These newlyweds decorated their garden wedding venue with lots of homemade personal touches. Our WED2B Real Weddings feature reveals more…

Jessica and Joshua outside their wedding venue kissing.

Jessica and Joshua met in 2012, when they were in the sixth form together and also both worked at Domino’s. “We became good friends over the course of the year,” says Jessica. “Then I left in September 2013 to move to Leicester to go to uni and, ironically, this is when things developed between us. The friendship turned into a relationship over the next few months."

" We never really had a ‘first date’ because it all just kind of happened!”

Black and white image of Jessica having her makeup applied on the morning of her wedding

A sweet proposal at home

Josh proposed at home on 4th September 2020. “I had been out with my sister,” says Jessica. “When I walked through the front door I could smell a candle and it was unlike Josh to light candles. Then I walked into the living room and he had got out all the candles (which was a lot!) and put them everywhere. I remember him standing there, the dog lying on the sofa, and he said some really beautiful things to me. Then he got down on one knee, with the most beautiful ring, and asked me to marry him."

"It was very Monica and Chandler from Friends, romantic and intimate!”

Black and white image of Jessica getting into her lace wedding dress with the help of two of her bridemaids

Shopping for the dress

“My older sister got married in 2017 and her dress was from WED2B,” says Jessica. “I remember the whole process being very easy and, although it was a different store, the staff at Hinckley WED2B were really welcoming and friendly. I knew that I wanted to look at the dresses at my local store and I was really happy that I did."

"The staff we really helpful and knowledgable, they made me feel at ease and I didn’t feel rushed at all."

"I had my bridesmaids with me and we all had a lovely time.’

Image of Jessica having makeup applied to her eyes for the big day

A stunning floral A-line

Jessica chose Delphine. “I had seen it online and I loved the lace,’ she says. “I also loved the story behind how the designer came up with the pattern, and all the small details such as the little bees. As soon as I put it on I knew that it was ‘The One’."

" It made me feel incredible, it complimented my figure and didn’t make me feel self conscious."

"However, I did want sleeves and the staff could see I needed something extra. One girl went out and came back with some tulle sleeves. Adding these on made me fall in love, it was everything I had pictured, if not better. The lace was really soft, so it was comfortable all day. It was just perfect.” (For similar styles try Ffion, Emilio or Amalie)

Jessica and Joshua's wedding venue

Chic green bridesmaids' dresses

“We also bought five bridesmaids’ dresses in dark green, all different styles,” says Jessica. “I wanted them to feel comfortable and wear whatever design they wanted. Plus, we got the matching dark green tie sets and the bridesmaid and maid of honour pins, too.”

Jessica and Joshua's yurt wedding venue for their wedding ceremony

A garden wedding venue

The couple chose a garden wedding venue, Thorpe Garden in Tamworth for the big day on 23rd October 2022. “We knew the minute we walked in that it was the perfect garden wedding venue for us,” says Jessica.

“We wanted something like a barn or farm, but it was the yurt that we fell in love with."

"It’s decorated with lights, with warm tones throughout. We decided to have both the ceremony and the reception in there."

Jessica arriving to her wedding venue in her wedding campervan

"The grounds of the venue are stunning - a walled garden and an open kitchen in the pavilion. We loved the idea of guests being able to see their food being cooked during the wedding breakfast and also the amazing photo opportunities in the garden."

Jessica walking down the aisle with her dad

The big day

“The night before, Josh stayed at his parents' house and I stayed at home,” says Jessica. “I got ready with my bridesmaids - my two sisters and three friends, and my baby niece who was the flower girl. We were then joined by my dad and brother, as well as a couple of other people."

"While getting ready, it was chucking it down with rain, but I didn’t feel stressed at all."

"I wasn’t bothered about the weather. My dad walked me down the aisle to ‘Songbird’ by Fleetwood Mac.”

Jessica placing her hands on Joshua's cheeks during their wedding ceremony

Canapés and drinks

“Straight after the ceremony, we had canapés and drinks (beers and bellinis),” says Jessica. “ We were so glad we opted for canapés over a starter later on, because we’ve always said that we’re starving at weddings! The staff at the venue were great, constantly circulating and checking in on everyone. We had some space hoppers in the garden too, which were a hit!”

Jessica and Joshua having their first kiss as husband and wife

“After chatting with our guests, we had photos for around an hour and our photographer was incredible,” says Jessica. “We wanted candid photos that really captured the day, and Charli did that perfectly. At the wedding breakfast, we had pork with the best roast potatoes in the world, followed by brownie and ice cream. The food was out of this world, I highly recommend Cripps & Co venues to everyone.” 

Jessica and Joshua holding hands and walking back up the aisle as a married couple

Sweet words and sweet music

“There were two speeches - Josh and his best man, Jordan. Both were great! Full of laughs and sweet words. Later on, our first dance was to ‘The Only Exception’ by Paramore. We chose this as they've been my favourite band since I was around 14."

"We’ve seen them a number of times together, so they hold a special place for both of us."

One of the times we saw them was Reading Festival in 2014. The power went just before they were about to perform this song, so they ended up doing it 'a capella' and it was incredibly beautiful. Since then, the song always makes me tear up, and now even more so!"

Jessica and Joshua walking, holding hands while their wedding guests throw confetti

A forest green theme

“I spent a lot of time on Pinterest, as I’m sure all future brides do!” says Jessica. “I was very lucky that Josh liked everything I suggested and he gave me, as he says, 'creative freedom’. Our colour scheme was dark forest green, with gold and brass accents and pops of bright autumnal colours, such as pinks, oranges and purples.”

Jessica and Joshua smiling and holding hands while walking around the grounds of their wedding venue

“We hired a few pieces, such as glass lanterns and candlestick holders, and bought our own bits and bobs like dark green candlesticks."

"It was a very DIY wedding."

"I made all of the stationary and signage, such as the invites, welcome sign, place cards, everything. Even the cake, which was chocolate fudge and out of this world. Josh spent a few evenings making gold paper cranes to go around the venue, as a homage to our name Crane.”

Jessica and Joshua kissing at their garden wedding venue

Polaroids, dancing and fun...

“We had a DJ in the evening who provided all the tunes, and played all the requests I asked for, going from head banging tunes one minute to rapping the next. We also had a magic mirror photo booth, which everyone enjoyed. There was a photo guest book, which guests could stick their photos in, along with any they took on my polaroid camera. We’re so glad we did this, it was so nice to look through the book when we got home.”

Jessica and Joshua embracing amongst the greenery of their garden wedding venue

A fiery moment!

“There were so many memorable moments,” says Jessica.

“The first being that I almost burnt the house down while getting ready!"

"I had set up the kitchen for the bridal party with balloons and other decorations, which included some candles. My sister and I were in the kitchen, with our backs to all of this, admiring the bouquets that the florist had just dropped off. Then she turned around and shouted, ‘Jess, everything is on fire!’. The ‘bride’ balloons lit up one after the other, but I stayed calm, opened the back door and carefully picked the balloons up and chucked them outside in the rain. Some fell off and melted the mat by the back door but at least the house is okay!” 

Jessica with her arms around Joshua while smiling

The best bits…

“A lot of the day blurs into one, as it goes so quickly,” says Jessica.

“One of the loveliest moments was walking down the aisle. As I walked in, I looked at Josh and he was bawling his eyes out. Surprisingly I didn’t cry once, I was just beaming with happiness. We got some lovely photos of me comforting him. At one point, while we were eating, Josh held my hand and said how he wanted to just take it all in. So, we watched all of our guests enjoying their food and having a laugh together, and it was so nice to see. The evening was so fun. The DJ said to me that he had never got to a wedding reception where the bride was already ‘going hard on the dance floor’ before he was even there. So, I take that as a compliment!”

Black and white image of Jessica comforting Joshua during their wedding ceremony

My top tips…

“Don’t stress about tiny details, you literally don’t even think about any of it on the day,” says Jessica. “It’s a good thing we had set it all up the day before because otherwise, I honestly wouldn’t have noticed anything. You’re too busy having the best day ever. If you can, get a polaroid camera with loads of film and encourage your guests to use it. We wanted disposable cameras but they’re so expensive and not worth the risk of the photos not turning out. When it comes to the budget, it’s easy to save money on certain things (such as stationary) but I would recommend doing lots of research into photographers and going for the one you want, not just the cheapest."

"The day goes by so quickly, you want the best photos to look back on.”

Jessica and Joshua’s Dream Team 

Photographer: Photography by Charli

Garden wedding venue: Thorpe Garden Tamworth

Wedding dresses Hinckley: WED2B

Florist: Flowerology Birmingham 

DJ: DJ Paul remayne 

Prop hire: Georgia at Two Eight One

Photo Booth: Murphys Magic Mirror 

Camper van: Pearl Heritage

Makeup artist: Charlotte Swadkin

Hair stylist: Laura at Elegance Bridal Hair Design

If you would like us to feature your big day, like this pretty wedding with a garden wedding venue, then please click here to share your story and photos with us and we’ll be in touch. Your nearest WED2B is closer than you think, click here for your nearest store and here for what to expect when you visit.