Bex and Ollie married in the height of summer at Elmley Nature Reserve in Kent, a place they had loved long before they began planning their wedding. July suited them perfectly, with long light, wide open skies and that feeling Elmley always gives of being tucked away in your own little corner of the world. It was exactly the atmosphere they wanted to share with their family and friends.
The couple shaped their day around both of their tastes, finding a balance between traditional moments and the playful, more unexpected touches that made the celebrations feel authentic and fun. Elmley’s landscape did a lot of the talking, so their styling stayed gentle and understated, with details that complemented the setting.
Bex wore two beautiful looks by Halfpenny London, both chosen for how comfortable and true to herself she felt in them. Lewis Membery photographed the day with the kind of care and presence that allowed the couple to relax into every moment and just be themselves. And in the evening, the now legendary Simone Rocha pearl egg bag made its appearance, tucked under Bex’s arm and very much living up to its reputation among her friends.
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Elmley Nature Reserve
Our wedding venue was the beautiful Elmley Nature Reserve in Kent, UK. We had visited Elmley many times before getting engaged, including celebrating my thirtieth birthday there. We love how it feels you are in your own little world when there – perfect for what we wanted our wedding to feel like. And the views! There was no other choice for us.
We hired Rebecca Brennan-Brown of Get Wed to help in planning our wedding. I had a very slapdash Pinterest folder that I gave to Rebecca that somehow, she was able to bring to life!
The Dress
Halfpenny London
Both my main dress and evening dress were both from Halfpenny London, and it couldn’t have been a better experience. I had an eating disorder and body dysmorphia growing up, so finding a dress was what I was most anxious about.
But on the day, I was made to feel so comfortable, and so beautiful too. I actually only tried on the two dresses I ended up wearing and cried both times looking at myself in them, as it felt like the first time I had ever seen my body for what it was. I would 100% many times over recommend Halfpenny for other brides to try!
In both my dresses, I wanted to feel like myself and not try and look like ‘a bride’, but me. The two I picked both made me feel that way. It ended up being pretty windy on our wedding day, and I absolutely loved how my first dress was captured in the photos. The movement of it in the wind was so special. And for my evening dress, the feathers and fringing were just so so so fun to dance in.
I also wore a simple traditional veil from Halfpenny London and my shoes were by Nodaleto.
My bridesmaids wore ASOS Premium dresses and New Look shoes.
My something old was a ring of my Mum’s and a bracelet of my Mother in Laws. My parents also gifted me my (main) earrings, an oval pearl drop style, from Maya Magal. My something blue was a little huggie with blue opals, and as I have quite a few ear piercings, Ollie’s gift to me on the day was a set of three beautiful diamond studs, and a diamond moon from Otiumberg.
Hilariously, the scent I chose was called Mixed Emotions by Byredo. I definitely had zero mixed emotions and only joy on the day, but I love unique scents that aren’t overly floral and this was perfect for me.
In the evening I carried my lippy round in a very impractical but AMAZING bag by Simone Rocha, that is now infamous amongst my pals. ‘The Egg’ has been the something borrowed for quite a few friends now.
The Ceremony
Ollie designed a suit with Suit Supply. I bought him a pocket watch for his gift on the day, which had a blue mother of pearl interior I picked to match the colour of his suit.
My dad walked me down the aisle, I was crying my eyes out in joy, and what totally forgot where / what I was doing, so was trying to chat with all my friends on the way. I even asked one friend where her dress was from and she had to shout it’s not about me.
We entered the ceremony to the sound of ‘River’, by Leon Bridges, which our baby boy Ziggy was then born to in April 2025.
Our readings included a passage from His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman that my godmother, June, read (it’s my favourite book and I wrote my thesis on it). We als had a passage from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin that Ollie’s father, Mike, read. Kefalonia is a very special island to us, so it was vert fitting.
My sister then wrote and read a very funny and lovely poem for us.
Ollie designed my engagement ring with Purely Diamonds London and I love my ring so much, it was easy to go back to them for our wedding rings.
Photography
Our photographer was Lewis Membry. We would recommend him to every single couple considering a photographer for their day.
Lewis and I bonded over experiences of body dysmorphia, so he understood how nervous I was being infant of the camera. I couldn’t have felt more comfortable though, like we were just chatting with an old friend. Lewis is incredible, beyond taking the most breathtaking photos, he also is one of the reasons we both enjoyed our day so much. And totally GOT us as a couple.
He knew we didn’t want posed photos so expertly handled guests who tried to wrangle us into them, and was aware I didn’t want to see any photos of myself on the day (due to body dysmorphia) so batted guests away if they tried to show me.
He also carried my stress Corgi around for me with his kit (I was wildly nervous) and had excellent timing at passing me it when he could see I was getting overwhelmed.
The first Saturday I had off in a while, he asked me to keep the day free, and that morning when I opened my advent calendar, there was a ring inside! I was in my pyjamas and a top knot and our cat was there too, it was perfect.
He then had champagne and breakfast in bed delivered to our flat from the Berkley Hotel, and had organised a masseuse and nail artist to come over to pamper me after some bubbles.
We then finished the day off with dinner at Hakassan in Mayfair.
The Reception
Elmley Nature Reserve itself is so beautiful we didn’t want anything that would overpower it and the view, so Rebecca designed the most beautiful tables cape for the wedding breakfast that incorporated our colours (terracotta and sage), linen and rattan.
Rebecca, our amazing planner, designed all of our stationary which also included a print of the most beautiful watercolour painting of Kingshill Farmhouse my friend Beth did for us.
When it came to our cake, we wanted something traditional, and not so! So the first two tiers were Strawberry and Champagne flavoured, and the top tier was our joint-favourite Carrot Cake. Claire of Claire de Lune Cake Design designed a gorgeous marbling fondant effect so the icing had hints of terracotta, and we decorated it with repurposed flowers from the ceremony!
Our florist was Elise at Hedges and Flowers. We wanted our flowers to mirror us, traditional and not so at the same time. Elise hit the nail on the head. My bouquet was a mix of gorgeous roses and wildflowers, that perfectly matched our theme of sage and terracotta colours.
We had the most incredible floral backdrop for our ceremony, and then a literally breathtaking floral installation hanging from the Barn rafters for the wedding breakfast.
Evening & Dancing
I let my hair down in the evening and wore a bow from Gigi & Olive embroidered with our initials – along with my second Halfpenny London dress.
Our entertainers were Brother From Another. We had our first dance to ‘Saturday Night’ by Whigfield – probably not an obvious choice, but a song that is always played at Club de Fromage (where we met) and one that I doubt any millennial who went to school in the UK DOESN’T know the dance to.
It got everyone onto the dance floor straight away which is what we wanted.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
You set the tone for your day, if you’re relaxed and having a great time, so will your guests.
And go round your reception drinks together! It’s so easy to not even see one another on the day as so many people will be wanting to congratulate you and dance with you, so greeting everyone together ensures you get more time together!
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