our colours meant we could also play on our new surname ‘King’ and gave gold crowns to every guests as their seating plan which looked amazing in the marquee!
The crowns were just one of the ways we tried to make our ‘theme’ personal. We made place names from gold shark and cat figurines (our favourite animals), created ‘Top Trump’ cards as favours for guests and had one of the bridesmaids create a ‘things to do’ board for the drinks reception which included signing wine bottles as our guest book and enjoying a shot of port from the year the groom was born!
The Outfits; Who did you wear? What did your bridal party wear?
Tom had a morning suit tailored at Waterers in St. Albans and wore a green tie covered in foxes in a nod to his beloved Leicester City Football club. In my opinion he looked like an absolute prince 😉 Working in the city he wanted something that felt different to his daily suit so a morning suit was the perfect choice and it will come in handy each year for Ascot too!
My dress was from the fabulous Halfpenny London in Islington; they make all the dresses there in London which felt so special and the studio is beautiful. I knew I wanted something classic, with a strong silhouette but the sleeves and the bow helped it feel a bit more me!
The Flowers; Tell us some more about your blooms.
Despite wanting English spring flowers and colours we took a lot of inspiration from Korean floristry. They use a much looser style with different height flowers which we adored and Rebecca at Ivy Pip & Rose understood the brief perfectly. Instead of one big installation in the centre of the marquee we went for strings of hanging flowers which almost looked like they were floating; this felt like a much more delicate flower display but still with big impact in the room.
The Photography; Who were your photographers and why did you choose them?
The one and only James Fear! James is mad as a box of frogs and that was just what we after! We wanted someone who wouldn’t be afraid to get stuck in with our guests and from the minute he arrived he helped make everyone feel totally at ease. He didn’t just take beautiful shots he truly captured the essence of the day which takes real talent. It poured with rain from the minute we left the church but James still managed to nail it with the pictures and you can see the fun and energy beam out of every image.
The Evening; Give us the lowdown on entertainment.
The entertainment was really where we went to town. Music is a big part of our relationship so we went for both a band and a DJ for the party. The band was The Footmen who have a sort of English folky vibe which stuck with the theme, while the DJ Mr Ali Wilson kept everyone on the dance floor till the early hours!
At other weddings we noticed its often hard for guests to rebuild energy after a big meal so we decided to give everyone a boost and organised The Singing Waiters as a surprise – not one person knew we were doing it and the looks on everyones faces was amazing. They did an epic job of getting everyone up, singing, dancing and even doing the conga! We also went for a photo booth from The Instant Photoboot Company which delivered some hilarious pictures with their brill props and in a nod to our love of golf we had a wedding themed mini golf for some late night putting which went down a storm!
Words of Wedding Wisdom?
Don’t overthink things and trust your gut. When planning you can agonise over every detail which can become overwhelming, but if you see a supplier or idea you like just go for it and move on to the next thing (because there is a lot to sort!)
Find out more about Weddings at Iscoyd Park
Photography by Fear Photography