Inside: Portia Freeman's Vibrant Coastal Wedding at The Pig

Hi everyone, my name is Portia Freeman, I’m married to Pete Denton, our friends call us ‘P&P’. I call Pete ‘Pedro’ and he calls me ‘Babe’ (never Portia… If he calls me by my actual name then I’m in trouble about something!) We’ve been together for nearly 14 years, we got married on our 10th anniversary, we live in North London with our two sons and fur baby pooch. We met when I was 19 years old, Pete had seen me in his best mates look book (she was a designer at the time), Pete told her he fancied me and asked if she could introduce us. Technically mail order vibes, but we’ll say it was a blind date. Pete offered me the sun, moon and stars the first night we met and straight away, I knew he was a very special human. I was a model at the time and he was a musician rolling around London and the rest of the world, we both had very similar lifestyles and eventually moulded into one another and became inseparable. He’d be in tour, I’d fly out to be with him. I’d be doing fashion week in Milan, Paris or New York and he’d pack his guitar and be by my side. We fell hard in love and hosted our wedding at The Pig On The Beach in Dorset.

The best part of our day was….

The 15 minutes we stole to be alone together. I can’t remember who gave me that advice but it was so so gorgeous to hide in a snug at the hotel when no one else knew where we were. We just drank each other up in our wedding getup whilst sipping on a bottle of Hambledon sparkling wine. That wine will forever hold the magical flavour of our day. We kissed, wept, held each others trembling hands and we were just in total awe of each other, head over heels. I wish we could do it all over again.

We choose to get married at…

The Pig on The Beach in Studland because it truly swept us off our feet. We had originally planned to get married at The Pig near Bath but Robin (owner and mastermind of The Pig hotels) suggested that we visited each venue as they all sparkle with their individual charm. The minute we pulled up at The Pig On The Beach, I saw its the muted yellow main house and started crying. I knew it was the beginning of many memories to come. We didn’t visit the other hotels after that. With the garden stretching over to fields of sheep and views of Old Harry’s Rocks, our summer time wedding date was going to be perfect here. The setting, the food and the staff made us fall head over heels in love. The staff really became family to us during the planning of our wedding and that’s something we greatly appreciated.

I knew I found ‘The One’ when….

One of my bridesmaids pointed the dress out and I wasn’t sold on it but when I tried it on, sweet lord I knew straight away! The long lace sleeves, high neck, super structured waistline, I was hooked, lined and well and truly besotted with my dress. I made sure that I kept bridal boutiques to a minimum of 3 visits as I didn’t want to confuse myself and I always asked my most brutally honest mates to come along with me.

The most enjoyable moments of planning were…

Absolutely all of it to be honest. It all flies by in such a flash, I wish I could do it again. Heading to our venue to design the food and drink menu was incredible, and being able to have creative input with the whole setup of our wedding weekend was a dream.

The hardest part of planning was…

Pete being away on tour so much. He would help me plan from all over the world and we’d always come to an agreeable decision but not having him close was sometimes hard, that and needing to move our legal wedding ceremony to up North (where Pete’s from) so his dear step dad could be there to see us get married. He very sadly passed away 3 months after our big day but the fact he made it to both ceremonies really was a dream come true for us all.

The best accounts to follow on Instagram for big-day inspo are…

The Wedding Edition obviously! At the time, I mainly used the explore page on Instagram.

My top three tips for any couple would be…

To remember that this day is over in a heartbeat so enjoy every second of the planning. To only invite guests you and your partner want there, this is your day, don’t let others shade it. Don’t over complicate things, stick to a check list and prioritise. Things which don’t work out for whatever reason simply aren’t meant to be.

One more tip… only work with suppliers who are kind and have gorgeous energy. These people will be working with you all along the way – remember that.