The Knowle Country House Wedding // Katharine and Paul

Knowle Country House wedding with Katharine and Paul

Katharine and Paul’s Knowle Country house wedding was a little eclectic with simple rustic touches combined with sleek modern edges. With a bouncy castle that went down as well with the adults as the kids and a gorgeous humanist ceremony to start, this was an amazing wedding day.

First names: Katharine and Paul
Ages: 35 and 36
Wedding date: 13th April 2017
Venue: The Knowle Country House, School Lane, Higham, Kent. ME3 7HP.

How did you guys meet, tell me all?
We met through work. Katharine joined the department I was already working in, at Kent and Canterbury Hospital in the summer of 2007. We didn’t really get to know each other until about six months later, becoming friends after going to a few work socials together. Things just grew from there really. We began spending progressively more and more time together over the next year until we finally become a couple in 2009.

How did you get engaged, is there a cool story?
I had secretly commissioned an engagement ring in January 2016 after finding a design that I thought Katharine would love, and after a few clandestine visits to the jewellers, I finally had the ring in early March. I had been trying to organise something special in order to propose but couldn’t find the right time or occasion, we both seemed really busy at the time and I wanted it to remain a total surprise.

I finally found an opportunity in May, when I booked a restaurant to celebrate Katharine’s birthday. After waiting for Katharine’s response to the restaurant (luckily she loved it!), I made up my mind to ask. We had been joking about how people kept referring to her as Mrs Janman and that she had stopped trying to correct them when they did. I asked if she would like to be Mrs Janman officially. Her response was classic Katharine – she asked me if I was being serious or hypothetical!

That’s when I presented her with the ring and asked her to marry me. Katharine was definitely shocked and it had been the surprise that I had wanted to achieve. She said yes (obviously)!

Although I thought that we had been very discreet and that no-one had noticed, there was another couple on the adjacent table (who incidentally were celebrating their first wedding anniversary) who saw what was happening. Unbeknown to us, they organised some champagne to be sent to our table for us to celebrate. Amazing generosity from strangers! We returned the favour later by buying them a drink after their meal to say thank you and to congratulate them on their anniversary too.

What made you choose your wedding venue, did you look at many?
We visited at least seven possible venues, but the Knowle was actually the first place that we visited. We fell in love with the charm of this venue at first sight. We wanted something that would feel intimate for a small ceremony but also big enough for a great evening party too. The possibility of being able to hold the ceremony either outside or indoors (without a feeling of compromise) depending on the weather of the day, also gave this venue a unique flexibility that we couldn’t really find anywhere else. The proprietor, Michael, was also very charismatic and he certainly sold, and added to, the charm of the Knowle!

There is also a small family connection to this venue too. Katharine’s mother used to live in the village as a child, and used to walk past the venue every day on her way to primary school.

What was the inspiration/theme of your wedding?
Our theme is a little eclectic with simple rustic touches combined with sleek modern edges too. As such, we couldn’t really decide on an overall colour scheme, so we have coupled muted tones with splashes of bold colours with accents of copper! We had the idea that although this is a special event, everything should be as reusable as possible, so suits and dresses etc have all been bought with this in mind. Overall, we just wanted to have a celebration with our family and friends, to honour our relationship.

What is your first song and why?
Our first song is a cover version of “You’ve got the love” performed by Florence and the Machine. We both really love this track despite usually having very different musical tastes! We wanted to avoid typically cliché slow songs for our first dance, and felt that this fitted the bill.

What would be your number one tip to other couples planning their wedding?
Get as much done as early as possible as it will help you out enormously the nearer the wedding gets! Even if you think you have loads of time and you don’t need to worry about certain things for ages, get them done as soon as possible!

Check out Katharine and Paul’s The Knowle Country House wedding below.

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Wedding Suppliers

Hair stylist: Angela Williams
Website: http://www.rkwhair.co.uk/

Make up artist: Clare Lake
Website: http://www.clarelakemakeupartist.co.uk/

Brides dress: Tadashi Shoji from BHLDN
Website: http://www.bhldn.com/

Bridesmaids dresses: EbonyRose (adult) and John Lewis (children)

Suits: Hugo Boss (Groom) and Moss (Best man)
Website: http://www.hugoboss.com and http://www.moss.co.uk

Florist: Distinctly Floral
Website: http://www.distinctlyfloral.co.uk/

Cake: Groom’s mum (Sandra Janman)

Caterer: Food and drink all supplied by the venue.

Band/DJ: Soundwaves
Website: http://www.soundwavesdisco.co.uk/home

Humanist celebrant: Zena Birch
Website: http://zenabirch.com/

Bridal shoes: Painted by the bride’s cousin Rebecca Carter
Website: http://www.rebeccacarterart.co.uk

Jaguar F-type supplied by: Regency Car Hire (acting as a Broker for Priority Hire Ltd)
Website: http://www.regency.co.uk

Brides jacket: The Touch of Silk
Website: http://www.thetouchofsilk.com/home/

 

Are you looking for a wedding photographer? Would you like someone who photographs it in an alternative, fun and natural way? Fancy seeing your wedding pictures on my Instagram and on other cool wedding blogs? Get in touch and let me know all about your day! I need to know the date, ceremony and reception details and most importantly all the ideas you have! 

Let’s chat about your day!

Ross Hurley Photography Regional Finalist At The 2016 National Wedding AwardsI am a Kent wedding photographer who has been featured within Your Kent Wedding Magazine, Rock n Roll Bride and Your Sussex Wedding Magazine, with images also published in the The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Independent, The News Of The World and many other large newspapers and magazines.

The Knowle Country House Wedding | Kent Wedding Photographer | http://www.rosshurley.com | Ross Hurley Photography
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