Love, naturally

Taylor and Tom wed on 29th December, 2018, and styled their venue with natural, earthy touches

Taylor and Tom both worked parttime at a shop in Bluewater seven years ago, and it was here their paths first crossed. Taylor says: "We didn't really get to know each other properly until Tom's future best man and I arranged to get both groups of friends together for a night out. We had a lot of fun, and I realised then that I quite liked Tom! Luckily the feeling was mutual."

The spark of romance from that time grew into a loving relationship, and Tom proposed to Taylor on Christmas Eve 2017 at their home in Bexley. All Taylor was concerned about was presentwrapping until Tom surprised her by dropping to one knee. She explains: "He wanted to propose at Christmas as that's when we got together." Although this came as a surprise to Taylor, her friends and family already knew of Tom's plans and found it highly amusing every time she brought up the subject with them, wondering if he'd ever ask.

Read on as the bride shares her memories of the wedding day…

Love, naturally: Image 1 As soon as we set foot in Knowle House, we knew it would be perfect. It's classic and grand while still feeling homely and intimate. It reminded me of a house from a period drama, plus the staff are so friendly and down to earth.

Love, naturally: Image 2 The groom wore a navy suit matching the groomsmen. They are all tailored to the individual with white pocket squares and shirts. The ties were larkspur blue to complement the bridesmaids, and Tom had a white rose with crystal pin to match my bouquet.

I wore a strapless princess dress by Ladybird. When we first decided on a winter wedding I thought I'd go for long sleeves, so I was surprised that I preferred strapless dresses once I started trying some on.

I had a diamanté tiara and went with a plain floor length veil. I didn't think I'd have any accessories, but it's surprising how much you change your mind about things once you start trying dresses on. I just wanted to feel like a princess for the day!

Love, naturally: Image 4 The bridesmaids wore chiffon halter neck larkspur blue dresses with crossover back.

Love, naturally: Image 5 Our favours were tea light candles with our names and the wedding date. We also had pins from the charity MIND, in memory of my friend.

We used Knowle House's candelabras with ivory lilies as centrepieces. We also had greenery provided by our florist that acted as a table runner, adding the natural touch we wanted.

The cake was special to us as it was made by Tom's nan, Jessie. It was a fruit cake, which we'd already sampled and loved because she also made his sister's wedding cake.

We decided to keep things simple and number the tables. We bought these to pop into the centrepiece vases.

The place names were made by my sister and maid-of-honour, Cerys, who has a creative flair. She had the idea of putting the names in a wooden log-style holder, which reflected the natural theme nicely.

Love, naturally: Image 8 We had a string quartet play during our ceremony.We originally heard them play at a wedding fair and decided we had to book them. We had The Knowle's recommended DJ for the evening celebrations – he was great!

As it was Christmas time, The Knowle had its beautiful decorations up, including a tree and fairylights everywhere. We added silver snowflake and wooden heart confetti to the tables, and the top table was decorated with a string of hearts made from old-fashioned book paper.

We decided to keep the menu simple, as we had quite a few dietary needs. We had a trio of starters on bruschetta and roast dinner for the main course followed by The Knowle's dessert trolley, all with vegan and gluten-free options. Everyone commented on how lovely the food was.

Our photographers, Bill and Theresa, deserve a special mention for guiding us through the day so calmly and making us feel relaxed. We felt in safe hands with them, and they went above and beyond.

We went to Bali on our honeymoon. We spent a week in Ubud, in the jungle,and a week at Seminyak, by the beach. I'd definitely recommend it. There was so much to do and plenty of opportunity to relax. Plus, the people were so hospitable.