Sally and David's Relaxed 'Secret Garden' Wedding in Kent by Michelle Cordner Photography

Today I am taking you to Kent for this late Summer, early Autumn wedding of Sally and David and what a beautiful wedding it is. Sally and David chose the The Secret Garden in Kent as they wanted a venue with delicious food and the choice to hold their ceremony outside. The Secret Garden ticked all their boxes and more. With a burgundy, gold and nude colour scheme this wedding is not only filled with Boho vibes (check out those super cute flower crowns) but a lot of classic elegance as well. I just adore the flowers, the ceremony arch is stunning and the table flowers divine. Big thanks to Michelle Cordner Photography for the gorgeous images.

Hopefully our guests would say it was a happy, relaxed day… informal, musical and gloriously sunny!

Sally and David were married on 14th September 2019 at The Secret Garden in Kent. ‘We wanted the day to be casual and relaxed and the venue seemed to fit well. We’d been to eat there a few times so knew the food was delicious and staff were always professional and friendly. We also loved the idea of an outside ceremony and thought it would provide many photo opportunities in the gardens and courtyard. We had around 90 guests as that was the maximum they could cater for. We got engaged at Christmas and within a few weeks booked the date for 9 months later, then took another few months to arrange the other bits.’

How they met
We met online nearly 3 years ago.

The proposal
It was Christmas Eve, I’d just put our son to bed and came downstairs to get on with food prep and wrapping presents but David had the log burner on and insisted I sat down to watch a film with him. I gave in and he got down on one knee and presented the ring!

How did you allocate your budget?
We didn’t really have a budget just tried not to get too carried away and paid what we thought was reasonable.

Where did you splurge and where did you save?
We saved on lots of small things like my hair & make up as I did that myself and splurged on entertainment as I thought that‘d be what everyone would appreciate and remember.

How did you choose your photographer?
I found Michelle on Instagram and was really impressed with her photos. She seemed to specialise in natural shots which was what I prefer and I specifically wanted to find someone who would be easy to get on with as I’m not a huge fan of having my photo taken! She seemed to be really friendly and understanding and was exactly that on the day.

The dress
I wore a Wendy Makin dress which I’d also seen on Instagram, I didn’t have any accessories apart from my flower crown which my florist created and I scrimped on some nude sandals from ASOS as I knew they wouldn’t really be seen and I’d never wear them again! They ended up being a god send as they were super comfy all day.

The suit and bridesmaids
The groom and best man had matching navy suits from Moss Bros, bridesmaid dresses were TFNC.

Theme or colour scheme
The main colour we used was burgundy but also had a bit of gold and nude for table dressing / confetti etc. I didn’t intentionally have a theme as such but definitely love all things boho!

Flowers
The bouquets were fairly wild looking with lots of different flowers including David Austin Roses, Ranunculus & Dahlias.

Decoration
We kept it fairly simple as the venue is beautiful enough but I wanted a boho feel so our florist created an amazing display of fresh flowers over the arched gazebo entrance.

Food
We wanted something informal and hopefully sociable so decided on canapés for the beginning of the day, a BBQ for the main meal then had ‘posh sandwiches’ in the evening.

Wedding cake
We had 3 tiers – the base was chocolate fudge, middle sticky toffee then a lemon drizzle top.

Entertainment
We had live music throughout the day from a saxophonist and pianist who also provided music for the evening.

Who supplied the stationery?
I designed and ordered the invitations from Zazzle.com we also had a very talented lady (Boards by Jess) create table numbers and various signs for us – order of the day etc as well as our table plan. Another option for Invitations is Bride and Groom Direct.

Special moments
I’d have to say David’s speech as he tried to sing half way through which had everyone in stitches!

Advice for other couples
Obviously, everyone has different tastes but I personally felt having the ceremony and reception at the same venue (who also arrange the food / drinks etc) made the whole day very easy and hassle-free for us, there was hardly anything to plan!
I’d also say not to feel pressured to do / have the standard wedding day everyone expects; the day goes so quickly so spend it doing exactly what you want.

Biggest surprise
That nothing went wrong and it didn’t rain!