Kirsty and Tom met in 2004 in an Irish bar called Scruffy Murphy’s in Sydney, whilst they were both travelling.  Kirsty was working in Sydney for a number of months and shared a flat with a group of girls. Tom had been travelling down the East Coast with a group of guys who happened to know the girls Kirsty was living with and they were introduced through these mutual friends. They fell in love during their two weeks together in Sydney and their romance blossomed when they both got back to the UK a few months later.

The Bride’s Outfit

Kirsty wore a design by Maggie Sottero.  It wasn't what she had expected to wear but fell in love with it straight away.  The wedding dress was Oyster in colour which was the first thing that caught her eye, and the dress was a lot longer than she had imagined she would wear.  Kirsty admits that she didn't really know what she was looking for, and only went shopping the once and found it in the first shop she went to, Maid in Heaven in Ashford, Middlesex.

The Groom’s Outfit

Tom chose a navy blue 3 peice suit from the M&S occassion range, which he wore with a white shirt and white tie.  Tom had decided that he didn't want to go down the formal tails route and simply wanted a classic, smart suit that he could wear again some time, and simply added a waistcoat and white tie to make it more formal. After initially looking at a lot of designer label suits, none of which particularly grabbed his attention, he then tried the one in M&S which fitted perfectly.

The Bridal Party

Kirsty and Tom had 2 adult bridesmaids, a flower girl, best man, 3 ushers and a page boy.  They wanted the day to feel quite relaxed so told the ushers and best man to wear whatever suit they wanted. The bridesmaids wanted to look the same so they wore maxi dresses from Dessy in a Bordeaux colour.  Their flower girl had a little dress from Monsoon and their page boy wore a waistcoat suit from M&S.

Flowers

Kirsty and Tom chose deep purple calla lillies for the bouquet and the buttonholes, and mango calla lillies for the bridesmaids.  They had large vases filled with water with a submerged cymbidium orchid stem in each, and to add extra detail they had lights at the bottom of the vases which made them glow.  The flowers were supplied by Oops a Daisy in Cirencester and the vases were hired from Lavenders of London in Isleworth.

The Ceremony and Reception

The ceremony was a traditional church wedding in the village church where Tom grew up.  As it is such a quaint little church they were quite restricted on numbers, and had about 90 people altogether.

The reception was at Cripps Barn in Bibury. Kirsty stumbled across it whilst looking for wedding venues in the area and instantly fell in love. Tom knew the barn from growing up in the area and remembered that it used to host all night raves and 'free parties'. Luckily it had been bought by new owners and spruced up with a restaurant style kitchen and all sorts of lighting and stereo equipment. The barn was brought to life in the evening with hundreds of candles, flares in the garden, an open fire in the barn and a bonfire in the gardens!  It was ideal for Kirsty and Tom as it also had a marquee attached so they had plenty of space.

The Speeches

Kirsty and Tom kept with tradition, with Kirsty’s dad going first, followed by Tom and then the best man.  The best man did an amazing job and produced photo shopped images of Tom which were brilliant.  Tom was very laid back about his wedding speech, giving a bit of thought the day before and then pretty much making it up as he went along on the day.

The Cake

Kirsty and Tom had the most amazing wonky wedding cake which Kirsty’s Aunt made, using the colours which were used throughout the wedding.  Although they chose to have a sponge cake she also made Kirsty and Tom a chocolate fudge cake as a surprise.  The cake was cut once dinner was finished as they had to vacate the room to set up for the evening.

The Photographer

The photographer was Stewart McPherson Photography, who was recommended to them by a friend.  As well as photographing the wedding day, he also did a pre shoot with them before the wedding so Kirsty and Tom could learn to relax (which Kirsty would highly recommend doing as she felt it made such a difference on the day).  They were given a proof book with all their photos which really encapsulated all of the details of the day.

Wedding Details

The barn had tealights tucked into crevices in the walls and silver birches decorated with fairy lights, as well as rows of fairy lights hanging from the drapes in the ceiling of the marquee.  Kirsty and Tom also put a few little bits around the venue like painted letters spelling MR & MRS.  They decided to have biscuit favours in the shape of a T and K which were homemade and iced using the colours they had used throughout.