Today’s real wedding comes to us from husband and wife photographers, Beard + Mane, and has one of the sweetest engagement stories we’ve ever heard! Will and Eva’s love story continued to be just as cute as they tied the knot in the beautiful English countryside surroundings of Furtho Manor Farm. Their rustic barn wedding reception has some gorgeous ideas, (some great cocktail-shaking) and thoughtful touches to welcome their Irish guests. If this beaming couple can't brighten up your Monday, well I don't think anything can...

Will tells us about how he and Eva met at church in Birmingham, “We had both recently moved to Birmingham and attended the same church. I was often playing in the band and Eva was in charge of the kids’ work there. This meant that we never really came across each other. However, whenever I was on stage, during practice, I would see Eva walking back and forth on her way to the kids’ room to set things up and she definitely caught my eye.”

Eva plucked up he courage to say hi first, but it was Will who had to make a move before she got away, “She actually introduced herself to me one Sunday and we had a little chat. After a couple of parties and nights out, I realised I would need to make a move pretty quickly or she would get snapped up in no time. I asked her out for coffee at the beginning of 2016 and after a few dates we officially got together in February. We initially bonded on a love of sport, music and our families, plus she’s absolutely stunning and has a great accent!” Ah yes, we agree that a good accent can be a deal-sealer!

Eva says she didn't give Will an easy ride at first, “I was unsure about dating after some previous relationships but was encouraged by a friend to go out with Will (thanks Mez). I definitely put him through his paces and by the second date had asked him what his passions, ambitions and dreams were, how he felt about politics, poverty and people in his life. I wasn’t going to mess around this time!”

Love this snap of Will awaiting their first look!

Eva continues to tell us how their first date went; “Initially he was a bit shy and I thought he was, well…a bit beige. But when we started talking about family he lit up. We continued about sport, music and travel. I soon realised my initial judgements couldn’t have been more wrong! Will has a passion for helping others and loves his family deeply-which is something we have in common. He also really made me laugh and we would end up spending parties having the craic. Just us. Plus, he’s hot. After some initial slight hesitation, I was hooked quite quickly.”

When the time came to pop the question, Will was a man with a plan; “I wanted to surprise Eva with the proposal, we had decided we wanted to get married and had actually gone to look at rings together (which I would definitely recommend!) so she was definitely expecting/waiting for the proposal.”

Eva had stressed to Will that she didn’t want it to be a public proposal, "I was trying to find somewhere secluded where we could have some privacy. I found a place near where we lived called Sarehole Mill, which is a beautiful old water mill with some private gardens. I contacted them and asked if they would open up the gardens for us outside of opening hours and they agreed!”

Oh this already sounds like a sweet one!

Will got a friend of Eva's in on his plans, “I arranged for Eva and I, plus our friend Clare, to have dinner together and when the day came, I made the excuse that I was going to be late for dinner so they should go ahead without me. Clare conveniently had a “broken oven” and told Eva that she’d already spoken to me and that we’d meet at a restaurant. She drove Eva down to the Mill and left her at the entrance where I had left some flowers and an envelope.”

And it gets even sweeter... “Eva’s favourite flowers are yellow roses and sunflowers so throughout the gardens there were stops where there was an envelope and more flowers (yellow ones, her favourite) and in each envelope was a picture of us throughout our relationship with a story or something written on the back about how I felt about her in that moment. She kept on walking through gardens until the last section, out on a jetty going into a lake where I was standing, waiting to propose!” Wow - now that's a proposal story to tell the grandkids!

Will and Eva’s wedding was every bit as memorable as their engagement, as Eva explains; “Our wedding had quite a rustic vibe, very homely and chilled. We wanted it to read boho, rustic, festival vibes. We took a lot of time picking every little detail of our day so it was definitely what we had in our minds when we started planning."

Doesn't Eva look like the most chilled-out and happy bride!

The ceremony was one of the aspects of the day that was important to the couple, “We wanted God to be the centrepiece. We are entering marriage because we love each other and we believe that God has brought us together and is very much in it with us. We wanted to make the space for worship and for the Bible to be declared during the service,” Will tells us, “The Church we got married in is the main church in the town that I grew up in. It was great to be able to have that link and to be familiar with the surroundings.”

“One of the best moments of our day was our ‘reveal’. Our photographers, the wonderful Beard & Mane (David & Kerry Salisbury) did this at their wedding and we loved the idea. At 10am on the morning of the wedding, Eva and I met at the reception venue and spent 10 minutes together all dressed up in our wedding gear. It was so special to have that moment, just us (and our photographers and videographer), just to spend some time chatting, praying and talking about the day ahead. We would definitely recommend this to any engaged couple, it is such a special moment.”

The navy and grey colour scheme for the bridal party looked amazing on everyone.

The inclusion of yellow flowers was a nod to their engagement; the cheerful colour is Eva's favourite.

The couple prioritised making things straight-forward for their guests, “The most important aspect for us was the people attending. We both come from large families and we have friends spread across the UK and Ireland (and the world) and we wanted to make it easy for people to get there.”

“The venue also had a B&B which meant that Eva’s family could come over from Ireland a few days before the wedding to spend time together and help with the set-up of the barn. It was really special to have that time together with both of our families in the lead up to the big day,” explains Will.

The couple's reception venue, Furtho Manor Farm ticked all their boxes, “The fact that we had a clean slate and could decide exactly what we wanted to do and how we wanted to design it, was a winner for us. We could choose the caterer, the decorator and pretty much everything.” We reckon they did an incredible job at pulling everything together.

Simple wooden tables and chairs kept the feel of the reception hall rustic and earthy. The fabric draping gives the black space setting a touch of polish, don't you think?

Clothes pegs and rosemary made a cute name card for each place setting.

Shaking up some cocktails for guests.

When it comes to the wedding advice Eva would give to other couples, she has two definites and one maybe, “DEFINITELY have a reveal moment. Ours was one of favourite parts. It was so special to take a moment together before the madness began. To see how the other was, relish that this was OUR day and enjoy the special first look together just us. DEFINITELY hire a videographer and go for a good one. It’s worth the money. Girls; have a veil! You’ll never get to wear one again, so go for it! I didn’t cover my face but definitely made a big trail behind me.”

What a spread!

Using homemade wedding favours is not only budget-friendly, but it adds a sentimental touch. The options of what you could create are endless.

A nod to Eva's Irish fam!

What was on the agenda for after the wedding?  “We went to Grenada in the Caribbean for our honeymoon – it is an incredibly beautiful Caribbean island and after months and months of hectic planning, it was a perfect destination just to chill out on the beach!”

Thanks so much to talented photography duo, Beard + Mane for sending use these amazing snaps. Will and Eva, you guys put on a good wedding! We wish you lots of love and happiness for the future.

The Wedding Details 

• Ceremony: Buckingham, St Peter & St Paul’s Church
• Reception: Furtho Manor Farm
• Wedding Dress: Maggie Sottero
• Bridesmaids dresses: House of Fraser
• Shoes: Kurt Geiger
• Flowers: Helen Dutch (Family Friend)
• Grooms suit: Hugo Boss
• Groom(smen)’s suits: Topman
• Accessories: Necklace: Forever 21 / Earrings: Etsy

• Cake: Mother and Sister of the Groom
• Wedding Favours: Marmalade made by Bride's Auntie Siobhan
• Make Up: Make Up at Be Serene
• Wedding Bands: Diamond Heaven
• Bridal Entrance Music: Elspeth Hanson from Bond Quartet
• Ceremony Music: Nick & Becky Drake / Anna & Luke Hellebronth /Josh Guaton & Tim Muller
• Reception Music: De Amour Function Band
• Decorators: McGee's Decorators
• Videographer: H&H Wedding Films