Susanna & Kieran’s intimate, chic and modern wedding with Grace Elizabeth

Published by Claire Gould on September 1, 2020September 1, 2020

Happy September, lovely! Now – I’ve had this beautiful wedding up my sleeve for a little while, because there are a few little baubles in here… and I thought we should probably wait until September before mentioning Christmas! It’s a BEAUTIFUL wedding though, so I absolutely couldn’t wait a moment longer before sharing it with you. Susanna and Kieran’s wedding is perfect. They married last year, with only 8 ceremony guests and a relaxed and informal celebration with some beautiful touches. Honestly, these two are the cutest couple and I’m so excited to share their day with you. Watch out for the EPIC florals and for Susanna’s gorgeous Charlie Brear jumpsuit, which is absolutely stunning!
With love,

Wedding photographer’s website

https://www.grace-elizabeth.co.uk

How did you choose your photographer?

We found Grace Elizabeth via endless Instagram browsing. Her photos instantly caught our eyes and once we were on her website we were sold.

Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!

We were so happy with Grace, not only for the fabulous photos we have forever, but also for her input on our wedding day. She’s super cool, calm and felt like a member of our intimate wedding party. She made the photos feel ‘no big deal’ and natural, but the whole family love them.

Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?

We got married at Maison Talbooth, an elegant boutique hotel in Dedham, Essex. We loved the idea of some traditional formality and grandness to our wedding day, but applied it to our small-scale plans. Maison Talbooth has a beautiful and comfortable sitting room with a fire place, where our 8 ceremony guests could sit in armchairs and on sofas which set the scene perfectly for our alternative winter celebration.

Did you love wearing your outfits? How was the dress / suit shopping experience?

Kieran is a modest man and chose to wear his favourite tweedy 3-piece suit, with a white collarless shirt and brown brogues. It was important for him to feel comfortable and 100% himself on the day.
Instead of a dress, I embarked upon my first jumpsuit. I purchased the Charlie Brear ‘Carson’ jumpsuit from MiliMili Bridal in Colchester. The jumpsuit is perfectly traditional and classic in shape, but the low back, cleavage opportunity and wide leg cut was really exciting. Being only 5ft 2in, MiliMili arranged a brilliant seamstress and made my outfit the perfect size.

Did you hire a florist? Tell us about any floral amazingness

We love supporting small local businesses, especially when they are outrageously underestimated. Our local florist, Jenny Elizabeth Flowers in Brightlingsea, excels in wild and rustic arrangements. She was keen with my vision of grouping some botanicals, wild thistles, succulents and classic roses. Jenny created a large bridal bouquet, a groom button hole and some table arrangements. They are currently being preserved in several dome resin paperweights as keepsakes.

As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?

Doughnotts in Leicester make the best doughnuts and we were determined to bring them to Essex for our wedding. My best friend (and witness) luckily lives around Leicester so travelled with the precious rings of heaven down to Dedham for us. For our 24 wedding breakfast guests, we had a small doughnut wall with a range of doughnuts – red velvet, salted caramel, cookie and chocolate.

Tell us about any special personal touches, or creative projects you made yourselves

We were concerned that we had 4 small guests under the age of 5 at our wedding breakfast, which was scheduled for 4 hours. In order to keep them amused, each of our little VIPs got a goodie bag of activities which included a disposable camera, a sticker book and ‘make your own bride and groom pegs’ (from Not on the High Street).
In addition, as an exciting prospect to have more sisters in my life, Kieran’s two sisters were given a keepsake bracelet with a handwritten note saying ‘when I married your brother, I gained a sister’.

Did you personalise your vows or have any wedding readings? What were they?

We chose to have no readings and no personalised vows. Simplicity and no added pressure was important to us. We chose not to have a first dance due to the laid back and informal nature of our day.