I love the elegance of Sally and Jonathan's wedding day held on the 26 April 2014. They had a rustic feel tipi wedding, which was not only cosy and romantic but so very stylish.

Sally wore the most divine Charlie Brear dress and veil with Rachel Simpson shoes, which looked totally stunning. The maids looked chic in navy frocks and Jonathan donned a sharp suit from House of Fraser.

I love the atmosphere in the tipi; naked rustic tables were personalised with sweet toy cars and pretty blooms. Oh and be sure to keep an eye out for the amazing pork pie cake.

Huge thanks goes to the brilliant Kat Hill for providing these images today.

THE PROPOSAL | Jonathan took me to Verona and Venice on the weekend of our third anniversary. The surprise was slightly ruined when the receptionist explained he had upgraded us "because you are celebrating", but in some ways it took the pressure off and led to a beautiful proposal on the terrace of our hotel room.

THE VISION | Rustic spring tipi wedding with a touch of vintage.

THE PLANNING PROCESS | I woke Jonathan up at 3am on the night we got engaged to run through the guest list, so you could say I was on it from day 1. We had about 18 months between our engagement and the day of the wedding, but we did most of the work in the first couple of months. As a result the process wasn't too stressful and thanks to Jonathan's spread sheet, we were pretty organised!

THE VENUE | We had our ceremony at Holy Cross church in the tiny chocolate box Kent village of Goodnestone. The reception was about 50m up the lane in the grounds of Goodnestone Park Gardens, where Jane Austen used to spend her holidays. We set up tipis in the beautiful gardens for the evening meal and dancing and we used one of their out-buildings for our drinks reception.

THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES | My dress and veil were by Charlie Brear. My sash was handmade in the US and I ordered it on Etsy. It was a complete bargain. My shoes were Rachel Simpson and the most comfortable things in the world. My necklace is our only family heirloom (my great aunt's) and my sister wore it on her wedding day 6 years ago.

FINDING THE DRESS | I looked around a few bridal shops in London before finding my dress in Charlie Brear. To be honest I didn't really enjoy the hunt. I am not a massive shopper and it was very strange looking at yourself in the mirror so much. The dress I ended up wearing bears a passing resemblance to the one I bought, but I had an alterations company do quite a lot to it to make it into what I wanted. This involved taking it in significantly and adding sleeves.

The dress was the one big hesitation. I had originally wanted something that was comfortable and easy to dance in, but a few months before the wedding I panicked and wondered whether I'd missed out on my one chance to wear something more bridal i.e. a meringue. In the end I was pleased with my choice, it was so easy to wear and I could bust my moves on the dance floor to my heart's content, without tripping over miles of train.

GROOM'S ATTIRE | We spent a morning on Oxford Street suit shopping. After trying some more expensive shops, we found Jonathan's suit in House of Fraser (amazing changing rooms for girls to hang out in whilst the men get changed). We got his tie in the Reiss sale. Shoes and shirt were also from House of Fraser.

THE READINGS & MUSIC | We absolutely loved the church service and hearing everyone sing the hymns we chose with great gusto. We had Lord of All Hopefulness, I vow to the My Country and All Things Bright and Beautiful (which was my Grandpa's favourite hymn - he died last year and so it was great to be able to pay respect to him in this way). For our readings we had Song of Solomon and the lyrics to "In My Life" by The Beatles. Jonathan's mum is a music teacher so we asked her to sing for us whilst we signed the register. She went one better and wrote us a song, which she sang, whilst Jonathan's brother accompanied her on guitar.

BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS | I had three bridesmaids, my sister and my two good friends Dani and Bella. We chose dark blue Coast dresses and woolly wraps for the chilly April weather. My 18 month old niece, Hatty, was our flower girl and absolutely stole the show.

THE FLOWERS | Our flowers were done by the vicar's wife, Valerie. She has pretty good credentials, given she did the flowers for the inauguration of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Valerie listened to everything we said and whilst "chucking some flowers in a jam jar" went against all her sensitivities, she did it and they looked awesome. The flower arch over the church must have taken hours and it was spectacular.

THE CAKE | I am not really into cakes, or desserts on the whole, so I knew I didn't want to spend lots and lots on a traditional sponge or fruit cake. I started looking for alternatives and found an article in a wedding magazine about a pork pie wedding cake. We both LOVE pork pies, so the decision was made instantly. I contacted a butchers in the Midlands who sent out our three tiers, complete with pastry lettering, by courier. It was definitely a talking point and fed the guests for the evening buffet. I decorated it by painting two champagne corks as a little bride and groom.

YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER | Our photographer was the lovely and very talented Kat Hill. I used to work with Kat in her previous incarnation as a lawyer (sssh don't tell anyone, it will ruin her cred) and so we didn't really consider anyone else. Kat was brilliant. She was everywhere you needed her to be, without being intrusive, or over-bearing like some photographers can be. She also brought Yolande to second. This was great as we were able to capture both me and Jonathan getting ready. It also meant they could cover lots of different angles in the church. They were first rate and I'd definitely recommend them. The photos are beautiful and we about 40 of them in frames around our house.

THE DETAILS & DÉCOR | The church didn't require much decoration as it had such beautiful, ancient features. We let them speak for themselves and Valerie provided her beautiful flowers. My bridesmaid, Bella, handmade bunting for the room we used for the drinks reception, which went perfectly with the exposed brick and wood. We added a few jam jars of flowers and a table for cards complete with some very retro pictures of our parents getting married. The tipis we chose were so amazing, we didn't need to do too much to dress them. We opted for long tables and benches rather than round tables and chairs and we left the tables without cloths to go for a rustic look. We added bunting, paper chains, tea light holders from Ikea and jam jars with flowers. We also had a chill out tipi complete with a fire, couches and the bar, which was a great space for those taking a breather from the dance floor. We provided marshmallows and other sweets for people to roast on the fire which went down really well. Finally I have to mention our favours. Until his retirement recently my Dad worked in the toy industry. When we told him we were having a vintage Morris Minor for our wedding car he organised for us to have miniature scaled versions (with the correct number plate and interior) with our initials on as favours.

THE HONEYMOON | We met in East Africa whilst Jonathan was living and working with the Massai. He loves adventure and wildlife so I knew I wasn't going to get away with 2 weeks in the Maldives. We picked Borneo and split our time between the rainforest, where we trekked to find wild orang-utans, and an island where we snorkelled and I found time to fit in a bit of sunbathing. We spent 12 amazing days there in total.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS | The whole day was brilliant and we love looking at the photos to remind us of just how incredible it was. However, one highlight was the church service - it was so brilliant to have everyone singing so loudly just for us and the personal touches with the readings and song really made it.

We also loved our band, the Paramounts. We took a punt on them, having found them on a website and not heard them live, but it totally paid off. Space in the tipi was at a premium, so we could only fit a 3-piece in, but boy did they make some noise. They played everything from Stevie Wonder to Blink 182 and the dance floor was packed for every set.

ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES | Listen to your parents when they offer suggestions, and consider them. It's a massive day for them too and they want to be involved. We found it difficult to balance their expectations, whilst still making the day ours, but after each other, they are the most important people there, so it's important to try.

Don't try and do too much. You don't need a pre-party and an after-party and a photo booth and a sing-along video. All of those things are fun, but be realistic. The day goes so quickly and most people are there to see you and catch up with each other - anything extra is a bonus.

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE |

Car | Quirky Wedding Cars

Make Up | Lucy Jayne

Photography | Kat Hill

Tipis | Beautiful World Tents

Band | The Paramounts

How very beautiful.

Thanks so so much to Sally and Jonathan for sharing their lovely wedding story with us XOXO Lou