Sophia and Charlie’s Cosy Autumnal Party Wedding at Elmore Court

When it comes to a cosy autumnal wedding, there is no better location than a beautiful, history filled building like Elmore Court. Curiosities around every corner, deep vibrant colours in the form of velvets, tapestries and delicate wallpapers, it is truly a building that envelops you into a warm hug. Bride and Groom Sophia and Charlie were enthralled by the venue when they visited, loving it’s high-end yet relaxed atmosphere, along with the ability to have the run of the house with all their guests staying, for that true all night party feel. Embracing the warmth of the venue, they created a warm, cosy, romantic and rustic ambience throughout the whole day, using varying spaces within Elmore to define slightly different vibes throughout the day.

Inspired by Pre-Raphaelite paintings, private members club interiors and a touch of disco, this wedding has well considered touches at every turn and a strong sense of fun, and we can’t wait to share it with you. Scroll on to hear lots more from Bride Sophia all about the different elements of the day.

The Venue

“Charlie and I wanted a high-end yet relaxed vibe, and we also loved the idea of being able to have guests stay at a venue where we had the run of the place, and Elmore Court ticked every box. It was super cosy as well as feeling really special, everything about the venue was beautiful. We also loved the idea of having different parts of the wedding in different spaces and the venue had space for each section - ceremony, reception drinks, dinner, dancing and the cheeky afterparty back in the drawing room after midnight. The whole venue had a relaxed ‘private members club vibe’, with the vast space creating a real flow for the day, that we just adored - so we knew we had to go with Elmore the minute we first came and saw it.”

The dress

“It was a Liz Martinez gown - I knew she was one of the designers I definitely wanted to try and this one was the second gown I tried on. To be honest there were quite a few of Liz Martinez’s gowns that I would have been so happy with - her designs are so ethereal! I never expected I would go for a dress like this though initially - I thought I would go for more of a slinky, simple number. But with this dress, when I put it on I felt so special and I just knew it was the one I had to wear”.

Colour scheme and theme

“As it was an autumnal wedding we wanted a warm, cosy, romantic and rustic/raw feel to the day. Lots of autumnal colours mixed with crisp whites, navy and deep greens, then gold cutlery and dusky grey linen for the tables. The bridesmaids and groomsmen were also all in navy. Warm cosy lighting tones in the lighting during the wedding breakfast. The evening and the dance floor vibe we want to feel a little more ‘disco’ with black, white and silver on the dance floor and a wash of purple and white lighting. Elmore have an awesome set up on the dance floor in terms of lighting tech so we were able to pick the colour tones in the lighting before the day.

Seeing the Gillyflower set up with all our decor was like a dream - Elmore and the team had totally smashed our vision - it was such a lovely moment to come in and see all the hard work come into fruition.”

Getting ready

“I felt quite anxious the morning of the wedding but also very excited, all the work was done and I was totally buzzing about the day ahead! I was the most anxious first thing in the morning, but as soon as the hair and make-up babes arrived and we had a glass or two of champs, I was in a good place! Charlie was mega chilled apparently - classic.”

The flowers

“I looked at a lot of classic Pre-Raphaelite paintings for inspiration for the colour scheme of the flowers and loved the idea of everything having an asymmetrical and perfectly imperfect vibe. Blaoum Studio did an amazing job of these - we asked for a rich textural vibe with the flowers and I was so inspired by what Shelena came up with.”

Personal touches

“I designed all our wedding stationery/print collateral myself to save us some pennies there - also just because it gave me more control as I had a very specific idea on how I wanted them to look. Charlie and I also wanted to write little hand written notes in tiny envelopes to each guest personally, which we thought would be a nice personal touch to each of our guests. They also doubled up as place settings too. One of my bridesmaids Megan did all the calligraphy for the envelopes for these too.”

The wedding cake

“Our wedding cake was designed and made by the awesome Claire Owen - it was four tiers with a different flavour each tier. Chocolate and salted caramel ganache, pistachio and rose, gin and tonic, lemon and poppy seed. The design was inspired by my wedding dress!“

Drinks reception and photographs

“The drinks reception was lovely - but totally flew by! I thought I would be able to greet and chat to everyone but it was almost impossible! It was lovely though, the champagne and the canapés were flowing, we had some contemporary jazz being played on the piano, Charlie and I were still reeling from the ceremony and it was just so touching to see all the people you loved under the same roof. In terms of the photos, Charlie and I wanted them to have a relaxed and natural vibe and not take up too much time from us hanging out with our guests so we allocated 30-45 mins to get them done in - Rebecca did an amazing job.”

Highlight of the day

“For me it was the ceremony - it was so much more intense and emotional than I even thought it would be! It was really like the world had stopped, so lovely. I cried more than I thought I would. It was either a toss up between that and the money dance during the party in the evening - as it was such a cool party highlight with the entire wedding dancing in a circle, arms round each other. “

Food and drink

“For us, a big part was the food and the drink, as well as the evening party vibes. We wanted to make sure everyone was fed and watered well, with delicious food and lovely champagne and wine choices. The Sommeliers package at Elmore was really awesome for this, we also came up with bespoke cocktails we served on the dance floor. Elmore even accommodated a bespoke vegan menu that Charlie and myself came up with, as it was important to us that the vegan/veggie menu was just was impressive as the meat options - they did such a fab job and everyone commented on how great the food was.”

We served a delicious red and white wine with dinner, then rose champagne and espresso martini shots for the toasts and speeches.

Our evening food was mini fish and chip cones that people could pick at on the dance floor, and we also served the wedding cake too.

Then spirits and beers served in the evening along with bespoke cocktails during the party. Negronis, champagne, cafe patron shots were a favourite for the after midnight afterparty in the drawing room, with our guests that were staying the night.”

Biggest surprise of the day

“I loved the speeches as I had no idea what they were going to be like - and they were just so funny! Also just how fast it all goes, it goes by in such a flash, and I wish I had savoured the day even more than I did. It really was such an amazing day.”

Evening entertainment

“Chris, a good friend of ours who is also an awesome DJ played an amazing set, we had sat down all three of us with a bottle of wine about a month before the wedding and came up with it together. We wanted it to be a good mix of bangers that our mates would love as well as some classics for the older guests too. Our mums are big dancers and love 70s disco vibes so we found a nice middle ground between tracks - think Sean Paul one min, then Earth, Wind and Fire the next. We also set up a little speakeasy style cocktail bar on the dance floor (that really helped with the party vibes) as a cheeky addition to the main bar that Elmore has in the Gillyflower - that was selling beer, wine and spirits.

At 9.30pm we did a Greek traditional money dance for my side of the family, where instead of giving traditional gifts, guests gift the bride and groom by pinning money on them as they dance. The Greek side of the family knew the drill, but we were a little worried about the English guests not quite getting it - but they all loved it! Everyone was going absolutely mental to Zorba the Greek - it was such a fun moment as every single person at the wedding was on the dance floor and partying with us - a real wedding highlight!”

First dance

“Our first dance was to ‘Friday I’m in Love’ by The Cure.”

Tips for other brides

“I wish I’d known that trusting your gut is the best thing, you don’t want to get to the day with any regrets. If something seems like it must be done to you - there is probably a reason for that. Also breath and enjoy yourself, this day is all in the name of love, so have fun as much as you can in the planning and don’t sweat the small stuff! Communication is key - the wedding was a real collaboration between Charlie and myself and there is something really nice in creating your dream day together.”