An Autumn Wedding in the English Countryside: Betsy + Patrick

Betsy + Patrick live in London and hosted an intimate English countryside wedding with 24 of their closest friends + family. Much of the inspiration for their wedding came from their travels, love of adventure, the stunning English Countryside and their favorite season, Autumn.What made this weekend so special was the fact that every part of it was put together by family and friends – and they planned it in under 3 months! Congrats to Betsy + Patrick on your gorgeous wedding and thanks so much to Deidre Lynn Photography for the stunning photos!

The morning of the wedding the owners of Dewsall Court (where the wedding took place) went out and picked flowers and autumn leaves from the gardens to create all of the bouquets. Betsy’s maid of honor worked her magic on Betsy’s makeup while another one of Betsy’s bridesmaids did her hair (with no plan in mind at all) in the most gorgeous twist of braids and feathers, perfect for Betsy and the setting.

From Betsy, When looking for a venue we knew since we had everyone flying in from all over the world we wanted to treat our guests with the most love, fun and relaxation as possible. We discovered Dewsall Court through an internet search on a whim and when we drove out to take a look at the venue, it literally took our breath away. It wasn’t just the gorgeous grounds and luxurious, yet homey feel to the place, it was the family who runs Dewsall, they are some of the loveliest people, so kind, genuine, laid back and accommodating. We booked it on the spot and it was the biggest blessing to have such an incredible team of people helping us throughout the whole weekend.

We had always wanted an outdoor ceremony and my dream of walking down the aisle to “Like a Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan with my dad to the noon day sun was realized. During the ceremony we exchanged privately written vows and the whole service was very relaxed and personal. It was so meaningful hearing all the guests say in unison that they will support us and hold us accountable to the commitment we’ve made to each other for the rest of our lives. One of my favourite parts of the ceremony was singing the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” with everybody. We also kept the guitar around later for some bonfire songs after all the crazy dancing. 

Their portraits are so dreamy and magical! Just adore them. Remember to leave time on your wedding day for your photographer to capture the two of you – those are some of the photos from our wedding day that I treasure the most.

Betsy’s maid of honor created the guestbook above full of drawings and everyone’s favorite childhood memories – she even made half of them in Polish since most of their guests came from Poland. Betsy’s brother, a cartoonist extraordinaire, created the little watercolor portraits of Betsy + Patrick for their seats at the wedding table.

The maid of honor also made the adorable wedding brownie toppers. Betsy wanted to have a flag per person for every country represented at their wedding honoring not just the journey’s everyone had made but their diversity as well.

A bit more about their day from Betsy, We wanted our closest friends and family to feel at home for the entire weekend and really soak in the beauty of the grounds, gardens and hikes! Although we live in London, we’re such outdoorsy people and for us the weekend and venue were a dream location, just bordering Wales and surrounded by gorgeous countryside that is owned by Prince Charles. There was even horse stables, an old tree house and lake on the grounds, complete with weeping willows, my favourite.

I’m an artist and toy and game designer by trade and my bridesmaids consisted of a photographer, designer, musician and an extra creative and crazy public health nurse as well, so I knew early on we would definitely be doing as much DIY as possible. I had no idea how my girls would pull through for me in the end though, wow, can’t tell you how loved I felt through their contributions. Even though we planned our entire wedding in 3 months, we were able to pull quite a few crafts together with the help of our friends. I created the wedding programs, part of the invitations, I knitted the bridesmaid’s belts — each one unique just like my girls. I also created the framed hot air balloons flying over our new home of London for our party favours, as we got engaged in a hot air balloon over Nazareth, Israel after we had been separated for half a year, so it was very symbolic.

My other bridesmaids played huge roles as listed in the descriptions above as well as one of my dearest friends Deidre of Deidre Lynn Photography took all of the photos! She also created all of the balsa wood bouts for the guys and the hair pieces for the girls. My musician bridesmaid along with doing the music for the ceremony, also created my veil, garter, purse and did my hair for the day, while my maid of honour did my make up. Can’t tell you what a difference it makes to have such loving and creative friends and family to make every detail so special. I’ll never forget it.

So gorgeous and perfect! Thanks so much for sharing some details into your beautiful day Betsy + Patrick!

vendors:

photography: Deidre Lynn Photography // hairpiece: created by a friend // bridesmaid dresses: Tulle designs from Seoul and South Korea // music: Whitney Winkler // ceremony: Dewsall Court // reception locations: Dewsall Court // wedding shoes: Christian Louboutin // bridesmaid belts: knitted by the bride // bridesmaid hairpieces: friend // boutonnières: friend // invitations: Minted // wedding programs: created by bride