Natural beauty

Ross and Elle celebrated a relaxed, rustic occasion in a gorgeous rural setting

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Images courtesy of Depict Photography

Early days…

Ross and Elle met while studying the same course together at university back in 2003. They soon became close and often went around local bars and pubs together in Coventry playing acoustic music. "We shared so much in common, including the same stupid sense of humour and the same birthday," recalls Elle. "The more time we spent together, the more our friendship blossomed into love."

The proposal…

Ross proposed to Elle after whisking her away to Bath for a romantic weekend. "We stayed in a beautful cottage which had a big open fireplace," says Elle. "On the second night, he cooked me a wonderful meal and filled the whole place with candles. After we'd eaten we sat down on the floor by the fireplace and he told me how much he loved me. Then he pulled a ring from his pocket and asked me to marry him! I said yes straight away, but it was so emotional we were both struggling to fight back the tears."

The venues…

Ross and Elle discovered the delights of Wethele Manor online, and when they went to visit it, they found they loved it even more. "The estate is just naturally stunning," says Elle. "It's made up of old orchards and converted farm buildings, and was excactly what we had envisaged for our wedding. We were able to hold a humanist ceremony under an old oak tree, which was the icing on the cake for us."
After setting a date in October, the couple decided to hold a fairly informal wedding with a colour scheme that included touches of autumnal browns and creams.

The attendants…

Elle had four bridesmaids with her on the day, her sister Caz, her cousin Bex, her best friend Sam, who was also maid of honour, and Ross' niece Sophie. The girls wore fawn-coloured knee-length dresses from Debenhams, which they teamed with brown shawls and pretty pearl accessories for a vintage touch.
"My best man was Rich, who has been my best friend since our uni days together," says Ross. "Although his organisational skills aren't the greatest, he was definitely the man for the job. I remember looking across at Rich on the top table 15 minutes before he was supposed to be doing his speech, and he still seemed to be writing it which was slightly worrying. But he did a great job and still got lots of laughs. He was great at keeping me calm on the day, but after looking back at some of the photos, he seemed more stressed than anyone else!"

The dress…

Elle looked gorgeous in ivory lace, in a stunning fishtail gown from Sottero & Midgley. "It was the first dress I tried on after walking into Wedding Gowns by Susan Graley on Spon Street, Coventry. I saw the dress on a mannequin in the entrance hall and asked if I could try it on. It was perfect. Although I went to a few other dress shops in the area, I couldn't find anything as perfect as this gown - and I think Susan knew I would be back."
Her service is second to none; she will only see one bride at a time and will be very honest about what suits your body shape."

The flowers…

To keep with their relaxed feel, Ross and Elle wanted their flowers to be rustic and wild, so Elle got in touch with her aunt who has some flower arranging experience to help them with the buying and styling.
"We found some cream metal jugs which made the perfect table centrepieces and filled them with thistles, wild daisies, rusty orange roses and other native flowers from a local market," says Elle. "The colours were mostly oranges, purples, browns and creams, and they looked amazing."

The decorative touches…

The food was one of the most important aspects of the day for the couple and, as they recall, one of their biggest extravagences. "We chose to have a selection of warm canapes during the reception drinks, followed by a hot rustic country-style buffet which included free-range roast chicken with humous, pomegranate, warm camembert, artisan breads and roasted baby new potatoes. For dessert we chose to have cream teas all round which included local, freshly baked scones and pots of clotted cream and strawberry jam. The marquee seemed to go quiet when the food was served - a great sign!" laughs Elle.
The couple's wedding cake had three tiers, one chocolate, one carrot cake and one which was plain sponge cake, all with butter cream inside. The outside was covered in tasty white chocolate cigarillos and finished off with fresh berries.

The best bits…

The couple held the evening reception in Wethele Manor's beautiful marquee. To keep guests partying all evening they had a free-range hog roast on the go and what Elle describes as 'the world's biggest cheese board'!
"The whole event unfolded so well," she recalls. "We purposefully didn't try to plan things too specifically because we wanted people to have fun and enjoy themselves. We were also very lucky that Wethele Manor had excellent light and sound facilities to help create a great atmosphere."

The honeymoon…

After their big day, Ross and Elle were lucky enough to jet off to the Maldives for a holiday full of snorkelling, relaxing on the beach and checking out some of the local wildlife.
"We took part in activities neither of us had done before too, like scuba-diving, going on a dolphin safari and a sunset boat cruise," says Elle. "We'd never been to the Maldives before, but we'd jump at the chance to go back!"

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