Emily + Matt by Emmylou Kelly - Together Journal

We wanted the decor and florals to be timeless and elegant but also have a slightly vintage inspiration to them.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

Both of us are from a little town, Shrewsbury in Shropshire, where we met as teenagers working together in 2015. We both worked in retail and, after a couple of years, began working more closely together on the rota. We both noticed very quickly how similar we were, noticeably with our common interests in music and travel and, most importantly, our similar sense of humour; I’d be laughing every time I spoke to Matt. We were
instantly attracted to each other, although I didn’t admit anything for another few years!

We moved in together quickly in 2020 after finally admitting this to each other and beginning to date, and the rest is history. We have two gorgeous puppies, Barney and Luna.

I am a bridal makeup artist and my husband Matt is a project manager. We both love to travel and explore new places together, especially anywhere with a beach and a cold glass of white wine!

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

After meeting at work, we finally decided to meet up outside of work for the first time. It was a snowy December night, and I remember feeling nervous. I knew there was something special there, so it was a big deal for us to take the ‘big’ step after not admitting our feelings for a few years. It was freezing, and a snowy evening at work turned into a long chat in the car until the early hours of the morning. We both didn’t realise the time, getting carried away chatting about anything and everything. We both agree that first night we met we knew this was it, we had both fallen for eachother. We both were so relaxed and at ease in each other’s company. I remember thinking he was so attractive and patient and had the best sense of humour!

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?

As we began to date, I quickly realised he ticked pretty much all the boxes. But, on our first staycation at King Street Townhouse, Matt decorated the room for me, took me for pizza and cocktails, and pulled out all the stops to do everything he knew I would love. He’s such a romantic at heart. Again we spent the whole night chatting in bars and it was as if we had known eachother in a different lifetime, it was definitely an instant connection that grew stronger, I knew he was the one for me.

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…

In 2022, we booked the Maldives for our holiday in May; I had a sneaky feeling after a few little hints from Matt that it might happen there. When we arrived on our little island, I had an overwhelming feeling it was going to happen. On Thursday, we spent the day snorkelling in the coral reefs on the edge of Fenfushi, and after a quick trip for a massage and spa bath experience over the beautiful water, Matt said he had a special dinner planned for me to get ready. I boarded a golf buggy to an overwater pavilion which was adorned with rose petals and candles. We barely spoke for the whole meal, as I think we both knew what was about to happen. True to us, we ate pizza and drank cocktails before Matt got down on one knee to Elvis Presley – Can’t help falling in love, and of course, the answer was always going to be yes!

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding.

Originally, we had looked at getting married abroad. I flew to Ibiza to look at some potential venues with my mum, but none of them felt like they captured ‘us’ perfectly. We explored the idea of Italy and Greece, but both agreed that if we were going to have a wedding, we wanted all our family and friends there, as that was important to us, and we could celebrate with loved ones. My dream wedding was always abroad, so I knew looking in the UK, it would have to be a special venue. I worked hundreds of weddings each year and knew I wanted something different that felt like an elopement but with our closest family and friends there. I came across Middleton Lodge through researching and it felt so European, it had similar style to some of the venues I was looking at in Italy. We went to visit and agreed it just felt magical, so we booked it that week. I love flowers, and the walled gardens pulled at our hearts; I instantly pictured our ceremony outside beside the huge arched doors, and luckily, we had a gloriously sunny day! We wanted the decor and florals to be timeless and elegant but also have a slightly vintage inspiration to them, and between our vintage style cake, my bouquet adorned with my favourite flowers, peonies and white wild style flowers everywhere, I feel we captured an elegant spring wedding perfectly.

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?

Photography. I saw Emmylou on Instagram and knew she was the photographer for us straight away, so much so that I held off booking the venue until I knew she was free for our date. I found her photography so inspiring; it resonated with my love of fine art and attention to detail. It was delicate, yet as she shoots hybrid with film, this was the timeless and nostalgic feel I desperately wanted. There’s something so beautiful about it, and I love looking back at family photos from years back on film. I can picture our families doing the same with our wedding. She delivered all my expectations with the photos and more; they were so beautiful! We also decided to go big with the flowers. Being so beautiful at the fig house at Middleton, I didn’t want to crowd the beauty of the venue and gardens with anything too much, but really wanted to add the day with big statement floral pillars, and delicate wildflower arrangements elsewhere, it was so worth it. I remember walking around the smell of the gorgeous flowers everywhere- it looked so beautiful, and Edwina captured my vision perfectly!

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?

The morning was pretty stressful; I’d planned everything perfectly and was so organised, but the night before, we both spent with the boys/girls and had a great time getting excited for the big day and having a good catch-up with everyone. The next morning, we had to move over to the bridal cottage, and in the haste, we misplaced pretty much everything I needed except the dress. Once I saw my dad, he passed me a much-needed glass of champagne, which settled my nerves and did the trick. We laugh now about how his role on the morning of my wedding was serving champagne to the girls! My sister also then gave me her present, a gorgeous bouquet ribbon with my late grandparent’s handwriting on it. She had traced from various cards to me over the years to make a sentimental message from them all and embroidered this on. I was in floods of tears right after getting ready, but I managed to salvage the makeup moments before!

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?

I knew I wanted something chic and plain; I didn’t want to get too caught up in bridal trends, and working in the industry, it’s hard not to be swayed when gowns are becoming more unique and beautiful. I’d always envisioned something really classic and a statement for almost being so plain. I definitely took inspiration from destination weddings and fell in love with the Georgia gown with a beautiful low back, which I felt made it more modern. Matt absolutely loved the dress which I was so happy about, it was just so me as I tend to stick to timeless fashion in general. I paired the dress with Jimmy Choo Azia’s as I knew I wanted some gorgeous shoes but also wanted to wear them again and again. I ended up changing my outfit to feel more comfortable in the evening and changing my shoes, too, and I loved having two looks. The two pairs of shoes weren’t planned. However, for our elopement legal wedding at Old Marylebone town hall earlier in the week, I struggled to find a dress I loved that wasn’t too similar to my wedding day. I couldn’t find one after years of searching, so I bought my dream pair of ivory satin glitzy wedding shoes instead! I’m so glad I got to wear them on the main wedding day, too. I love how they sparkle in all the photos, but we’re filthy by the end of the night!

Matt wore a custom Moss Bros tuxedo. He had always wanted his James Bond moment and loved wearing one at his dad’s wedding, Christmas 2022. He also wanted a timeless look that wouldn’t date and to wear something more ‘special and classic’ on the wedding day.