We love an elegant affair here at Love My Dress and today’s wedding has understated glamour in spades. Ice blue hues mingle with silvery tones with gorgeous Friars Court in Clanfield as a stunning country backdrop. Meet Lydia, a student teacher and big Love My Dress fan and her new husband Alex, a corporate banker. Their wedding took place on the 4th of June 2016 at St Mary the Virgin in Bampton with their reception following at the aforementioned Friars Court. As a working farm, they took full advantage of the surrounding fields and I absolutely love the candid portraits of the couple by our photographer and Little Book For Brides member,  Ruth Atkinson.“When we first visited Friars Court, we fell in love with the beautiful gardens, tucked away in the surroundings of the working farm. We could really imagine our wedding being there, in a way we hadn’t yet been able to at other venues we had visited. It provided the perfect setting for the classic, English country garden wedding we had in mind and Jeffrey Cleaver who is responsible for all things wedding at Friars Court was really good to us. His practical advice and hands on help were invaluable to us.”

I absolutely love her sparkly Rainbow Club courts peeking out from under the dress and with a long tulle veil and a gorgeous crystal band in her hair, Lydia is the perfect bride.

Bride Lydia is radiant in her gorgeous lace kick flare dress by Nicki Flynn from Caroline Jane Couture.“The dress immediately stood out to me as being really unique. I loved the vintage effect achieved by the cobweb lace, and the embroidered detail, not to mention the halter neck. I was also really taken by the wool ivory colour, and the amazing train.”

“Pretty much everything about it grabbed my attention. The silvery hue of my dress was the inspiration for the silver/ivory colour theme and initiated the desire to achieve an understated sense of glamour.”

Lydia’s bridesmaids are wearing one of my favourite colours, a stunning silvery ice blue. Their Coast dresses are accessorised with a few sprigs of gypsophila in their hair and delicate silver jewellery from Amazon.“A family friend, Fiona, does flower arranging for a hobby. She was kind enough to take on our wedding, and with the help of a couple of friends, did an expert job. I wanted a really leafy waterfall bouquet. I opted for lots of eucalyptus due to the silvery shimmer of the leaves, and one of my favourite features was the blue thistle, which tied in with the blue of the groomsmen’s cravats, and added a splash of colour. The ivory roses and gypsophila softened the overall look.”