Catherine & Philip's Rustic Country Wedding ~ {Pashley Manor East Sussex}

A Marquee Wedding At Pashley Manor Gardens

If you love a traditional English wedding I think you are going to enjoy this. Catherine and Philip’s country wedding oozed rustic charm with fabulous vintage touches, floral inspiration, and wonderful ideas to create the perfect marquee reception.

Catherine and Philip married at St Peters Church Stonegate, then afterwards celebrated in the glorious surroundings of Pashley Manor Gardens, Ticehurst. It was a particularly beautiful wedding full of lovely moments, special touches and so much obvious thought and effort.

I began the day in Tunbridge Wells at the Hotel Du Vin to photograph Catherine and her bridesmaids’ final preparations before heading on to the church. Guests made their way to the church in an old Routemaster whilst Catherine and her father were driven in a vintage Morris Minor.

Catherine chose a simple colour scheme of country whites for her day and the flowers were plentiful and so very pretty. Catherine’s mum grew every single flower from seed, such a labour of love for her daughter’s special day. Starting in February and keeping a diary as she went, lovingly caring for the plants with huge skill, the task involved ensuring everything was at its best just in time for the wedding. I think you will agree, she did an amazing job and the various arrangements from the church, the bouquet through to the marquee were simply exquisite. I particularly loved the use of the use apple crates filled with flowers such as Anemones outside the church and the choice of flowers for the archway which I believe included green ‘Love Lies Bleeding‘(Amaranthus), so pretty against the church’s dark wood exterior and producing an instant wow.

Guests were entertained by the rather fabulous Wadhurst Brass Band with whom Catherine’s mum is connected. At one point she actually conducted a favourite piece of Catherine’s. If I could bottle the atmosphere of those beautiful gardens, happy guests, ecstatic bride and groom and not forgetting the cheeky wildlife, I reckon I could make a lot of couples very happy.

The marquee was simply stunning and full of wonderful touches. I LOVED the lace bunting which was so pretty, the Pimms dispenser, the Mason jars full of fresh white country flowers, the chunky branch table name holders and tree trunk cheese cake base., The custom twig wedding cake topper with ‘ C & P’ and heart was very cute , and the luggage label table plan worked perfectly with the overall feel of the decor. The vintage typewriter and polaroid camera were great fun as a means of creating a guestbook and I noticed a few older guests getting in there early and having a very jolly time! 🙂 The wedding favours of locally produced honey were very sweet both in flavour and looks and I can confirm that it tasted absolutely delicious on my toast the next morning. 😉