Samantha Gilchrist, the owner of The Gilchrist Collection, has had the pleasure of working with thousands of nearlyweds, across 12 venues including Crowcombe Court and The Ravenswood, making her the expert when it comes to wedding planning:
“Planning a wedding should be an enjoyable experience and of course the happy couple shouldnt feel stressed, but if you are planning on tying the knot in 2025 (or even 2026), here is a checklist to help you get those wedding wheels turning. You should aim to have these steps nailed down nice and early, because the end of the aisle is not so far away!”
All photos in this blog are by Somerset wedding photographer Martin Dabek Photography, and are from Eleanor and James’s wedding at Crowcombe Court.
BEGIN WITH A WEDDING BUDGET:
Yes I know! Budgets may seem like the party pooper that’s ready to shatter your big celebration of love, but it really should be the thing you consider first. It’s essential that you sit down with your partner and have an honest conversation about what you can afford.
Yes your wedding is an incredibly important day but heading into debt is sure to put a downer on things to say the least! If you are expecting financial help from relatives it is important to have those conversations with them as an urgency too.
GET YOUR GUEST LIST:
Your budget will significantly influence your guest list, so consider who you would like to invite next. I recommend an A, B and C list.
The ‘A’ list is day guests, who you just couldn’t see yourself getting married without.
List ‘B’ should consist of evening guests, who you would love to have in the day and could be included as a day guest if someone declines.
Finally list ‘C’; people who you wouldn’t mind if they were unable to come or who are acquaintances. This can be a list of people who you know will bring the fun and you would love to invite if your venue allows you to have unlimited evening guests. List ‘C’ can also act as a bank of people to invite if other guests decline to make up numbers.
VIV: VERY IMPORTANT VENUE:
As the owner of 12 wedding venues I’ve seen the joys of grooms and brides securing their fairytale location for their happily ever-after.
I have also, however, seen couples incredibly disappointed because they have left booking their dream venue too late and now we have no dates available!
Once you know what budget you have to spend on a venue and how large it will need to be to accommodate your wedding party, it is essential to start doing your research on wedding venues. Get those tours booked in and get ready to be wowed by the incredible venues available.
CREATE YOUR WEDDING PLANNING TIMELINE:
So now you have your budget sorted, venue booking fee down and you know who is coming, work out a timeline for wedding planning. e.g. Decide when you’ll need to book your florist (if you have one), cake designer, videographer, ice cream van(!) etc and when to start thinking about colour palettes and decor?
A PHOTO FINISH:
Before I owned wedding venues I was a wedding photographer, and let me tell you they book up fast! Working with a photographer who is going to immortalise your wedding day forever is something you want to get right. Spend time looking at portfolios and social media and make a decision with your partner on what you want your day to be remembered like – then get that deposit down! You don’t want to be left with your second (or third, or fourth) choice.
As you navigate the initial stages of wedding planning, remember that securing certain milestones like setting a budget, confirming your guestlist and picking a venue sets the foundation for the entire process. Enjoy the journey, and here’s to crafting a celebration that reflects the essence of your love story. Cheers to your happily ever after!”
A wonderfully colourful, flower-filled, joyful summer wedding from the loveliest couple – this wedding’s going to have us smiling ALL weekend long! Eleanor & James were blessed with glorious sunshine for their Somerset wedding, and have shared some amazing supplier recommendations in their English Wedding interview below. Congratulations to an incredible couple, and huge thanks to lovely Crowcombe Court wedding photographer Martin Dabek (who gets a glowing review below!)
Wedding photographer’s website
How did you choose your photographer?
We loved Martin’s relaxed and joyful style of photography with an emphasis on story telling as well as his ability to capture lots of amusing and ‘unseen’ moments. We spent a long time searching for a Somerset wedding photographer but as soon as we saw his pictures, we knew he was for us.
Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!
YES!!! Martin was just the best! He made us feel really relaxed on the day, was a lovely person to have around, always professional but really fun and gave us the most beautiful photos. Would definitely recommend.
What’s your fondest memory of your wedding?
It might sound a bit corny, but it was the sunshine. We had already decided to postpone our wedding in the hope we could have everyone we’d invited. The new date was just before all the restrictions lifted but we decided to stick with it but it meant we had to reduce our guest list based on the venue capacity and would not be allowed any dancing inside.
I (Eleanor) had always wanted a ceilidh so to not have one would have been really sad. The venue had said we could have one outside on their lawn and then suggested a silent disco as the venue was not allowed amplified music outside after 9pm. This meant it had to be dry (and preferably sunny!). The whole week before, we were glued to the weather forecast and it was hit and miss for rain. The day before was drizzly and overcast and the day after was torrential rain however on our day, the sun shone all day and it was lovely and warm. It meant we could have most of the day outside, host the ceilidh on the lawn and then dance (in silence!) under the stars. Pretty lucky and magical!
Videographer details if applicable – and any thoughts for other couples about having a wedding video?
Time & Oath Wedding Videography – https://timeandoath.com/
We spent a long time deliberating whether to spend the extra for a videographer but all our friends who had got married said they were either really glad they had one, or wish they had booked one so we went for it. We are so happy we did, we have loved watching the video, as have all our friends and family. It captures a different angle and essence of the day and is a really special way to remember the emotions and feeling of the day.
Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?
Our venue was Crowcombe Court, Taunton, Somerset. https://www.crowcombecourt.co.uk/
I (Eleanor) had grown up on the Quantock hills which the venue sits in and my parents still lived over the other side of the hill in Over Stowey. I had always wanted to get married in the Over Stowey church so this was an ideal venue for location.
However, initially I was reluctant to view it having driven past it every day to get the school bus, I thought I knew exactly what sort of venue it would be…but I was very wrong. As soon as we stepped out of the car and stepped inside we felt excited and just knew it was for us. It was the perfect mix of being a beautiful country house, but feeling really relaxed and welcoming. We were also able to stay the night before and of the wedding with our nearest and dearest which made the whole wedding extra special and relaxing. The staff were just amazing and did everything they could to ensure we could have what we wanted. We thought they would be quite set on what they could offer, but it was the opposite. It was a brilliant experience and we are so glad we had our reception there.
Did you love wearing your outfits? How was your shopping experience, was it fun to find your wedding gear?
James chose to go for a more old fashioned London tailors and had a really good experience with all his groomsmen leading up to the day…however on the day, unfortunately they discovered the trousers were all the wrong sizes which meant for a very stressful morning! After some comedic swapping and squeezing in to each other’s trousers, most people were able to find a pair that fitted but poor James was not a happy bunny on the wedding morning!
I had dreamed of wedding dress shopping for most of my life, so couldn’t wait to go, however due to Covid restrictions, most places would only allow one guest. I felt my mum would appreciate being asked and so went to most shops with her. However I found it really hard and difficult to choose without the help of bridesmaids so didn’t enjoy the experience as much as was hoped. However I did absolutely love my dress in the end and felt like a princess the whole day so all’s well that end’s well.
Did you hire a florist? Tell us about any floral amazingness
YES! Eleanor is obsessed with flowers so they were a really important part of the wedding. They were our only decorations and we wanted them to be super vibrant and wild in style and a celebration of the English country garden. We chose Suzy Simmonds from Blooming Divine as I loved her use of colours and flowers. She was so wonderful to work with and people still talk about our flowers so she must have done something right!
As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?
The cake was super delicious! We chose Little Buttercup Cakery – https://littlebuttercupcakery.co.uk/ as her cakes were just beautiful. We had 3 layers and went for one chocolate oreo, one orange blossom and one salted caramel cake. We cut it before we went for dinner so it could be served alongside our desserts on the tables.
Tell us about any special personal touches, or creative projects you made yourselves
We are really lucky to have some very artistic friends who we utilised as much as possible! Our friend Helen (https://www.instagram.com/helenmayink/) drew the image of our church for our order of service, hand painted the table numbers and place settings and did all the calligraphy for our place settings, envelopes and table plan.
Our other friend Josie, (https://www.instagram.com/josekeals/) who is a graphic designer, designed and painted our Save the Dates and invitations. We also used both of their drawings to make bespoke cards to leave in guests bedrooms as thank yous. It was really special to have their artwork as part of our day and we are forever grateful.
Eleanor’s mum also spent several summers drying endless flower petals for our confetti and grew lots of extra flowers so we could put them in jam jars in guest bedrooms and on tables outside the venue.
We also decided to go for an ice cream van for guests to enjoy as they arrived at the venue after the church ceremony. This was a roaring success and I would recommend it to everyone!
Did you have any wedding readings? What were they?
We had 2 readings – 1 Corinthians 13 and ‘A Vow’ by Wendy Cope
What was your first dance song? Why did you choose it?
We chose Songbird by Oasis as they are pretty much the only band both James and Eleanor both like! This song also reminds James of Eleanor and is ‘our song’. We asked our ceilidh band if they could play and sing it for us before the ceilidh so it had a folky twist to it. We were outside on the grass which felt really free and romantic. It was one of our favourite moments!
Favourite wedding suppliers
Photographer – https://martindabek.com/
Venue – Crowcombe Court, Taunton, Somerset. https://www.crowcombecourt.co.uk/
Time & Oath Wedding Videography – https://timeandoath.com/
Wedding Car – we went for a Morris Minor from – http://www.carrestorationuk.co.uk/
Dress – https://www.mathildarose.co.uk/
Make-up – https://www.harrietgallon.com/
Hair – http://devonweddinghair.co.uk/
Cake – https://littlebuttercupcakery.co.uk/
Flowers – Suzy Simmonds from Blooming Divine
Ice Cream Van – https://www.facebook.com/somersetices.uk/
Stationery – https://www.mountstreetprinters.com/
Save the Dates & Invitations – https://www.instagram.com/josekeals/
Illustrations & Calligraphy – https://www.instagram.com/helenmayink/
Ceilidh band – http://www.antlerceilidh.com/
