Join The Wedding Edition as we sit down with NHS nurse Flora Thomas and discover the quintessentially English details of her wedding celebration with her husband Sam.
The Story So Far
It wasn’t quite the romantic countryside meet that led Sam and I together. Despite Sam being from Wiltshire, and myself from Somerset, it was at The Prince Albert in Battersea, courtesy of Hinge that we first met in December 2019. The events of March 2020 somewhat accelerated the relationship with Sam cycling the plus 100 miles from Wiltshire to London to move in with me, where I had to be with work as a nurse in the NHS. Fast forward to May 2023, Sam proposed on our favourite beach in Devon, Hope Cove. Champagne was generously sipped, family and close friends informed and Sam later told me we would be celebrating in style by checking in at The Pig at Harlyn Bay. My engagement ring is from the Devon based jewellery designer Victoria Maloney. I had been obsessed with all her pieces and along with input from Sam, they created a bespoke Oval Diamond Trilogy. Utter magic.
The Venue
We spent our wedding weekend at Cothelstone Manor, which is a grade II* listed, Elizabethan house located on the Quantocks in Somerset. The Manor is situated on a 2000-acre estate owned by a school friend and it has only recently been renovated to the most stunning of standards. When Sam and I looked around it, it was in the midst of being a complete building site but knowing Hermione’s vision, I knew it would be perfect. The detail is just immaculate and it feels like utter luxury. Suffice to say, we were very ready to be Lord and Lady of The Manor for the weekend. We spent Friday night hosting the bridal party and close family with champagne drinks in the walled garden of The Manor.
On the Sunday, we hosted a Bride vs Groom cricket match on the lawns. We served aperol spritz and rosé and put on a mid-game hog roast by the wonderful Pynes of Somerset butchers. A lovely school friend captured the day wonderfully, with The Manor proving the best backdrop for a quintessentially English afternoon. Following our church ceremony, the wedding reception happened down at the ‘hidden lake’ which is a short walk from The Manor. It consists of a marquee along the lakes edge, and, as the name alludes, only breath-taking Somerset countryside can be seen, and a few swans which are lucky enough to call it home. My husband gave the task of creating a floating green to our MC for the day which proved a great hit with all guests during the reception drinks. It’s amazing how a couple of blow-up air mattresses, some Astroturf and biodegradable golf balls can keep so many guests entertained – and the swans remained untouched!
The Fashion
My beautiful dress was the first dress I tried on in the second shop I visited. My twin sister and I visited Gillian Million, on the recommendation of a friend who got married earlier this summer too. I loved that I felt myself in the dress and it was so simple, yet felt sophisticated and elegant. My wedding shoes were a present from my Godmother – beautifully classic, elegant and a little different with the ‘pop’ of the pearls, they were from LK Bennet. I lasted all night in them and didn’t take them off until gone midnight. I decided to have a second dress, almost to ensure everyone saw my beautiful shoes!! I fell in love with a short number from Revolve. A simple halter neck, loose and feathers adorning the bottom – what’s not to fall in love with! Sam went to McCann Bespoke London for his bespoke tails and loved the experience with Neil. He paired his suit with a Sirplus light blue peak lapel double breasted waistcoat.
The Jewellery
Without a doubt, one of the highlights of the wedding day, was being surprised at the alter no less, when the best man, my now brother-in-law Ollie, revealed another Victoria Maloney ring. This time, the utterly elegant diamond eternity ring. Until this moment, I was under the impression he had collected some wedding bands from a jewellers in Wiltshire! I’ll forgive my husband for starting married life with a little white lie! I was utterly surprised and it was such a special moment at the alter. I kept my jewellery on the day very simple. My twin sister, who had got married 6 weeks earlier, had given me some Missoma earrings as Maid of Honour which I then wore on my own Wedding Day. I also wore my late-mothers sapphire eternity ring which was my ‘something blue’.
The Bridal Party
On the morning of the wedding day, bridesmaids wore matching pyjamas and I wore a super cute matching set from Rixo which had been gifted to me on my Hen Do. For the wedding, bridesmaids wore a beautiful linen scalloped midi dress, in a French blue, from Abercrombie & Fitch. They looked stunning. This tied in nicely with the ushers who wore tails and blue waistcoats.
Transportation
Our wedding car was a fabulous defender which we had decorated with a simple ribbon and loaded the milk churns in the boot for the journey from the church to the reception. My beautiful bridesmaids travelled in style in one of their Dads Morris 8 Series E Tourer which was first registered in 1939! She was slightly nervous heading up into the Quantock hills with 5 of them in it, but it looked perfect alongside the defender too.
The Tablescape
I had always envisioned trestle tables from the moment we saw the marquee. We had three long tables, each named after cricket grounds, a nod to my husbands love of the game. My brother lovingly wrote our table plans on cricket bats for us and I was so happy with the final result! A dear friend, Elise, did all of our wedding stationary, from wedding invitations, to place cards, the order of services, menus and order of the day. The matching artwork, along with the flowers that adorned the tables looked so beautiful together. We had an array of bud vases and the most stunning centrepieces, which had doubled up as flowers in the church. These were beautifully arranged by my Mama’s dear friends, aka The Flower Fairies. The vision was more than I could have ever imagined. Our amazing florist, The English Florist, had done the most spectacular milk churns, pedestal and a statement floral hoop which hung above the round wooden bar in the marquee. My mother-in-law decorated the wooden jetty with some soft-ruscus which proved a beautiful backdrop to the best man speech which was done on the jetty. She had also curated a wooden frame of some photos of our relationship to date which was a great-talking spot next to the bar. Maria, our photographer, encapsulated not only the beauty of the marquee, but the entire day ensuring we have memories to last a lifetime. She worked alongside Andy, our videographer, who together made Sam and I feel so at ease in front of the lens and we had been SO excited to see the finished results.
Food & Drinks
We chose Posh Nosh as our caterers, which are a Devon based caterers. They were absolutely FAB from start to finish. We opted for a plated starter of either a pulled pork scotch egg or a burrata and peach salad. This was followed by sharing style main courses which included honey & maple glazed shoulder of pork, West Country topside of beef and whole fillet of salmon which were accompanied by fresh, seasonal salads. My extremely talented cousin, and bridesmaid, made our incredible wedding cake which consisted of a chocolate and peanut butter base, red velvet for the middle tier and topped with coffee cake. It was served as pudding and was absolutely delicious! We served champagne and aperol spritz for our drinks reception, followed by a choice of red, rosé and white wine for the meal. To ensure that everyone had enough stamina for dancing the night away, we had a late night delivery of individually packed pasties from The Pasty Boys to keep everyone going!
Entertainment
I walked into the church to the ‘Wedding Processional’ from The Sound of Music which my mother had walked into in 1987. During the signing of the register, family friend Katie Melua sang her song ‘Wonderful Life’. It was truly breathtakingly beautiful and you could have heard a pin drop – a real ‘pinch-me’ moment. We walked out to ‘Toccata’ from Symphony No.5, by Widor. My brother, Will, wrote and read a fantastic poem during the ceremony which encapsulated our relationship and was named after our cat, Jonny. It was so personal and meant a lot to the both of us.
For the evening party, we had Railroad Kin from Entertainment Nation who were a 5-piece acoustic folk-style band. Our first dance was ‘Sit Down’ by James which the band played live. What a choice! They had everyone on the dance floor playing music to suit all generations of guests and the dance floor was packed the entire evening! We opted for their ‘DJ and Sax Dance Set’ too which was an extra highlight.Â
Favourite Wedding Gifts
We had great fun curating a list with The Wedding Shop with lots of lovely home items we would love for our future home. We were kindly treated to a lovely meal in Corfu by my siblings and in-laws, where we honeymooned, where we were transferred to the restaurant via private speedboat which felt very James Bond-esque!
The Honeymoon
We went to Corfu for 6 nights after the wedding which was a tonic in providing time for reflection and reminiscing on what had been a fabulous wedding weekend! As my husband is based in New York for work, we are planning a New England road trip for later in the year to elongate the honeymoon period.
With Thanks To:
Bride / Groom: – Sam Thomas @samjamesatd & Flora Thomas @floraathomas10
Venue: Cothelstone Manor @cothelstonemanor and Hidden Lake Weddings @hiddenlakeweddings
Caterer: Posh Nosh @poshnoshdevon
Dress: Gillian Million @gillianmillion
Evening Dress: Revolve @revolve
Bridesmaids: Abercrombie & Fitch @abercrombie
Groom outfit: McCann Bespoke London @mccannbespokelondon Waistcoat: Sirplus @sirplus
Florist: Oonagh Langrishe-Vernon – The English Florist @theenglishflorist
Tableware: Napkins from @theknottednapkinco and candles from SØstrene Grene @sostrenegrene
Stationery: Elise Hammond @eliserose_illustrates
Photographer: Maria Madison Photography @mariamadisonphotography
Videographer: Andy from Union Video @unionvideo
Wedding rings: Victoria Maloney @victoria_maloney
Makeup: Laura Le Page @lauralepagemakeup
Hair: Hair by Hannah @hairbyhannahuk
Gift list: The Wedding Shop @theweddingshopuk
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