Inside: A Beautiful Wedding At Babington House

The Story So Far

It was a modern day romance: meeting on a dating app, then an after work drink in Covent Garden on a Thursday evening. We were headed to Gordon’s Wine Bar, however somehow ended up at Dirty Martini! Things must have gone well, as Tom proposed a year and a half later on holiday in Portugal.

He chartered a boat in the Algarve for a sunset cruise, and proposed as the sun went down with an oval diamond set on a yellow gold band. The champagne was popped and we swam in the sea, before a chef prepared a dinner onboard. Such an amazing evening, but I was too excited and overwhelmed to eat anything at all!

The Venue

We got married at Babington House near Bath, where my family is from. We had my 30th birthday there the year prior and they did it so well— so we thought it would be the perfect place for a wedding.

The beauty of Babington House is that you hire the whole place out and it sleeps almost everyone, meaning the party never has to stop. The night before, we hosted a BBQ dinner for our bridal party to welcome them.

On the wedding day, we got married on the Croquet Lawn at 4pm, followed by dinner and dancing until the early hours. The day after, we enjoyed a relaxing brunch to see our guests off, followed by time by the pool and spa.

The Fashion

For my wedding dress, I wore the Bussotti by Suzanne Neville, which was the second dress I ever tried on. I fell in love instantly with how classic it was, yet still chic and modern. They stitched our initials and date inside the dress in a blue thread, which was my “something blue”.

Tom wore a bespoke dinner suit by Richard James and a white Marcella dinner shirt from Turnbull & Asser. His suit was a midnight blue wool and mohair blend, with a black shawl lapel. For our shoes, I wore cream Manolo Blahniks (a nod to my favourite tv show!) and Tom wore Loake Oxfords.

The night before, I wore a long white dress by Rotate Birger Christensen, with a Cult Gaia clutch and shoes, and for the after party, I changed into a Clio Peppiatt embellished mini dress, perfect for the dance floor! Finally, for brunch, I was in a Posse white linen set for a more casual vibe.

The Jewellery

On the day of the wedding, Tom sent his best man to deliver a pair of Dior pearl and diamond earrings. I also wore a Cartier ring and Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet which were 30th birthday presents.

Tom’s dress studs were mother-of-pearl from Asprey, which were his grandfather’s from the early 1900s. For our wedding bands, we chose matching gold bands from Tiffany & Co. engraved with our initials and wedding date.

Transportation

Tom is very much into his classic cars, so we hired a Morgan Plus 4 in racing green. After the ceremony, we jumped in it for a quick spin to have a few minutes to ourselves before the champagne reception. It was also the perfect prop for photos, and looked absolutely stunning outside of Babington House!

The Tablescape

Peonies are my favourite flower, so we were very lucky that they were in season when we had our wedding! Flowers by Passion put the bouquets together perfectly. We had white and light pink peonies and roses on the tables, with long ivory candle sticks. The menus were beautifully illustrated by the Bath-based stationary brand dot the i Atelier.

Food & Drinks

Babington House serves their food family-style; for our starter we served cured trout, buffalo mozzarella and prosciutto with melon and feta. For the main course, we had rib of beef with duck-fat potatoes, spinach & ricotta ravioli and sea bass. For pudding, it was Eton mess and English cheeses. A house favourite— we had picantés aplenty, champagne and wine. It was all absolutely delicious.

The Entertainment

We had ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ playing by string quartet when I walked down the aisle. During dinner, The Travelling Hands performed— who were amazing, and really got the party started. When everyone is up dancing before their main course, you know the band is something special!

They finished with a mash up of Angels & Hey Jude, which took us through to the afterparty where the DJ played until the early hours.

Beauty Regime & Wellness

The bridal party had our makeup done by Keeley Wilson, who was incredible and a big support all day. Hairdresser Jess Sargeant did beautiful soft waves for the bridesmaids.

The Honeymoon

We travelled to Capri right after the wedding for our mini-moon to drink wine, eat pasta and enjoy the beach clubs, and we are planning a bigger trip to the Maldives in November for our honeymoon.

Advice

-If you will be on grass, wear a block heel not a stiletto, as you can easily start to sink!

-Be organised and keep a spreadsheet of all guests and their details, the different suppliers and dates when invoices need to be paid. It can feel so overwhelming so it is best to be as on top of it as possible.

-Make sure to spend time with your new husband or wife on the day! Often you are pulled in different directions, so make sure you stick together or sneak off for quiet moments.