Real Wedding - Lucy And Lee's Stylish Somerset Wedding

Notes From A Bride

We looked at so many venues but Coombe Lodge in North Somerset was our ultimate favourite and had everything we needed under one rather gorgeous roof! I had heard amazing recommendations about Coombe Lodge and their team from other brides and wedding guests. The day ran so smoothly without any hitches and this was mainly down to the staff at Coombe Lodge, which is an exclusive use wedding venue near Bristol. Their presence throughout the day was subtle yet attentive at all times. The team cannot do enough for you, especially the Event Manager Martha who was incredible on the day. Nothing was a problem, she helped me and the bridal party and Lee and the best men to feel calm before the ceremony and had everything in control throughout the entire day. She has so much enthusiasm and always had a smile on her face which put us all at ease! 



The catering at the venue is amazing and the grounds are beautiful. The gorgeous setting and simplistic décor was a perfect starting point and with a few floral arrangements and delicate decorations, the place became the most perfect wedding venue we could have wished for.

The Décor

So … I was fortunate enough to meet Lauradana from Wedding Creations at a wedding fayre at Paint Works in Bristol a couple of months after we got engaged. On my way there with my mum we were discussing ideas in terms of decoration and weirdly enough, everything we had suggested (and so much more) was displayed on Lauradana’s table. I booked her up there and then I can honestly say it was the best money spent on the overall wedding! So how it works …. You meet with Lauradana to talk through colour themes, styles and how you envisage your day. She sends you a look book of ideas for decoration, she turns up, makes the wedding venue look incredible, comes back the next day and clears everything up … almost sounds too good to be true right??



In my thank you email to Lauradana, I literally referred to her as the ‘wedding angel’ and I think she was the reason that I didn’t get stressed at all. I had full confidence in her from our first consultation meeting and could have just trusted her to decorate the venue without any input from me. When I received my ‘look book’ to confirm what sort of themes and decorations she would be using, I literally squealed with excitement! She made the wedding venue look absolutely beautiful … nothing was too much of an ask for her and I didn’t have to worry about a thing!

The Flowers

I used Ivory flowers in Bristol who I cannot recommend enough. Xanthe was amazing and made me and my bridesmaids the most beautiful bouquets I could have asked for. The flowers were a mixture of Norma Jeans roses, Jean Moreau garden roses and quicksand roses. She also decorated a beautiful wooden arch for the ceremony and made the most beautiful garland for our top table.



I took my bridesmaid dresses in to give an idea of the colour theme and the colour match was just incredible.

The Dress

This for me was the most exciting bit about the planning. I visited various bridal shops around the Bristol area but sourced my gown from Rookery Manor Bridal. I cannot recommend this place enough – Lynn and Kylie are THE most helpful ladies ever and couldn’t do enough for me. I fell in love with the back of one dress but the front of another, both from the Martina Liana range and the designer created a bespoke dress using features from both. It was a classic style, very plain and figure hugging in the most gorgeous contour crepe silk material.



The back was completely open leading into a long train with button details down the back. The front was a v-neck style with mesh material down each side of the dress. The material was so comfortable (something that is so important for the day) and most importantly, it was so light, I was able to party into the early hours of the morning!!

The Wedding Shoes



My shoes were from Dune’s bridal range. I’m only 5’2” so they were pretty high in heel height with satin ribbon ankle straps that tied at the back, embellished with diamante stones at the front.

The Bridesmaid Dresses



I had 6 bridesmaids in total who wore floor length dresses from the TFNC range from asos and a bargain at £45!! They had a high neck front and a low back to match my dress style with a silk bow and a slight train to them in a beautiful blush pink colour. I think quite possibly I had the most attractive bridal party ever!

Hair & Make Up

My makeup artist was the lovely Katy Pfieffer. I’d heard such amazing recommendations about Katy and she really is so talented. She listens to exactly what you want, not just for me as the bride but for my mum and bridesmaids too which was really important to me as some of the bridal party hadn’t had their makeup done before so were a little apprehensive. She made us all feel so lovely and was a pleasure to have there on the wedding morning. Our makeup lasted all day (I have the oiliest skin ever so how it did I do not know) and it really did look flawless in the photos.



My hair was done by the lovely Elements team who are based in Long Ashton and Portishead. We had two of the team working on the bridal party, Kate and Sophie. Kate did my hair in a half up half down style with loose natural waves which lasted the entire day (and into the next day!!) Kate also blow dried my mums hair into a curly/wave style. Kate and Sophie between them did the bridesmaid hair which was a mixture of up dos and long loose waves with plaits, all very natural.

The Photographer

We used Bowtie and Belle who were a recommendation from Lauradana at Wedding Creations. The best recommendation I’ve ever taken! Sam and Tom are a husband and wife and were just amazing throughout the whole day.



Considering we didn’t even know they were there, they captured the most magical moments of the entire day and it was so lovely reliving everything when we received the professional photos through. Their light and airy style really complimented our colour theme and worked so well with the venue … I also loved that there were two photographers as they were able to capture so many extra moments throughout the day, like the ceremony from so many different angles, Lee and his best men during the morning along with the bridal party and so many more … they literally didn’t miss a thing!

The Videographer



So, this was a real debate for my husband as I’ve always wanted a videographer but he was very reluctant as worried it would be too intrusive on the day. Again, Tim Spatz was another recommendation from Lauradana and from showing Lee several clips from Tim’s website, I managed to convince him (something that isn’t very easy!) On the day, we had Tim and another colleague filming and to Lee’s delight, we didn’t even know they were there, but somehow they managed to capture the best and most perfect moments of the entire day. I couldn’t stop crying whilst watching the video - seeing the laughter, tears and family friends enjoying sharing our special the day was the best feeling and memories we will keep forever.

The Entertainment

String Quartet for the Ceremony

We had the lovely Ardeton String Quartet playing whilst guests were arriving and for the wedding ceremony. The Ardeton team had a great variety of songs to choose from their repertoire which I was able to select and it set a lovely, romantic feel to the start of the day.

Acoustic Singer and Guitarist

I met Pat Mcintyre at the same wedding fayre as Wedding Creations who is a singer and guitarist that specialises in live acoustic music for weddings. After hearing him perform a couple of songs, I booked him there and then! Pat performed during our drinks reception and wedding breakfast. He performed beautiful bespoke sets that he tailored to suit each part and he exceeded all expectations. So many of our guests commented on how great he was. His repertoire has the best variety of songs and he is so so talented and I cannot recommend him enough.



The Band

Funky Dumpty had been recommended to me by a couple of friends and the Events Manager. They are a soul and pop band who are incredibly talented and put on the BEST performance we could have asked for. They had all our guests up dancing the entire night which is exactly what we wanted! There repertoire is full of the best hits covering 80, 90’s and current so something for everyone and we had so many compliments about them from our guests.

Advice For Future Brides



Really try to not get stressed during the planning stages. Whilst there is so much to think of, it really is just a celebration and one hell of a party with all your family and friends. I managed to stay pretty calm during the planning period as well as on the wedding day and looking back, I would have really regretted it if I had worked myself up about things. As cliché as it sounds, it really is the best day of your life so just enjoy every moment in the lead up to it and the special day itself. 

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