A romantic birthday proposal paved the way for this couple’s beautiful rustic wedding. Our WED2B Real Weddings Swindon feature reveals more about their story:

Real Weddings Swindon

When Charlotte moved to Oxford from Portsmouth at the young age of 9, she moved schools and met Luke. They grew up friends, attending the same secondary school and as time went by they spent more and more time together. Then, after all that time, they became a couple in the last year of school.

Brighton has always been a place this couple loved and visited yearly for Charlotte's birthday. This special place now holds even more dear memories for them both. "5 years ago Luke took me to Brighton for my birthday," Charlotte says, "he gave me a birthday card saying 'to my fiancee'. After reading the card he then produced a ring!"

Real Weddings Swindon

Close to home

Charlotte and Luke chose the beautiful Steventon House, a Victorian country house-cum-hotel, as their venue for the big day. "I didn't even realise it existed! It popped up on my Facebook and turned out to only be 10 minutes away from home!" says Charlotte.

The venue boasts two beautiful ceremony and dining rooms which instantly attracted the couple. They knew it was the perfect spot for their wedding.

The dress

Real Weddings Swindon

Charlotte wore the sensational Gracie by Viva Bride. She was nervous dress shopping as she'd had a baby 3 months before and didn't think anything was going to look flattering on her. After trying on a few fishtail style dresses, Charlotte noticed Gracie and fell in love with it. "I loved the fact it was boned and structured," says Charlotte, "I felt like it hid my mum tum. The moment I tired it one, I knew it was 'the one'".

Charlotte found the one at WED2B's Swindon store, "I can't recommend WED2B enough! It was such a lovely relaxed atmosphere, exactly what I wanted."

The big day

As the venue doubled up as a hotel, the couple decided staying the night before would give them plenty of time to get ready and relax.

Real Weddings Swindon

There was a string trio playing while the guests waited for the ceremony to start at 2 pm. "The ceremony was perfect. It was exactly as I'd hoped it would be!" Charlotte says.

The ceremony was followed with a drinks reception and canapes. A bouncy castle was hired and garden games were introduced to keep all the children happy whilst the couple went off and had their special wedding photographs taken.

Afterwards, a tasty wedding breakfast was served at four, and just after the evening guests arrived they had the bouquet toss, cake cutting, as well as the first dance.

Real Weddings Swindon

Classic yet rustic

Charlotte decided on a classic theme with a hint of rustic charm. "We kept everything white but added some wooden touches," she says, "wooden place names, table scatters and table numbers were all made by my uncle, and my dad hand-painted a wooden crate with our names on which we filled with flowers."

Real Weddings Swindon

Their three tiered vanilla sponge cake followed the same theme with perfect white icing wrapped in hessian and lace, topped with a wooden piece that said "Mr & Mrs Geddes".

Charlotte's top tip

"A little idea for parents who are getting married. Hire a babysitter! We hired babysitters to watch our sons in the evening and take them to bed, this meant we could enjoy the evening without having to worry!"

Real Weddings Swindon

A few more to inspire you…

Finally, if you love the sensational Gracie wedding dress just like Charlotte, then you should also take a look at Alexis, Charlize or Constance. These dresses are Figure-flattering mermaid gowns with vintage lace detailing.

Real Weddings Swindon

Photography credit: Banana Pie Photography

Did your wedding have the wow factor like our Real Weddings Swindon feature? If you would like to be a part of our real weddings feature send your favourite photo to helena.jackson@wed2b.co.uk and we’ll be in touch!