Luke & Lauren 15/04/22
What made you choose Iscoyd Park for your wedding venue?
We had been a part of lots of weddings locally so when it came to choosing our own venue we did quite a bit of research and visited a few potential venues but Iscoyd completely blew the others out of the water. Obviously the venue itself is absolutely stunning, but it was so much more than that. The little details in every room and the way everyone who worked there made us feel.
Ffion was our first point of contact and she was absolutely wonderful, Then we met our amazing wedding planner Charlotte – and the best thing was, every member of the Iscoyd team made us feel like they were just as excited for our day as we were. We were treated like friends rather than customers.
And when Covid hit and there was so much worry/uncertainty and ultimately we ended up postponing, Charlotte was there for us every step of the way. Our day was more perfect than we could of imagined and anyone lucky enough to have Iscoyd as their venue is in safe hands and will have the most magical wedding.
What was your favourite part of your wedding day?
For me (Lauren) my favourite part was the ceremony itself which I honestly didn’t expect. My parents had arranged for a surprise string quartet which blew me away and made me feel like I was in a scene from Bridgerton. But anyone that was there that day can say I did not stop beaming; I was like tigger bouncing up and down with excitement. The day I had dreamed of since I was a little girl arrived and I was marrying my best friend.
My sister sang me down the aisle which was magical, and we even had our dogs and baby boy walk down the aisle, just adding to the magic of the day. The registrars were so chilled and made the service feel informal and it was just perfect. I loved that the ceremony room was so bright; it was lovely being able to look round the room at all my favourite people and see their smiling faces. I just wish we could do it all again!
My favourite part of the day (Luke) was being out in the courtyard after the ceremony. We were so lucky with the weather, and being surrounded by all our nearest and dearest, with a drink in hand and my beautiful new wife by my side was something I will never forget. The surprise live music (thanks to my new inlaws) just made the atmosphere even better. I couldn’t have asked for more…oh and definitely the pizza van in the evening…can’t forget that.
Tell us a little bit about your wedding theme.
The theme for the day was simple, elegant and romantic. We opted for a white and green colour scheme with tiny touches of blush pink (as I had some tiny blush flowers on my dress). The venue was so stunning we didn’t feel the need to over complicate things and on the day every room looked absolutely perfect. The boys wore grey tweed and the bridesmaids dressed in emerald green – gorgeous for spring.
The Outfits; Who did you wear? What did your bridal party wear?
My beautiful dream dress was from Dolly Blue Shrewsbury – If you’re a bride and looking for your dream dress, I cannot recommend Jess at Dolly Blue enough. My dress was unique and so perfect with alterations being made in-house so that it fit like a glove. But again, it was all about the customer service; Jess now feels like a friend and I love popping in every now and again just to say hello.
I actually changed my bridesmaids’ dresses three weeks before the wedding.I wouldn’t recommend doing this but it was 100% the right decision. They started off with sage green multi-way dresses that I bought when we first booked Iscoyd in 2019 but by 2022 I decided they weren’t the right choice anymore. I wanted the richer dark emerald greens and I wanted a satin material to add a luxurious feel to the day.
I let each bridesmaid choose their own dress – there were eight of them and I wanted all of my girls to feel at their most confident so wanted them to choose a style they loved and suited their figure. They looked stunning and I loved the mismatch of dress styles.
The Groom and Groomsmen all chose suits from Peter Posh Shrewsbury. We went for a grey tweed with matching waistcoat and dark green ties and pocket squares. We bought Luke’s suit and had it customised so that the interior of the suit/back of waistcoat was also the dark green satin to match the theme of the day. Luke also had a slightly different tie and pocket square to make his outfit stand out on the day. Our little boy (9 months old at the time) also had matching waistcoat, trousers and dickie bow and he looked perfect. Our furry page boy and flower girl both had new leads and bow tie collars in velvet emerald green to match the day.
The Flowers; Tell us some more about your blooms.
Our flowers were provided by Anne Whysall. When we went for our first meeting I could tell straight away she was going to be brilliant; she listened to all my ideas, told me what would work best within the season – but even better she came back with mood boards to make sure we were on the same page.
When the flowers arrived the morning of they were absolutely perfect. I wanted a textured bouquet that felt a bit wild and romantic and that’s exactly what I got. My bridesmaids had smaller versions of my bouquet but each one was slightly different and unique to them. For the ceremony we had a huge display at the front with foliage on the chair ends.
In the dining room we had a combination of candelabras and big candles in jars with round displays around them giving height to the room.
The Photography; Who were your photographers and why did you choose them?
Sophie at Brightwing Photography was always going to be our photographer. She has been the photographer for many of the weddings I’d been a part of and we had built a friendship over the years. Her photography style is just stunning; bright and beautiful. Sophie doesn’t just capture photos she captures special moments on the day that would be missed by so many. She has a true talent. She also did a family shoot for us, a maternity shoot and then a newborn shoot when our little boy was born. Our wedding gallery is beyond perfect and we will treasure the memories forever.
The Evening; Give us the lowdown on entertainment.
For the evening we knew we wanted a live band – After a lot of research we found ’The Beatroots’ from Bands for Hire – and they blew everyone away!
They played two sets and got everyone on their feet. I also have to mention that we had Jack Dent (Magician) in the day for our welcome drinks and he was the perfect addition – at weddings so many people don’t know each other and there can be the odd awkward moment – but not with Jack around – he brought groups together and blew their minds with his magic!
We still have the card he did a trick with on our wedding day and it is framed in our home.
Words of Wedding Wisdom?
Enjoy it all! All the planning, the tastings, the exciting build up. You may get stressed at times but you will miss it when it’s all over.
The Taster Evening; if you can stay over – do! Or at least get taxis/stay over near by….We had THE BEST NIGHT! it was the perfect date night and just built up our excitement for the day. The food was INSANE and the wine was well and truly flowing.
Make sure you force yourself to eat something the morning of the wedding!
If you have little ones – 100% invest in having a nanny there – I can’t recommend Nanny Katie more (Shropshire Wedding Nanny). having her there took all stress off me, She brought Archie down when he was at his happiest so everyone saw him at his best and if he was tired/hungry or just a bit fed up she would scoop him up and take him away from the noise and settle him. She was essentially me for the day and was an absolute god send!
Find out more about Weddings at Iscoyd Park
Photography by Brightwing Photography