Puppy love leads to Sarah and Nick’s relaxed classic wedding

Texan Sarah met British boy Nick at a relaxed bar in downtown Austin – but it wasn’t the future love of her life that she noticed first.

“Nick was there with his five-month-old Doberman puppy reading and enjoying the sun. I saw the puppy and went straight over to pet him,” Sarah, 35, recalls.

“After a moment, my eyes followed the lead up to the dog’s owner to see Nick’s perfect smile and bright eyes staring back at me.”

Sarah says she and Nick, 33, started chatting and “never really stopped”. The couple moved to Colorado together and Nick popped the question in February 2017. They moved to the UK in August and celebrated their relaxed classic wedding in the Cotswolds on October 1, 2017.

The couple chose Charingworth Manor in Chipping Campden for the classic celebrations with 86 friends and family.

“We did everything exactly the way we wanted, invited exactly who we wanted, and found many ways to make the day unique. Our music, our changes to tradition, our wedding party, party favours, and décor all reflected meaningful aspects in our lives,” Sarah says.

“We wanted our wedding to be fun and relaxed and for our guests to have a blast. And they certainly did- the dancefloor was never empty. My Texas guests and Nick’s English guests were all meeting for the first time. They mixed and mingled and partied the night away!”

Photos courtesy of Amber Marie Photography.

“I wanted mermaid shape and I knew Nick liked strapless,” Sarah says of her gown from Pearl Bridal Boutique.

Photographer Amber Marie Barker had a ball photographing Sarah and Nick’s wedding. “It was a really fun day to be involved in and I loved that everyone welcomed me into the day. It was super relaxed which allows me to float around and capture lots of lovely natural moments which are my favourite,” she says.

When it came to her bridesmaids, Sarah let them choose their own dresses. “I wanted everyone to feel free to choose a dress they liked and I did not want a line of matching bridesmaids,” she says.

“Neither of us would ever have said we believed in it, nor did we realise we were experiencing it at the time we met, but we now know, we truly fell in love at first sight,” Sarah says.

Piano DJ ensured the party went on long into the night.