Contessa Lambert & Trevor Harlock

Buxted Park, Sussex
Sunday, 11th May, 2008

Contessa and Trevor met on a night out clubbing and Trevor sealed the deal by making her laugh! The couple had been together 18 months when they flew to Egypt for a holiday. “At the hotel, they said there was a problem and Trevor went up to ‘check’ the room,” Contessa tells us. Later, I opened the door to this amazing suite. The entire place was covered in gorgeous pink petals, candles in the shape of a heart and there was a huge heart-shaped box of handmade chocolates — it was beautiful. He’d planned it secretly and said it was to celebrate our anniversary. Later, as we stood on the balcony overlooking the Red Sea, Trevor asked me to marry him. I was completely overwhelmed and cried.”

The dress…

“My dress designer was Justin Alexander (justinalexanderbridal.com) at Leonie Claire (leonieclaire.com). I chose an ivory taffeta dress which had a ruched bodice and a draped apron skirt over layers of netting; it was detailed with sparkling crystals, beads and sequins. As soon as I tried it on, I knew. The corsetry of the dress was unbelievable, it felt beautiful to wear and the design of the dress was everything I had been looking for. When I came out of the dressing room my mum, auntie and bridesmaids were all reduced to tears!”

The ceremony…

“We married in The Orangery at Buxted Park (handpickedhotels.co.uk). The Victorian conservatory overlooks perfect gardens. It’s white and bright with floor-to-ceiling windows and a stone floor. It looked so special when we decorated it with lanterns and rose petals.”

The reception…

“One of the managers of Buxted Park, Marc Desseaux, had such passion for the place. We both liked him so much that we asked him to act as our Master of Ceremony on the day, which he did perfectly. He was such a huge part of the style of our day and our guests loved him. We had films and popcorn in the cinema for the children and everyone enjoyed pink Champagne and cold Peroni and canapés in the gardens. It was a relaxed atmosphere and the weather was gorgeous. The wedding breakfast took place in The Ballroom at four o’clock.”

The bouquet…

Contessa’s vintage, summery bouquet was hand-tied with ivory ribbon and made up from the palest pink Sweet Avalanche roses with diamanté pins at the centre, Vendela roses, (a rich ivory rose), pale pink peonies, light pink freesia and pretty ranunculus to finish.

The reception…

“We had a string quartet during the ceremony and at the reception drinks. In the evening, the DJ played a mix of ’70s and ’80s disco, as well as ’90s house and more up-to-date music. We didn’t just want a generic disco, we really wanted to get everyone on the dancefloor. It was packed all night!”

Photographer: Elton Mogg, eltonmogg.co.uk