A Secret Garden Inspired Wedding in the Cotswolds at the House From “The Holiday”

Lauren Megerdichian
July 29, 2022
Categories: Destination, Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance

You may recognize the setting of today’s stunning Cotswolds wedding from the cult-favorite movie “The Holiday” – you know, the scene where Amanda and Graham frolic around the garden grounds in her iconic cream shearling coat? Yup, that one. It’s safe to say this is our dream English Countryside wedding come to life… filled with fashion, an all-star team of vendors and the quintessential charm of The Cotswolds, all captured beautifully by Chloë Winstanley Photography.

From Chloë Winstanley Photography… Emmy & Milam travelled with their 200 guests from Dallas, Texas to The Cotswolds, England to host their wedding celebrations in the picturesque rolling hills and gardens of Cornwell Manor. The ideal setting for their ‘garden formal’ themed affair, together with wedding planner Kerry Poulter Weddings & Events the couple held an array of gorgeous celebrations.

Emmy and Milam met in London while working abroad in 2018. The running joke is that these two Texans had to move to England to meet each other. When the time came, Milam designed Emmy’s unique, 3-band engagement ring after her grandmother’s wedding ring. The couple got engaged in the private garden of their flat in December 2020. After years of being abroad and the ongoing impact of COVID, the couple decided to move to Dallas to be closer to family. They looked at a few venues in Texas, but ultimately wanted to go back to their favourite place to get married – the English countryside.

During their time in London, the couple would escape to The Cotswolds for romantic getaways and knew it would be a perfect place for a wedding. Emmy always envisioned a garden wedding, so she started searching for venues in the area. The Cornwell Manor estate seemed like the ideal place for a Garden Formal affair and could accommodate their 200 guests. Emmy was certain it was the spot, but Milam wasn’t so easily convinced. After hours of in-depth, thorough research on the area, the Groom agreed—it was simply stunning.

They visited Cornwell in August 2021 and worked with their stellar wedding planner, Kerry Poulter, to create a vision for the weekend. Since the majority of guests were coming from overseas, Emmy and Milam wanted to host several events in addition to the wedding itself. These ancillary events included a Welcome Pool Party, Pub Day (for the groom), Tea Party (for the bride) and a Rehearsal Dinner for all guests who made the journey.

Kerry advised on a cohesive wild garden aesthetic that did not detract from the natural beauty of the estate. All vendors bought into this vision and enhanced it with lighting, linen selections, and other subtle touches. Always committed to a theme, the bride and groom even wore shades of green at every event.

The wedding bouquet and flower arrangements lining the aisle were inspired by the bride’s unique Toni Federici veil. Greenery from the estate was used by Fiona Perry as she incorporated live plants to invoke the feeling of a true, secret garden. These same wild flowers were also used by Daisy Pratt to design a delicious, 4-tier wedding cake complete with both Vanilla & Elderflower and Chocolate & Salted Caramel flavours. The ivory linens and chairs were chosen for their neutral color and comfort in order to allow for the focus to be on the florals and romantic candlelight.

The night was capped off with a spectacular performance by The Sensation Band. The bride and groom changed clothes and put on their dancing shoes (or in the bride’s case, took them off!). Since the wedding weekend took place during Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, the couple provided fun props – paper crowns, Union Jack hats, and masks of the Royal Family – for guests to wear on the dance floor. And as every good party should, the evening ended with crowd surfing, grilled cheese and French fries.