A personal affair

Emma and Des' wedding included a host of special touches to reflect their lives and loves.

Teachers Emma Wyatt and Des Murphy met at the school in London where they both worked and hit it off. After being together for some time, Des popped the question at home after dinner. “It was a complete surprise,” recalls Emma.

They tied the knot at St Benet's Minster Catholic Church in Beccles followed by a reception at Hales Hall, Loddon on 4th August, 2018. “We both fell in love with The Great Barn at Hales Hall. The ceiling beams are beautiful as well as the arched windows that run all the way round and the amazing grounds,” says Emma. They opted for a natural muted colour scheme including soft grey and green tones. Emma made good use of her skills as an art teacher and handmade many of the decorations to add a personal touch. Read on for her account of their big day...

A personal affair: Image 1 I loved the ceremony, it was magical to see all our closest friends and family together in one place.

My dress was handmade by Katrine Mogensen. I loved her romantic style and attention to detail and I was able to tailor the design to exactly what I wanted

We were accompanied down the aisle, welcomed to the reception and led to our seats for the wedding breakfast by bagpiper Greg Waller.

A personal affair: Image 3 My dad renovated a VW Campervan for our wedding transport and we were so grateful for all the work he put into getting it ready for us.

A personal affair: Image 4 My bridesmaids wore long sage-coloured dresses in different styles to complement the pastel theme and my love of greenery.

A personal affair: Image 5 The groomsmen looked smart in silver morning suits and paisley ties. Des stood out in a contrasting ivory waistcoat.

We organised a Routemaster bus to get the bridal party and guests from the church to the reception.

An old wedding photo of my great grandmother Lily's beautiful loose bouquet inspired my choice of design. Des' parents are both Scottish so I had some thistles included too as an extra personal touch.

A personal affair: Image 7 We both wanted the barn to be the main showstopper and for the décor to complement the building without detracting from its character and charm.

A personal affair: Image 8 We didn't want to overdo the flowers for the reception as the barn is so beautiful. Instead we opted for lots of foliage in the window boxes and down the staircase from the mezzanine floor.

I made clay pots for the table plan planted with succulents to reflect our greenery theme. The tables were named after important places in our lives which were pressed into each pot using dried alphabet pasta then fired and glazed. The guests' names were hand-stamped on to lollipop sticks, which took ages!

We spent ages collecting vintage coffee jugs in pastel colours for the centrepieces. The table names were tied to the handles and the jugs were filled with willow twigs tied with old photos of us with our guests at various events.