Sisters were doing it for themselves when Laura, 29, met Tim at a mutual friend’s wedding. “As cheesy as it sounds, when I saw Tim enter the room it was like everybody else melted away. Later on my sister and I got speaking to Tim, 29, but I was worried that my sister was getting on ‘too’ well with him, so I muscled in! By the end of the evening, we exchanged numbers and the rest is history.”

Two years later, Tim popped the question, on the day he and Laura picked up the keys to their first home. “We raised a glass of champagne to toast our new house and Tim pulled the ring out of his pocket. It was a total shock – we’d intended to start cleaning, but scrapped that idea and arranged a last-minute engagement party.”

Photographer: Polly Alexandre (alexandreweddings.com)

Laura’s chiffon and lace gown was made by Pronovias (pronovias.com). “The dress had an amazing train, which looked stunning in the church, as well as beautiful beaded flowers and scalloped edges. Yes, I did cry when I tried it on,” reveals Laura. Tim looked equally charming in a hired morning suit from Moss Bros (mossbros.co.uk).

Laura treated herself to not one, but two pairs of shoes - pink Gina heels for the day (“I snapped them up for a bargain £89 from eBay”) and lower-heeled dancing shoes from BHS (bhs.co.uk).

The bridesmaids donned pastel dresses from New Look (newlook.co.uk), with cute polka dot details and flowers in their hair…

…while the flower girl dresses were made from extra adult bridesmaid dresses. Who would know?

Tim and Laura had always wanted to have “a traditional wedding in a truly English style” so decided to say their vows in Kent, where Laura is from. “My mum and I travelled around many venues in Kent, however when we saw St Augustine’s Priory (bilsingtonprioryestate.co.uk), we immediately fell in love with the building, gardens and countryside views.”

To further celebrate the garden of England, the couple named their tables after Kentish villages, such as Hearts Delight. They also created a table plan based on a map of Kent, putting pins into villages and tying them with ribbons to the lists of guests sat at each table.

Laura and Tim lined the path to the church with bamboo sticks and ribbons, and decorated the church with flowers and baskets accented with lace, pearls and silk flowers.

They created stickers for confetti boxes that said ‘Sprinkle with love’ and hung homemade twig hearts at the end of each pew. Solar fairy lights, glass lanterns and church candles lit up the reception in the evening.

The reception was also decorated with a wide array of blooms (Florist: Victoria Clarke, 01233 662043), including roses, snowberries, stocks and sweetpeas. Flowers were attached to the place names of female guests, while flower-filled vintage vases adorned tables. “I had lots of tear sheets of the kind of flowers I liked. I used them to show my florist what I wanted and was very pleased with the results.”

Laura’s aunt added a personal touch to the wedding by making 100 white rose buttonholes for guests on the morning of the wedding.

After the ceremony, Laura and Tim’s guests enjoyed a drinks reception on the lawn (“The sunshine made everything sparkle”) followed by a feast that included canapes, parma ham with fresh figs and mozzarella, roast crown of chicken with tarragon butter, a lemon and lime tart and a cheese selection (Emson Brothers Catering Service: 07711 385650). Guests sampled more of the flavour of Kent when a spit-roasted Kentish lamb was served in the evening.

Between bites, guests filled the dancefloor, letting their hair down to both a singer and a DJ. At the end of the night, a Routemaster bus picked guests up from the reception. “We were told the final leg of the journey became a party bus!” says Laura.

Photographer: Polly Alexandre (alexandreweddings.com)

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