Family at the foundation of Nancy and Steven's rustic wedding

Congrats to Nancy and Steven who’ve been crowned our July Wedding of the Month winners!
They are in the running for a second honeymoon to Italy’s ‘green heart’, Umbria.

An in-bed proposal one cozy morning from Gemma Nancy Blatch to boyfriend Steven Dalley eventually led to the couple’s rustic wedding.

Their day was brought forward by two years due to the bride’s grandfather’s ill-health, and the couple wed on September 10, 2016 as they couldn’t imagine their special day without him. Nancy (as she is known by loved ones) and Steven, both aged 27, relied heavily on family support to create their intimate day, with a guest list of just 19. “We couldn’t have made the day possible without the help of our family members,” explains the bride. “A lot of the wedding was DIY to keep the budget down.”

Nancy’s mum helped create table decorations and styled the bride’s “eye-grabbing” hair. The bride’s grandfather created name place holders using a tree branch with added notches. The groom’s mum was responsible for the wedding cake — a naked creation with buttercream icing!

The ceremony at Woodlands Lodge Hotel in Hampshire was followed by a reception in the bride’s grandparents’ garden. “My grandparents spent weeks preparing for the day, their garden looked amazing and we were incredibly grateful for all the hard work they invested in it for us,” she says. “It was important to us to keep the wedding small and intimate, with only our closest family in attendance.”

Photos courtesy of Eve Hopkinson Photography.

“I had a beautifully simple ivory multi-way gown that I could change the straps to however I wanted,” explains Nancy.

The smart-casual groom sourced his outfit from Debenhams Retail.

“Eve, our photographer did a fantastic job of capturing natural and casual interactions without anyone really knowing she was there,” explains the bride.