AMY & JAMES
Beside rolling hills and nestled between an evergreen olive grove, AMY LANSDOWN and JAMES GORDON say ‘I do’
One rainy night in May 2016, I went on my first date with James. We met through Tinder and within minutes of meeting him I knew that coming out in the bad weather was worth it. Not long after, James was offered an incredible job in the South of France. We kept in touch, and it wasn’t long after that we knew we wanted to be together.
The proposal was magical. We were holidaying in New York and on our last night James got down on one knee on the Jersey side of the Hudson River, with the majestic Manhattan skyline in the distance. Ten months later, we were married.
Finding Bracu, our venue, was a coincidence; a friend knew the wedding coordinator and it was the very first place we visited. Lakeside, surrounded by evergreen olive groves and beside the Bombay Hills, the beauty of Bracu blew us away. The lush evergreen provided a backdrop that would remain resplendent year round and tied in perfectly with our colour palette. Other venues just didn’t compare. We chose to hold our wedding at the end of summer on a Friday and were lucky that we got a relatively overcast day, so the temperature was manageable.
When it came to flowers we were fortunate to have our best man’s wife, Ashley, offer to step in. Ashley has been an event planner and has created florals for numerous weddings, so this was a huge help. We gave her examples of the styles we liked and then she had free reign to experiment, eventually using pampas grass, roses, tulips, hydrangeas and proteas along with foliage.
Finding the right gown was so important. My gown was the fifth one I tried on. I knew I wanted a fitted, flattering design with straps and the beautiful Stella York design at Alma J Bridal was just perfect. With a trumpet silhouette, a combination of lace and tulle with a V-neckline,
something i ’ d suggest
“Go and see your reception venue in all its splendour before your guests enter. I burst into tears as soon as I saw ours – I was so proud of how it came together.”
heavy beadwork and sheer side cut-outs, it was a style that made me feel so comfortable. I accessorised with a set of pearl and diamante earrings and florals in my hair.
My bridesmaids wore lined Charlotte drape maxi dresses in the colour ‘wineberry’ from Forever New and their own shoes. The style was versatile, catering for their different body types.
James and his groomsmen hired dinner suit tuxedos with matching burgundy bow ties from Frank Casey Suit Hire. To add colour, James purchased bright socks from Hallensteins for himself and his groomsmen.
We wanted the morning of the wedding to be relaxing. James and I went against tradition and spent the night before our wedding together. He then left to spend the morning clay bird shooting at Bracu with his groomsmen and my bridesmaids and I had breakfast together before wedding prep was underway. Our transport to the ceremony was a vintage Jaguar and a BMW.
For the food, we served a selection of canapes between our ceremony and reception, entrée, two main course options and wedding cake for dessert. Our guests enjoyed the cake, which was a three-tiered Ferrero Rocher, apple, cardamom, salted caramel, rose and rhubarb masterpiece from Baker & Co. We loved that it was a little different from traditional options. Guests then enjoyed music from the DJ and our first dance was to Eric Clapton’s ‘Wonderful Tonight’, a song I had wanted to dance to since I was a little girl.
If I could offer any advice, it’s to go and see your reception venue in all its splendour before your guests enter. I burst into tears as soon as I saw it. It was beyond beautiful, more than anything I could have hoped for, and I was so proud of how it had all come together.