Our last wedding of the year is an absolute banger. Bride Gem is as gorgeous as she is creative; Brad equally fabulous of course! This stunning pair had a dream autumn wedding in Bristol, complete with out-of-this-world styling touches and alpaca-smooching*. (You can’t miss it!)

Our lovely couple have recommended some brilliant Bristol wedding suppliers, including lovely Becky Weir Photography, their venue Coombe Lodge, as well as the amazing Lucy Can’t Dance. Check out their English Wedding interview below to discover all the best Bristol wedding suppliers and why these two loved them so much!

Wedding photographer’s website

Becky Weir – https://beckyweir.co.uk/

Wedding photographer review

From the very moment we met Becky at a wedding fair, we knew she would be perfect for us. Her aesthetic, values, her kindness, originality & her fun. When we then saw her website and portfolio it all clicked into place.

She was a hand holding us through the day – So easy to talk to, so easy to ask questions. She honestly felt like one of the family.

Both Brad & I aren’t ones for attention or the spotlight being on us, but we felt so comfortable being in Becky’s company. Even when Bec gave us a little direction for our photos, we didn’t feel wooden, we just kept talking and goofing around like she wasn’t even there. She blends in so well for candid photography, you wouldn’t even know she was there!

She definitely understood what our wedding meant to us, with all our quirky takes on the day and my many DIY’s (even down to the wire of making Groomsmen ties 2 days before the big day) for that we cannot thank her enough.

We cannot wait to see our album and share our gallery with our friends and family – Becky’s post-wedding process is so stress-free and convenient, and we’re delightfully impressed with the options she has in place. Truly tailored to you and so original.

Your best moment or memory

There are many that I fall back on when I think about the day. There are two that stand out to me the most.

Seeing my father for the first time in a tailored suit with a tie and a buttonhole I’d created for him. His love, his support, and his emotion was just so raw, I’ve never seen him like that. My parents aren’t really ones to show their emotion, but dad did so well that day to let me know he was proud and pleased. He didn’t have to say it, I could feel it.

My second memory was when I was getting ready in the bridal suite. I could see our guests arriving, then out the corner of my eye when my hair was being done, I could see the children walking around with the Alpaca’s (Barney & Guinness) that we’d previously walked on the Quantocks in 2019 and had hired for after the ceremony. I was beaming form ear to ear and was so thrilled that everyone was happy to see their little fuzzy faces.

Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)

We’re not really the personalities for following traditions, one thing was that I hate the excess of items that are purchased for a wedding with only a single use.

I wanted our wedding items to preserve the day and have longevity.

I’m not a massive flower person and I’m a serial houseplant buyer. So much so, I almost cried at the till when Brad bought me a gorgeous Calathea at Botanica Studio in Bath.

I knew for sure that I wanted dried botanicals to be adorning myself, the Groomsmen, and my Bridesmaids. I made my bridesmaids botanical macrame wreaths to hold for the day in the hopes they’d use them as a feature piece or wall hanging afterward.

I also decided to request some bespoke tweed from my good and dear friend Charlotte (@fruitbattextiles) and made both pocket squares and ties for Brad and our groomsmen as a gift for the day.

I sourced the most amazing dried botanicals from @HANDANDBLOOM (Etsy, Bristol local seller) and elevated them with dried pampas and pheasant feathers as both Brad and I come from farming backgrounds, we wanted a subtle nod to our upbringing as our families were coming together for us.

Where we could, we researched independently owned businesses, local businesses, and small businesses.

It just so happened that most of these businesses were women-owned too, which we were both so proud to support.

As a little shameless plug, I also made quite a few little embroidered elements for the day that I will soon be selling through my own little small business Etsy. (BrueMoonFibres) This included individual embroidered place names for the head table in my own supply of hand-dyed cotton thread.

Venue name + review

Coombe Lodge, Blagdon – Martha and Issy our coordinators were incredible. Honestly, we couldn’t have pulled off our wedding without them.

The wedding planning and organization fell to me, not because I wanted it to. But, because I had a vision for our wedding and Brad wanted me to have free reign with my creativity and ideas. I’d never done anything like this before let alone thought I’d ever get married!

When we were looking around at venues, Martha stood out to be one of the most accommodating, calm, and down-to-earth members of staff that we had the pleasure of meeting.

Martha and her team were always so happy to help out with any queries or questions. At no point did we feel like we had requested too much of them, and they were always available either through the phone or email to put our minds at ease. Even with my extreme amount of DIY for the wedding, I was so proud to have them in the background of our day as they made it all the more special. Might I add, Brad was won over by Martha with the coffee and a brownie by the fireplace in the initial meeting.

Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!

Both our outfits were inspired by our love of nature, forests, and our agricultural backgrounds. We wanted our outfits to reflect our personalities but also fit in with our setting and our theme for the day.

Dress or suit shop name + review

My dress was found by my MOH when I was at my lowest point. I’d been in an unfortunate car accident in Feb (2022) and I was at a real down point feeling useless and frustrated with constant calls and forms whilst being bedbound in recovery.

My MOH mentioned to me that my favorite small business (Lucy Can’t Dance) was having a sample sale, I took a quick look and then fell in love with her. My dress was called Pumpkin and it fit so perfectly with our anniversary being the Halloween weekend, along with the delicate sequin leaf mesh that I adored when I finally got to see her. I took a risk buying her being a sample size, but luckily being a seamstress I was able to amend her straps and then with some help from my bridesmaids MIL we amended the length.

Florist name + review

Our wedding stylist was Kelly from Ambiance, Bristol. Kelly was an absolute babe and honestly took our ideas and made them a reality. She was like-minded in the way that we preferred foliage over floral, and she really got into our minds and helped us analyze our ideas and brought them to life.

We sleep with the foliage from the day attached to our macrame hanging above our bed and I’ve just recently used some of the excesses to make us a chunky wedding/Christmas wreath for our front door.

We’re so lucky to have worked with her for our wedding, she has decided to hand the baton to her colleague and is spending more time with her family. We support her decision and both wish her well for the future and will never forget the incredible day she allowed us to have.

Cake maker name + review

Ahh Toots, a brilliant bakery/cakery based in Bristol owned by Tam & Amy. Brad and I used to visit Ahh Toot’s little stand in St Nick’s market each time, most of the time going to Bristol just to see them and their cakes. When they opened up their cafe on Christmas Steps, we had no second guesses on who we’d love to make our wedding cake.

They did such an amazing job and made the most amazing cake we could have ever hoped for. We still have some in the freezer and we’re trying to not eat all of it so we can savor the day each time we sit down with a cuppa.

Wedding readings

Love Poem with Apologies for My Appearance by Ada Limón I Like You by Sandol Stoddard Warburg

First dance song? Playlist recommendations?

You & Me song – The Wannadies

Hair + makeup name + review

By Sarah Kate – Sarah was incredible, soft, understanding and so so amazing.

I explained to her that makeup wasn’t really my thing but I wanted to look photo ready. She enabled me and my bridesmaids to look our absolute (as close as we could be) natural best on the day and enhanced our features so much.

She gave me skin tips and recommended products that I still use to this day. She honestly opened my eyes a lot more to make-up and I am in awe of her incredible talent.

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*Check out our insta for an alpaca special – exclusively from Gem & Brad’s gorgeous day! (Coming soon if you don’t see it yet!)