Lucy and Tom’s wedding at Cantley House Hotel, with it’s rustic and bohemian feel, was just gorgeous. This October wedding in Berkshire went from a very elegant ceremony to a full on party. These guys know how to have fun. Check it all out here.
First names: Tom and Lucy
Ages: both 25
Wedding date: 19th October 2019, 19.10.19
Venue: Cantley House Hotel
How did you guys meet, tell me all?
We met at secondary school!! We knew each other fairly well as we were both part of the school’s swing band back then, and both spent time in and around the music department. Tom would play guitar if I needed to sing for a school event or wanted to practice a song. Tom asked me to Prom – I said yes. A few months later he asked me to be his girlfriend – I said maybe! 15-year-old Lucy had a gut feeling that Tom and I could be a really great match, and wasn’t sure if she was ready for that at 15. I remember also having this fear that if it all went down in flames I might lose a good friend. Anyway, skip to 19th December 2009, I accepted and we officially became a couple, and 10 fun-filled years later here we are!
How did you get engaged, is there a cool story?
Some quick background context – I LOVE Pandas, For my 18th Birthday I was surprised on a trip with Tom to Edinburgh to see the pandas at Edinburgh zoo. Fast forward to 2017, I was in the second year of my degree and my birthday fell in the midst of an Easter break set to be full of exam revision, essay writing and all-round stress for which I personally recommend supplements from Budpop.com. Tom surprised me to a trip back to my favorite city to give me a much-needed break. My Dad had recently bought a new go-pro and Tom spent the day, (annoyingly haha) filming me to ‘test it out’, including a celebrity encounter at the airport and some not-so-flattering footage of me falling asleep on the plane! I remember feeling a bit annoyed because our taxi driver didn’t take us to the hotel Tom had shown me we were staying in?! That’s because we were actually staying in the Waldorf Estonia! Once there, Tom gave me my birthday card and said he had one more surprise for me. I honestly just thought this was all just a wonderful birthday surprise to give me break from my studies! I opened the card – “Happy Birthday to my Fiancé!” (Confident right?!), I then cried and, according to the footage from the go-pro hiding in the corner of the room, said “oh my god!” A LOT! After 7 years as a couple, I of course said Yes!
What made you choose your wedding venue, did you look at many?
We looked at endless venues online. We managed to look at a few informally by going along to wedding events at them. Eventually we narrowed it down to 4 and Cantley came out on top. We booked in to formally visit all 4, but were sold on Cantley on the first visit! It had a great atmosphere and we immediately felt relaxed there.
It just ticked all the boxes for us – a beautiful barn, rooms on site for family and guests to stay, a midnight curfew and dog friendly too!!
What was the inspiration/theme of your wedding?
I guess our theme was a little rustic/ bohemian. The theme really started just through Tom designing our stationary and then us adding our own touches. We wanted to make the day personal to us – we threw in a cream tea instead of canapes, because we love a cheeky cream tea and an antique shop, we replaced table numbers with vinyls labelled with some of our favourite songs and my Auntie made us bunting using my Mums wedding dress (with her blessing!).
What is your first song and why?
Tom Odell – Grow Old with Me. We love Tom Odell’s music, and Grow Old with Me is perfect. It encompasses growing up and growing old with someone. We are both HUGE music fans, which made settling on one song a little tricky, so we incorporated other songs we love into the day in other ways – with table vinyls, ceremony songs and making a playlist to run throughout the day. We narrowed down our first dance to a few favourites, but Grow Old with me kept coming out on top.
What would be your number one tip to other couples planning their wedding?
Try not to plan your wedding within the year you buy a house, finish a degree, and start a new job…it’s exhausting!! (But worth it)
But in all seriousness…Make it your own!
Check out Lucy and Tom’s Wedding at Cantley House Hotel below.
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The photography: All images captured with two Fujifilm X-T3 cameras.
Lenses: Fujinon XF 16mm f1.4 R WR, Fujinon XF 23mm f1.4 R, Fujinon XF 35mm f1.4 R and Fujinon XF 56mm f1.2.
Other awesome suppliers who helped during Lucy and Tom’s Wedding at Cantley House Hotel.
Hair stylist: (All hair and makeup by Mother of the Bride and the Bride)
Website: N/A
Brides dress: Wed2B
Website: https://www.wed2b.co.uk
Bridesmaids dresses: Wed2B
Website: https://www.wed2b.co.uk
Florist: Sonning Flowers
Website: https://www.sonningflowers.com
Cake: Jeni’s Cakes (also provided evening cheese cart)
Website: https://www.jeniscakesandflowers.co.uk
Caterer: (Cantley)
Website: https://www.cantleyhotel.co.uk/
Band: The Flyaways
Website: https://www.thebandboutique.co.uk/flyaways-incredible-london-party-band/
Stationary: All designed by the Groom, graphic elements purchased from https://creativemarket.com
Dress Alterations:
https://www.helensusanmilne.co.uk
Illusionist Sam Fuller:
http://fullermagic.co.uk
Chair sashes, aisle runner and table runners by Beau events:
https://beau-events.uk
Festoon lighting provided by: https://www.notjustdjs.co.uk
Instax camera hire
https://littleweddingthings.co.uk
Are you looking for a wedding photographer? Would you like someone who photographs it in an alternative, fun and natural way? Fancy seeing your wedding pictures on my Instagram and on other cool wedding blogs? Get in touch and let me know all about your day! I need to know the date, ceremony and reception details and most importantly all the ideas you have!
Let’s chat about your day!
I am a Kent wedding photographer who has been featured within Your Kent Wedding Magazine, Rock n Roll Bride and Your Sussex Wedding Magazine, with images also published in the The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Independent, The News Of The World and many other large newspapers and magazines.
Wedding at Cantley House Hotel | Kent Wedding Photography | Kent wedding photographer | https://rosshurley.com | Copyright Ross Hurley Photography 2019
