A beautiful manor house wedding in the countryside was the ideal location for this happy couple. Our WED2B Real Weddings Milton Keynes feature reveals more:

Sandra and Stephan met in March 2012 and he proposed four years later. “I thought I’d be spending a day with some girlfriends but they were in on it. When we got to the pergola on Hampstead Heath, Stephan was there instead,” says Sandra. “He had set up a picnic in the centre of the pergola and when he proposed I was very surprised!”

  Real Weddings Milton Keynes: Sandra and Stephan’s manor house wedding  

Finding the dress

Sandra found her Leah dress, from the Anna Sorrano collection, at WED2B’s Milton Keynes store. “It was A-line, which I knew would suit me best, and I loved the layers and layers of beautiful soft material,” she says. “I also loved the full-length lace sleeves and low back. It was an easy decision when I tried it on!” She also bought the London veil from the Amixi range. “I wanted a long veil, as I was having a church wedding, and the London veil was so soft and had beautiful embellishment. It also matched my dress perfectly.”

  Real Weddings Milton Keynes: Sandra and Stephan’s manor house wedding    

A manor house wedding

The couple chose the Fennes Estate in Essex for their wedding in April 2018. “We fell in love with the house and the country setting,” says Sandra. “It was exactly what we were looking for and the venue was flexible about certain things, which helped make our decision easy.”

  Real Weddings Milton Keynes: Sandra and Stephan’s manor house wedding  

A moving ceremony

“We had a Catholic church wedding, as we're both Catholic and that was important to us,” says Sandra. “My Dad walked me down the aisle and one of the best moments was the priest asking us to kiss as husband and wife, as this isn’t usually done in Catholic wedding masses! The most memorable moment was seeing Stephan waiting for me at the end of the aisle.”

  Real Weddings Milton Keynes: Sandra and Stephan’s manor house wedding  

A warm and sunny day

The church was only 10 minutes away from the venue so, when the ceremony was over, guests headed back for drinks and canapés in the grounds surrounding the manor, as the weather was beautifully warm.

  Real Weddings Milton Keynes: Sandra and Stephan’s manor house wedding  

Dancing the night away

“There was no theme but the overall look I had in mind was rustic with a touch of luxury,” says Sandra. “I used a lot of my own personal belongings for the decorations and had a few DIY projects too, such as wooden palettes for displays around the reception venue. We also hired in a few larger props, such as a writing desk and a screen, to go behind the cake.” 

There was a four-tier cake with two layers of vanilla sponge with raspberry and rosewater filling and two layers of rich dark chocolate. “It was heavenly!” says Sandra. “After this came the most fun part of the wedding - dancing into the night!”   Real Weddings Milton Keynes: Sandra and Stephan’s manor house wedding  

Sandra’s Dream Team:

Photographer: Philippa Sian Photography (philippa-sian.co.uk)

Venue: Fennes (fennes.co.uk)

Florist: Floribunda Rose Florists (floribundarose.com)

Catering: Kanchans (kanchansgroup.com)

Videographer: IKKI Productions (ikkiproductions.com)

Cake: Blossom and Crumb (blossomandcrumb.co.uk)

Stationary: My business Sandra Fernando Calligraphy (sandrafernando.com)

DJ: Karizma London (karizmaroadshow.com)

Décor: Fleur and Fig (fleurandfig.co.uk)

Hair stylist: Emma Dallimore (emmadallimore.com)

Did your wedding have the wow factor like our manor house wedding feature? If you would like to be a part of our real weddings feature send your favourite photo to info@wed2b.co.uk and we’ll be in touch!