Charlotte & Elliott

Charlotte and Elliott always knew they wanted a small Cotswold wedding, close enough to their home in London, but not set in the city. Finding a venue that works perfectly for a small wedding, with bedrooms and beautiful character, is a challenge, but with The Marlborough Arms in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, we got it just right for their Cotswold wedding celebration.

 

Woodstock is a picturesque market town just outside Oxford, with Blenheim Palace flanking the town on one side, and pretty countryside on the other. Signature Cotswold stone, cobbled streets, cute shops and cafés makes this town a solid 10/10 in the market town stakes. The Town Hall - a very pretty one - is also the registry office's building, so a civil ceremony held here means beautiful pictures outside the building. A rare find!

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The Marlborough Arms is located a mere three minute walk away from the Town Hall, and is an old coaching inn, dating all the way back to the 15th century (!) and still family-owned. The old features gives this place wonderful character, but I'm actually going to geek out a little over the details and decorations we added to give this Cotswold wedding the modern edge that so perfectly reflected Charlotte & Elliott. 

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We opted to go with one long table to allow a cohesive and inclusive feel for the small guest numbers, and allowed us to create a tablescape with real impact. I worked with my favourite florist - Rachael at Wild Rose Florist - who made the most beautiful low bowl arrangements, interspersed with bud vases to highlight delicate stem flowers, complemented by fern leaves on all the place settings. Rachael also built the most magnificent arrangements around the giant fire place. Charlotte & Elliott loved the neutral, soft palette, with lots of whites and shades of green, so Rachael picked this up in seasonal hydrangeas, soft fluffy flexed roses, foliage in various textures, and of course the prettiest trailing ribbon for Charlotte's bouquet. 

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The table scape story continues with cross-back wooden chairs, thick textured linen cloths and napkins in the shade 'natural straw', rattan placemats and walled stone plates for that earthy feel, perfectly complemented by sleek Chef & Sommelier glasses and gold candle stick holders with ivory Ester & Erik candles.

 

Ok, I'm going to stop the table geeking here, but hopefully you can see just how deliciously it all came together!

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Charlotte and Elliott's Cotswold wedding style can't be mentioned without also mentioning the photographer, the amazing Sharron Gibson. Quietly, unobtrusively, in real documentary photography style, she captured all the details and all the moments, while infusing the day with her signature modern style, which certainly helped bring the modern vibe we aimed for to a 15th century inn in the Cotswolds. ​