British Beauty Wedding
The green English gardens of Eastwell Manor were bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun as Caroline and Richard said "I do." Can you imagine anything more romantic? The bride truly amped up the drama with a cathedral length lace trimmed veil trailing behind her Reem Acra wedding dress. So gorgeous you will want to run out and buy one yourself! And as a nice change of pace, the groom will be sharing his thoughts on how the day went. We love our brides AND our grooms!
Joey Kennedy captured all of the grand moments at Richard and Caroline's British beauty wedding. You can see it all in the full gallery here. Plus, Richard breaks down the budget so don't hesitate to read on...
From the Groom:With families on more than two continents, when it came time for us to get married we knew we would be celebrating more than once. On June 9th, we celebrated our marriage in the UK. We were so happy that a number of our American friends were able to join us, Caroline's family and our friends flew in for the festivities. We were lucky to hold the service in Richard's (the groom) old childhood church in the beautiful village of Chartham, just a couple of miles outside of the cathedral city of Canterbury.The bride arrived wearing a Reem Acra dress and 'Debra Moreland Paris' long Alencon lace veil, in a vintage 1949 Rolls-Bentley Saloon, to the sound of a peel of bells being rung. The service was intimate and personal with Richard's dad officiating and members of both sides of the family taking part.
After the service we took the car a few miles to Eastwell Manor near Ashford, for the dinner and reception. We, along with guests enjoyed the incredible food and hospitality of the hotel, in a stunning and historic setting. We then spent the evening dancing and catching up with friends that many of us hadn't seen for a long time. We'd like to thank all the friends and family who made this special day possible, some by just being there others by helping us organize everything from 3,000 miles away. It is a day both of us will never forget and the photos captured the magical nature of the festivities.
I don't think there was anything we would have done differently. We had very trust-worthy friends and family in the UK who were able to be our representatives, and make sure that the decisions Caroline and myself had made on our initial visit to the UK a few months before were executed exactly how we originally intended.
Additionally all services we used in the UK were very good at keeping in touch directly with us via phone and email to make sure on our wedding day, we only had to worry about showing up. Special thanks to Oriel Stratford at Eastwell Manor who also helped us stay on task.
Read on to see how much this British beauty wedding cost. Please note that costs change as the years go by, and prices are subject to change. This is just one couple’s breakdown to give you a rough estimate on how much a wedding like this may cost you.
So for anyone considering doing the same kind of wedding and fearing that it would be a nightmare to arrange they shouldn't worry too much. Because of the distance we were probably more decisive with our decisions and second-guessed ourselves less.
Our total budget ended up being just under $22K (this doesn't including airfare, brides dress and veil, and wedding rings or the photographers expenses).
The venue (Eastwell Manor) plus catering and drinks $17,000
The Brides Bouquet & Reception Flowers $1,400
The Cake $500
Additional Reception Decorations $400
The harpist $600
DJ $1200
Car $400
Groom/Groomsmen Suits $500
- Cake & Desserts: Make Me Cake
- Coordinator: Oriel Stratford of Eastwell Manor
- DJ: Shades Events
- Floral Design: Linda's Flowers
- Groom's Attire: Youngs at Debenhams
- Hair & Makeup: Courtney Nicholson & Joey Kennedy
- Jewelry: Jenny Garrett McClaurin
- Photographer: Joey Kennedy Photography
- Prop or Furniture Rentals: Bows Bridal Boutique
- Veil or Hair Accessories: Debra Moreland Paris
- Venue, Caterer & Stationery: Eastwell Manor
- Wedding Dress: Reem Acra