Charlotte and Matt's Traditional Military Wedding

Today we have the pleasure of sharing this beautiful traditional military wedding in Wiltshire. Real WPC couple Charlotte and Matt both serve in the British Army, so they wanted their day to have a nod towards this big part of their lives. Complete with military dress uniforms, a Guard of Honour, and a vintage Ford Mustang, this wedding is a beautiful source of inspiration. Charlotte and Matt were married in Matt's local church, where a local vicar and an army chaplain friend officiated the ceremony. Their elegant reception was held at the stunning Grittleton House.

Read on as Charlotte shares her favourite wedding presents, her exceptional wedding suppliers, and the highlights of their unforgettable day.

The whole process at The Wedding Present Co was really enjoyable, but it was amazing to receive delivery of our presents from our friends and family. We use so many of the items regularly and it is so special to know that they were given to us with love for our wedding.

We love cooking, and so we knew we would be adding gifts from brands like Le Creuset and Sabatier to our wedding gift list. We also enjoyed discovering brands we hadn't encountered before, such as Nkuku and Just Slate Co. 

We liked that we could visit the showroom to choose items like our cutlery and china in person. This was a really enjoyable part of the process. Also, as we were moving house shortly after the wedding, we wanted to make sure we could time the delivery of our gifts to suit us. The flexibility of The Wedding Present Company played a key part in this. 

Delivery day was so good, we did it twice!! We had our presents delivered in two batches, and both occasions were like Christmas. It was a great way to revisit the wedding excitement after the day and the personal touches with our deliveries were really special.

We are both serving in the Army, and we knew we wanted a traditional military wedding. We wanted the overall look to be elegant and timeless, but for the day to feel relaxed and celebratory. Our main priorities were food, drink and dancing!

The venue didn't need much additional decor, apart from the stunning flowers. We added a few personal touches, such as some art deco menu cards (we found the templates on Etsy) and polaroid-style photos of each of our guests at their place settings. I went on a modern calligraphy course with A L'aise and created the place cards myself.

I got ready with my Mum and bridesmaids at Grittleton House and booked a wonderful 1950s Leyland Tiger Cub Coach to transport us to the ceremony which we booked through Adrains Coaches.

Matt loves Ford Mustangs, so we booked a 1966 Mustang as our wedding car through Ford Mustang Wedding. We loved it, and our driver gave us a good demonstration of its engine on the country roads! 

My dress was by Justin Alexander, and I bought it from George James Bridal in Bedford, my home town. I loved the bow on the back of the belt, and the fact that it had pockets! During the ceremony and wedding breakfast, I wore a lace jacket, also purchased from George James Bridal. The ladies there were so helpful, suggesting options for the jacket and helping me to choose my two-tier veil (I had a minor meltdown trying to decide on the length of the veil!). On the day, the veil ended up being a big feature of the photos, given how windy it was!

Michelle from Bridal Hair in Hampshire did the hair for me, my Mum and bridesmaids. She did a great job and my hairstyle survived the wind and my veil flying all over the place! 

My wedding day make up was done by Elisha from Make Up by Natasha Louise. I don't usually wear much make up, so was a little nervous about looking 'over-done' but I was so happy with the end result!

Matt wore his military dress uniform, which saved us shopping for a new outfit!

My beautiful bridesmaids wore a mixture of styles from Sexy Her. They have a huge range of styles and colours and can adjust for height, so we were able to find something to suit each bridesmaid. 

Grittleton House served a delicious 3 course wedding breakfast, as well as fabulous canapes and a cheese board in the evening. They were really flexible and put on a great menu and wine tasting evening a couple of months before the wedding. My favourite part was our trio of desserts - we had so many comments on this!

Our photographers were Suzy and Alex from Suzy Wimbourne Photography. We were really keen to have a pair of photographers to capture both of us getting ready, and they produced an incredible set of photos which we will treasure forever. They photographed Matt's best man's wedding a few years ago and we are constantly recommending them to everyone! It was like having another couple of friends with us on the wedding day. 

Our band was Groove Anatomy. They were so fun on the night, and really easy to work with - true professionals. The dance floor was packed!

Our first dance was to "L.O.V.E." by Nat King Cole. We surprised our guests with a choreographed first dance, which I don't think anyone would have expected (ourselves included!) but we really didn't want to be awkwardly swaying. We really enjoyed our dance lessons with Lorena from The London Academy of Dance, which were a good way to take our minds off the other parts of wedding planning!

It was so special to finally be walking down the aisle with my brother towards Matt. We were so excited during the ceremony, and couldn't stop smiling.

Another really special part of the day was the speeches as there was so much love in the room. My Mum is not a fan of public speaking, but did such a wonderful job and got lots of laughs! I was keen that the important women had a chance to speak, including myself and our maid of honour, Eva. The absolute highlight was Matt's speech. He is an Army Officer, and not usually known for being sentimental, but he read a poem he had learnt by heart, and there weren't many dry eyes left in the room!

My advice to couples would be to include the things that are meaningful to you on your wedding day, and not to feel under pressure to include something (or leave something out) because of current trends, or based on someone else's opinion. If the day is a reflection of you, your guests will love it! Also, I am so glad we invested in photography, because the memories are so precious. Enjoy the whole process - the wedding was fantastic, but being married is the best!

Wedding Gift List: The Wedding Present Company, Venue: Grittleton House, Transport: Adrains Coaches & Ford Mustang Wedding, Flowers: Rosy Lea Florist, Bridal Fashion: Justin Alexander from George James Bridal, Emmy London & HJ Johnson Jewellers, Hair & Make Up: Bridal Hair in Hampshire & Make Up by Natasha Louise, Photography: Suzy Wimbourne Photography, Music: Groove Anatomy & The London Academy of Dance, Stationery: HD Print