Leonora & Mark's Wedding surrounded by Family

Photography by Chloë Winstanley

English Rose

Paying homage to family traditions, the bride even arrived in the very same 1927 Rolls Royce that had delivered her mum to her parents’ wedding ceremony all those years ago. Opera singers performed Andrea Bocelli at the couple’s ceremony. A huge archway of roses welcomed the couple and their guests to the church, with a sea of aptly named David Austin ‘Leonora’ roses filling the space with beauty and scent within. “I had to pinch myself,” Leonora reminisces. “My father then walked me down the aisle carefully trying not to step on the enormous train of my Suzanne Neville dress and metres-long veil. Our miniature dachshund Odie was even there, he was the ring bearer!”

Home is Where the Heart Is

Leonora and Mark left the ceremony hand in hand on cloud nine, before relocating to their home in the Hambleden Valley, where their guests joined them to celebrate. “We had a beautiful marquee in the garden – it was like something out of a fairytale with thousands of roses. I’ll never forget it,” smiles the bride. Guests were treated to glasses of Champagne on the lawn as bagpipers played on from inside the marquee. A three-course meal followed with the speeches and then the couple cut their decadent five-tier cake.

A Tale of Two Dresses

After marrying at their traditional church ceremony in a quintessentially English Suzanne Neville design, bride Leonora opted for a wardrobe change when it was time to hit the dance floor. “I changed into a custom-made Valentini Spose gown to dance the night away. We had a live band – The Sway Allstars Orchestra – and a DJ to supply the tunes.”

Double the Fun

The day after the wedding, the festivities continued, with the newlyweds welcoming 160 guests to their home for a garden party, complete with oysters, a roaming band and seafood paella. “We danced the night away all over again,” the couple grinned.

THE DREAM TEAM

CEREMONY St Mary The Virgin Church, Hambleden MARQUEE Mudway Workham DRESS Suzanne Neville and Valentini Spose GROOM Neal and Palmer BRIDESMAIDS TH&TH Bridesmaids HAIR La Medusa Henley BEAUTY Kelly Dawn Bridal PLANNING Henry Bonas Events CATERING Quince and Clover CAKE Terry Wilson FLOWERS John Carter Flowers INVITATIONS Gee Brothers PRODUCTION Knight Light Events ENTERTAINMENT The Sway Allstars Orchestra, ALR Music, The Juke Joints, Trip the Light PHOTOGRAPHY Chloe Winstanley, Zuzia Zawada VIDEOGRAPHY Kissing Gate Films