Our wedding day: Miles and Charlee

It was never going to be a conventional event when Miles and Charlee got married in July last year, and their hippy-geek do made for a really personal day.
Photos by Lina Nyberg

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Early days…

Miles, 31, and 29-year-old Charlee harboured secret feelings for each other for over a decade before a summer beer festival in 2007 provided the Dutch courage for them to admit they both wanted more than just friendship. "We were casual friends for about 11 years and liked each other for most of that time, but we were neither single at the same time nor brave enough to ask each other out," remembers Charlee.
The day of honesty caused the couple to head to the Czech Republic for their first date. As Charlee explains: "Our decision to get together caused a bit of a stir at the time, so the first thing we did was run away to Prague
for a romantic long weekend and a bit of peace and quiet."

The proposal…

The couple's relationship went from strength to strength and in December, 2008, when they returned to the city of their first date, Miles got down on one knee during a horse-drawn carriage ride around the city streets."It was so romantic," says Charlee.
The couple took six months to plan the big day, a task they shared between them. Charlee spills the beans on their eclectic wedding with a gorgeous purple, orange and white colour theme.

The venues…

We both wanted to eschew a traditional wedding ceremony and go for a much more relaxed, open air event. We first visited Ote Hall in spring last year and we knew straight away it was the perfect place for us. The manor house and grounds were breathtakingly beautiful, even on a rainy day.
The first time we visited, the owner, Carola, told us we could have pretty much anything we wanted, including a bouncy castle. There was plenty of space for everything, and lots of gorgeous places for photographs.
Carola was so brilliant. She helped us to get a great deal on a marquee and the food, arranged a beautiful set up for the actual ceremony and really let us have whatever we wanted to make the day our own.

The dress…

The dress I chose was the first that I tried on. I did insist on trying another 10 or so before I realised that, just by chance, the first gown was the one. It was floaty and freeform and would suit any figure.
It was also a classic shape of dress that I wear a lot in the summer, so I felt really comfortable in it. I got the dress from Patricia Diamond in Shoreham. The dress was a bargain in the January sale, so I treated myself to a beautiful shrug, made to match, by Susie at Curvessence.
My three bridesmaids were my friends Pip Small, Michelle Reynolds and Kat Williamson. It was easy to find their outfits as I managed to find a dress that was very flattering, and they all seemed to like it right away. We decided on different shades of the same colour, so the only difficult bit was matching the right shade to the right skin tones.
I asked each of them to try on the dress and then looked at how they moved in it to check whether they were comfortable. The last thing I wanted was for them to feel uncomfortable in their dresses on the day. Either they all liked my decision or they were being very polite!
Miles wore a bespoke, dark brown casual suit with a '70s-style handmade floral shirt in purple and orange. The best man Nathan and head usher Tony wore dark suits with burnt orange shirts and all three wore artificial daisy and ivy buttonholes that I made, and Star Trek cufflinks.
Miles loved getting his suit. At 6ft 7in he can never find clothes to fit him properly, so having something bespoke was a big hit.

The transport…

Miles arrived at the ceremony in the best man's vintage Jag, which had been specially valeted, and I turned up in a lovely vintage Rolls-Royce that once belonged to the Queen Mum. I travelled with my father, the three bridesmaids and the bridesmaids' hairdresser, because his taxi didn't turn up. This took the pressure off and made me laugh instead of feeling nervous. We also laid on a coach so that our guests could get back at the end of the night.

Top tips…

I really recommend that couples don't just go for the traditional stuff because they feel they ought to. They should have what they both really want and should make sure the big day is an extension of their personalities.

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