First Wedding of 2016!
We were amazingly lucky with the weather - storms predicted - but the bride was determined that she would get married outside and her faith in the weather paid off!
It was a wonderfully calm, family wedding. The bride works with children and she made sure that they had a fantastic time - from toys attached to their chairs in the Marquee to making full use of the grounds - playing football on the lawn, riding on the tractor etc.
Affordable Marquees, ( http://www.affordable-marquees.com) who have been to Shillingstone many times in the past, provided a brand new tent with brand new linings and it looked wonderful. The family decorated the inside with ivy up the poles and lovely finishing touches such as a sweet stall. Flowers were arranged very simply but very effectively in jam jars and cellophane by Jane Edmonds from Penselwood - http://www.edmondsandhoward.co.uk/- where they grow their own flowers.
The bride's mother had made and iced not one but two cakes. One stunning traditional one and one for the Bridegroom who is a Bournemouth supporter.
Tea and Pimms followed the ceremony, served from vintage china collected by the family over the last year. Tom Clements serenaded the guests from the Gazebo. (http://www.tomclements.co.uk)
The bride and bridegroom went to have their photographs taken by Emma a family friend. (She took the ones without a dot - the others were taken in house) She managed to sneak one of Michael and myself taking photographs of the Ceremony out of the window!
Later in the evening they were treated to a feast from "Eat Like A Greek" - - who provided wraps and salads which the bride said were fantastic. Drink had been bought by the family and the bar was kept going by Tom, another family friend. www.eatlikeagreek.co.uk
Food finished and the serious dancing started! The band - http://www.facebook.com/thezigzagband - was fronted by the groom's uncle who is the lead singer. The dance floor was packed all evening.
With midnight, the music ended but the campers continued to party round the Fire Pit in the field until they retired to their tents about 1.00pm. The bride and groom spent the night in the walled garden in our new bell tent which they luckily said was extremely comfortable!
The following day the campers - there were at least 20 tents set up in the playground - gathered for bacon and egg butties. Later, after relaxing in the sun they had lunch cooked on a barbeque kindly loaned by the Gillingham Hockey Club which the bride plays for - seen below decorated by a huge bunch of balloons (a present to the bride's father). The children found these wonderful but some of them ended up in the trees as strings escaped from small hands! Still there 24 hours later, a lovely reminder of a perfect weekend.
