We just love seeing a couple merge their unique backgrounds into one fabulous big day – and that’s exactly what Rachel, an educational psychologist, and Matt, a sales specialist, did!
Rachel is from Florida, while Matt’s British – and the couple’s big day at Titchwell Manor Hotel combined tropical chic with country house cozy in the most wonderful way – and it also happens to be near the beach, which Rachel loves. They took advantage of the venue’s beachy touches, like white wicker chairs, bright colors, and a large conservatory for the reception space, and added in vibrant orchids and tiger lilies, chocolate shells, Mai Tais, and Rum Punch – check it all out in the vibrant photos by Kate Lowe.
Read on for the rest of the story in Rachel’s own words – and don’t miss her perfect Hayley Paige gown!
How we Met
Rachel, the bride: I grew up in Florida, spending summers as a camper at Camp Kenwood in Kent, Connecticut and returned there to work as a ropes course counselor for three summers. During the summer of 2012, Matt was employed through a British agency called Camp Leaders, which recruits English university students to work at American summer camps, as a ropes course counselor at Kenmont and Kenwood Camps.
We quickly became inseparable that summer, spending most of our time together working on the ropes course and all our time off together with our fellow ropes course counselors. For the next 7 years, we continued our relationship long distance with me in America finishing my education and Matt in England. During that time, we visited each other over 30 times, Skyped nearly every Sunday, and exchanged countless WhatsApp texts and calls. I then moved to England in 2019 and have lived here with Matt since.
Florida Meets Norfolk
We first visited our wedding venue for my 29th birthday. Matt gifted me a trip to the beach, my favorite place, and found Titchwell Manor Hotel at the recommendation of our sister-in-law Sylvia Oates. We both thoroughly enjoyed our long weekend there, from the decor that reminded us of Florida, to the exquisite food and amazing service. We especially loved our morning runs to the nearby Brancaster Beach, which I quickly named my favorite beach in England.
When we decided to get married in England, after having to postpone our wedding in Florida twice due to the pandemic and resulting travel restrictions, Titchwell was our primary consideration. Along with all the things we loved about it from our first visit, we thought the way it blended a beachy theme with a British countryside feel was perfect for us!
Theme & Wedding Planner
Our wedding theming was designed to bring a taste of South Florida to Norfolk, England. The venue already presented the opportunity for a beachy feel with white wicker chairs, bright colors, and a large conservatory for the reception space.
Our flowers, décor, favors, and drinks amplified the tropical Florida theme, with vibrant orchids and tiger lilies, chocolate shells, Mai Tais, and Rum Punch. Titchwell’s wedding coordinators, Amy Janes and Kirstie Boon, were incredibly helpful in arranging all the details in the months leading up to the wedding and on the big day!
Invitations / stationery
Our invitations were ordered from Minted stationery. The ‘Watercolor Delight’ line was designed by Petra Kern. We loved the bright and simple color palate, and felt it was in line with our tropical theme. In addition to our invitations, we ordered matching thank you notes, table numbers, and menus.
Hair + Make-up
For my hair, I always knew I wanted a curled half up half down look and had begun to grow my hair out from when Matt proposed in May 2019. I was also fortunate to borrow gorgeous floral pearl hair pins my best friend and bridesmaid, Danielle Landau, had worn at her own wedding. As I wear little makeup regularly, I wanted a natural yet slightly elevated look for the wedding day.
In looking for a hair and makeup stylist, I searched for someone who captured the hair style I was looking for along with the natural makeup. Brooke from Boho Beauty Box did an amazing job! She listened to my requests and fully carried out my vision, even adding bits I would not have thought to ask for, such as the braid in my hair and natural looking lash extensions!
A Hayley Paige Dress
My dress was from Boca Raton Bridal in Florida, which was the eighth wedding dress shop I visited. I was beginning to give up hope of finding “the one,” after trying on over 50 dresses and shopping in both Florida and England. As soon as I put on the Halo gown designed by Blush by Hayley Paige, I fell in love!
The modern lace bodice, strappy open back, and light tiered tulle skirt felt like they were an extension of my typical style while at the same time feeling so fresh and special! I also wore the matching Hayley Paige veil with horsehair trim.
Accessories & Shoes
My accessories were all adorned with pearls, and represented a mix of new, old, and borrowed pieces. For the wedding, I bought Rainbow Club Clara shoes, which were ivory with pearls on the strap over the toes and block heels.
They were lovely and so comfortable! I also had a new pair of Ted Baker flat ivory sandals with bows over the toes that I changed into for the late night dancing. My other new accessory was my beautiful Lily & Roo pearl and white gold bracelet that my mother bought me for my 30th birthday a week before the wedding.
My necklace was a simple white chain with a single pearl and diamond design pendant, which was bought for me for my Bat Mitzvah. My hair pieces and earrings were both borrowed. The floral design pearl hair pins were worn by my best friend and bridesmaid, Danielle Landau, at her own wedding. The earrings were gorgeous dangling pieces with a single pearl at the end and stunning diamonds adorning the length. They were originally my great-grandmother’s and were passed down to my mother, who lent them to me for my special day.
The handsome groom
My husband Matt wore a navy blue three-piece suit with a teal bow tie to match the bridesmaids dresses. The suit was from Next in England. At the first look, I remember thinking that he looked so handsome and trim. We barely noticed the photographer there as we took each other in, with Matt tearing up and my smile growing by the minute!
Bridesmaids
I had two maids of honor: my sisters Allison and Jamie, and three bridesmaids: my childhood friend Sarah, college friend Danielle, and British friend Hannah. They wore dusty blue chiffon dresses from Brideside. The color was chosen to represent the blue of the sea, as well as for its flattering effect on all the ladies. I allowed my bridesmaids to pick from any of the dresses in the chosen color so they could all select one they loved and that made them feel most beautiful.
In addition, we had four flower girls: our nieces Ellie, Lucy, Scarlett, and Alice. They wore white dresses from Monsoon, with floral lace bodices, floor length tulle skirts, and silk sashes. The dresses nearly echoed my own dress, and the girls loved spinning around in them!
Ceremony
My favorite part of the whole wedding day was when I reached the top of the aisle with my father to see all of my family and friends beaming at me while Matt waited for me at the huppah. There was so much pure joy and love in that moment pervading the whole room! It truly is a moment and feeling I will always remember. We also invited my Uncle Rich to speak during the ceremony, which he gratefully accepted and prepared for.
Although he was unfortunately unable to make the trip for health reasons, his wife, my Aunt Kristina, read his prepared words in his place. Additionally, we were thrilled to be able to have both of our mothers, Debbie and Margaret, involved in the ceremony as witnesses.
Chuppah
Our gorgeous huppah was constructed specially for our wedding by Belles and Beaus Wedding Styling. We had some difficulty finding huppahs to rent in the Norfolk area, which led me to look for a vendor that might create one for us.
Belles and Beaus perfectly carried out my vision of a simple wooden frame with white chiffon draping! Our florist, Floral Sistas, decorated the huppah with the most incredible arrangements of tropical flowers adorning the top corner and opposite post. The huppah was the most breathtaking focal point for our ceremony and evening reception!
Our Music Choice
For our music, we had a string quartet for the ceremony and cocktail hour, as well as a DJ for the evening reception. The talented string quartet, Kavolini, played ‘Canon in D’ by Pachelbel while the bridesmaids and flower girls processed in, and then ‘Here Comes the Sun’ by The Beatles while my father and I walked down the aisle.
While we signed the registrar, they played ‘Memorized’ by Blake Stadnik, ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran, and ‘Beautiful Day’ by U2. Then as Matt and I walked back down the aisle together as a married couple, Kavolini played ‘Best Day Of My Life’ by American Authors.
For our first dance, the DJ played ‘I Won’t Give Up’ by Jason Mraz, which has been our song since the summer we met. We also gave the DJ a short list of other song requests. This included the ‘Hava Nagila’ for the Hora, which flowed perfectly although many of our English guests had never participated in it before! We also requested the ‘Cotton Eyed Joe’ by Rednex on my behalf, which had become something of a theme through my English Hen Do and American Bachelorette.
On Matt’s behalf we requested ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ by Depeche Mode, which is the celebration song of his recently promoted football team Nottingham Forest. For our last song of the night, we requested ‘Don’t Want to Miss a Thing’ by Aerosmith, and all of our guests joined in on the dance floor to end the night with a final celebratory dance.
Flowers
Our flowers were one of the most special parts of our wedding, as our florist Floral Sistas really outdid themselves on all accounts! As soon as I walked into the ceremony room, my breath was taken away by how incredible the flowers looked and how perfectly they had carried out my wildest visions!
They really exceeded expectations in every capacity! My bouquet was cascading and tropical styled in shades of cerise, pinks, corals and oranges with cerise phalenopsis orchids, dendrobian orchids, ginger, newtons, orange tiger lillies, pink stargazer lillies, palm leaves, and mini monsteras.
The bridesmaids and flower girls had smaller, upright versions of my bouquet. Matt had a phalenopsis orchid buttonhole, while the groomsmen and our fathers had simpler buttonholes to compliment the ladies’ bouquets. The huppah was adorned with the most vibrant tropical floral arrangements on the front top corner and lower opposite side.
Similar arrangements also lined the ceremony aisle and were placed around the room in windowsills and on other tables. Each long table had five low floral arrangements spaced down the length. The florist also provided flowers for my mother-in-law Margaret to use to decorate our cake.
Photographer
In a photographer, I was looking for someone to capture the bright and vibrant feel I was aiming for on our big day. This was actually one of the most difficult vendors to find, as I was particular about the style. After searching through the venue’s recommended vendors and conducting my own research online, I turned to recommendations from friends and family, which ultimately led me to find the wonderful Kate Lowe.
Although she is based near Nottinghamshire where we live, which is actually a two and a half hour drive from the Norfolk venue where we got married, she was so accommodating in making the trip and even staying over the night before to get an early start with us! Kate also brought her colleague Adam to capture video footage of the wedding day. We loved her positive yet efficient energy on the day and have been blown away by the photos we have received!
Food and Cake
Matt and I love enjoying great meals together, so selecting the menu was an exciting and important part of the wedding planning process! Part of the reason we fell in love with Titchwell Manor was the incredible food we had there when we first visited. With the menu, we aimed to include some of our favorites while blending both Floridian and British cuisine. For the passed canapes during cocktail hour, we had ham hock terrine with roasted garlic aioli, tempura cauliflower with sweet chilli, and white crab meat with lime crème fraiche on vol au vent.
For the seated meal, we had a starter of marinated Norfolk quail with potato and Jerusalem artichoke salad and mustard lentils, main course of poached salmon, braised short-rib, confit tomatoes, charred asparagus, peas and beans, brown butter Bearnaise, and beef jus, and dessert of British sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream. We also had late night snacks of pizza, ice cream, and wedding cake.
The wedding cake was expertly baked and decorated by my mother-in-law Margaret. As she has done for each of her other two sons’ weddings, Margaret prepared a traditional English fruit cake with fondant. For our wedding, she perfectly captured my requested vision of rough textured white icing, with simple flowers for decoration. Anyone would have thought it was professionally prepared!
Wedding List / Registry
We registered both in England and America, as we currently live in Nottinghamshire and plan to eventually move to Florida. In England, we registered with John Lewis department store. In America, we registered through Zola primarily at Macy’s department store, Crate & Barrel, and Bed, Bath, & Beyond.
Extra details
Matt and I felt that it was important to include all our loved ones in our wedding despite the circumstances that had nearly precluded that. Our wedding had been originally scheduled for November 2020 in Hillsboro Beach, Florida. Due to COVID and the related travel restrictions prohibiting English citizens from entering the US from March 2020 to September 2021, the wedding was postponed first to May 2021 at the same venue and then to May 2022 in Norfolk, England.
The wedding was much smaller than originally anticipated, although we were thrilled with the advent of technology that many of our family and friends who were not with us in person were able to join us virtually through our live stream. We were even able to Facetime for a bit during the cocktail hour with my Grandma Bobbie, who lives in Florida and was unable to make the trip to England, which was particularly special to both of us.
Additionally, Matt and I symbolically included our grandparents with us through carrying sentimental items. For my maternal Grandma Bobbie, I pinned a piece of lace from her wedding dress to the inside of mine. For my grandparents who had passed, I carried in my bouquet my maternal Grandpa Ken’s driver’s license, my paternal grandmother Nona’s necklace, and my paternal Grandpa Bernie’s broach.
In my bouquet I also carried the family Hebrew prayer book, in which my maternal family has documented every birth, marriage, and passing since the early 1900s. Matt wore his maternal grandfather Doddar’s pocket watch, which his brothers had also worn at their weddings.
We were also able to include many of our closest loved ones in the proceedings of the day, as my father Cliff walked me down the aisle, our siblings and closest friends stood by our side as our wedding party, our nieces walked down the aisle as our flower girls, my Aunt Kristina read my Uncle Rich’s words for us during the ceremony, our mothers Debbie and Margaret signed the registrar as our witnesses, our sisters-in-law Sylvia and Sarah announced the speeches and other events of the day, and speeches were given by Matt, our fathers Barry and Cliff, my sisters Allison and Jamie, and Matt’s brothers Dave and James.
Honeymoon
The week following our wedding, we went on a mini-moon to Rockliffe Hall. The trip was gifted to us by my parents-in-law Margaret and Barry for our wedding. The hotel was in the English countryside, where we enjoyed both the best meal and best massages we had ever experienced! We are hoping to go on a belated honeymoon next spring to Australia.
Advice to other couples planning their wedding
My advice would be to make sure to include your loved ones, while remembering that your wedding is about you and your spouse. Ultimately, make sure that you thoroughly enjoy your day without overthinking how individual guests might perceive little details of your wedding. Also, once your wedding weekend arrives, remember to relax and enjoy the ride! Everyone else is there to see you and your new spouse be happy, so that is your only job for the whole wedding weekend!
RACHEL & MATTHEW’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Kate Lowe
Venue – Titchwell Manor
Bride’s dress – Hayley Paige found at Boca Raton Bridal
Bride’s shoes – Rainbow Club, Ted Baker
Bride’s accessories – Lily & Roo
Groom’s attire – Next
Bridesmaids – Brideside, Monsoon
Hair + Makeup – Boho Beauty Box
Flowers – Floral Sistas
String Quartet – Kavolini
Catering – Titchwell Manor
Stationery/Invitation – Minted
Chuppah – Belles and Beaus Wedding Styling
Wedding Registry – John Lewis, Zola, Crate & Barrel, Bed, Bath, & Beyond
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