Chloe and Nathan are from the east end of London and married at the Larmer Tree Gardens in Dorset - a stunning place with peacocks running around all over the place!

Theirs was a wedding full of east-end charm with a sprinkling of festival chic thrown in which suited the outdoor venue perfectly. Everyone danced on the lawn and sang into the night when very a very special and super secret guest arrived... Stevie Wonder!

Ok, so it wasn't the real Stevie Wonder, but as the night bounced on and The Larmer Tree Gardens became the Glastonbury Festival for one special evening I'm not sure anyone even noticed...

Chloe The Bride: It was very important to us that we found the perfect wedding venue. We have been to a lot of wonderful weddings in the past and no doubt will go to many more, but what we wanted something unique that we hadn't experienced yet. I always thought I would get married in a gorgeous rustic Chateau in France, however when it came to planning it, the logistic didn't work out. So, my next thought was either a grand manor house or a converted barn in the countryside.

Larmer Tree Gardens was exquisite. It was perfect. Eleven acres of beautiful English gardens with a wonderful history behind it. An originally owned Victorian "pleasure garden" used to entertain guests in the 1800's which includes an outdoor a Roman Temple, a Singing Theatre, a Pavillion, and numerous follies, along with acres of stunning greenery which created an idyllic Alice In Wonderland magic. As we reached the entrance we were greeted by several peacocks and the most beautifully well-maintained gardens, and of course Gail, the worlds most incredible wedding planner.

I'm a romantic. I'm in love with 1920's, 30's, 40's and 50's glamour, music and fashion, so whenever possible like to incorporated those eras into my style and my wedding day was the most perfect opportunity. I think it's very important to keep "your" look on the most special day of your life, as I wouldn't want to back at photos in years to come and say "that doesn't look anything like me!"
I had a make up and hair trial a few months before the big day, but wasn't happy with either of them, so made the decision to do my own hair and make up with the help of my sister and Maid of Honour.

Due to my figure I knew I wouldn't be able to wear one of the slinky 'Kate Moss Style'/Jenny Packham dresses that I had my heart set on, so pretty quickly learned to rule them out. It's the one day in my life that I wanted to look my most elegant, so I knew I wanted a high neck, low back and long sleeves. I tried on a lot of dresses before I realised that finding something that I deemed perfect and that would suit my shape wasn't going to happen so decided that I would find a dress maker and design a dress that was "me". That's when Patricia from Bridal Design Studio came to my rescue. Once the head wedding dressmaker at Harrod's, Patricia has lot of experience in making dresses that are nothing more than exquisite.

Nathan wore a gorgeous blue three piece suit from Hugo Boss with a navy blue and white polka dot tie and matching pocket square, with brown Dune shoes.

I wanted my shoes to be my something blue and I found a gorgeous pair of blue suede Mui Mui in the January sales. My sister-in-law gave me a gift from Nathan on the morning of the wedding, a beautiful pair of art deco style tear drop diamond earring which were perfect. I also wore my sisters Tiffany pearl bracelet and added my great nan's brooch to my bouquet so that she was with me on the day. For the bridesmaids I chose a lilac silk maxi dress with gold button detail from Ducie, a designer based in Notting Hill. Our groomsmen wore navy blue suits from Marks & Spencer with silver polka dot ties and pocket squares.

We found the most beautiful flourist in Shaftesbury called Wild Paeony. It is such an incredible, enchanting shop. Every time I went there I never wanted to leave. I knew I wanted a delicate vintage look to the tables, so went for peonies, memory lane roses, white Avalanche roses with purple thistle and greenery. We decided on having a few small vessels and vintage tea cups per table, posies for the chairs down the aisle and a larger garland for certificate signing the table in the Roman temple. We had our ceremony outside and got married just inside the Roman Temple. It was a beautifully sunny day so we had the luxury of having the majority of our wedding outside. Our guests sat in rows of director's chairs either side of the aisle. The ceremony was beautiful. Birds were singing and peacocks were wondering around our guests.

Shortly after the first dance all of our guest were called outside to the Singing Theatre where we had a surprise in the form of a Stevie Wonder impersonator. We chose Stevie Wonder as Nathan and I go to Glastonbury Festival every year and we saw the real Stevie headline there in 2010. Everyone loved the surprise and we danced away while the sun went down.

We decided against a three course meal, instead we serve canapés to all of the guests along with prosecco, beer and Pimms straight the service. Neither Nathan or I are big cake lovers so we decided to incorporate our wedding cake into our dessert. My mum is well known for making the world's best carrot cake (secret recipe obviously) but for this special occasion gave it to the chefs who made it for our wedding breakfast. My husband and I then went round to each table to cut each cake, that way giving people the opportunity to take photos and giving us time to interact with our guests.

Our 'Save The Dates' were photo booth strips and our invitations were based upon Grindhouse blockbuster posters but in softer pastel colours. We wanted every part of our wedding to reflect who we were, so our tables were named after areas at the Glastonbury Festival as we have been going there together for the past 5 years. For uur place names we created beermats using a photo that our wonderful photographer James Melia took on our engagement shoot. We also made wrist bands for everyone to wear as part of the Stevie Wonder experience, making everyone feel like VIP's on the day.

Everything about the day was special. The whole day went without a hitch. The sun shone, our guests were happy and so were we. Walking down the aisle with my dad to my brother singing a very special song to us both and seeing my future husband waiting for me was magical. Speeches have always been my favourite part of a wedding, and ours were no exception. My advice when planning a wedding would be to take your time to make it your perfect day. Do your research. It doesn't matter how long it takes, it's your one special day so everything has to be perfect.

Our photographer, James Melia, was and still is one of my favourite things about our wedding. His incredible eye for detail and the way he captured us as a couple and individually was incredible. I'm so happy to have found him (I take personal credit) as without him I would not have been able to remember such beautiful moments from the best day of our lives. He comes HIGHLY recommended!

Photography by James Melia
Florist Wild Paeony | Dress Patricia at Bridal Design Studio (Eden Park, Kent) | Bridesmaid Dresses Dulcie | Venue Larmer tree Gardens