Family Triumph!

This was a wedding where all the family were involved and worked incredibly hard to get the show on the road - particularly the bride’s mother!

Ernest G Hart arrived on Thursday to put up the marquee which was new and spotlessly white. Harts have been in the marquee trade since 1944 and make their own marquees. Luckily they had a powered drill for putting in the stakes as the ground was incredibly hard after all the sun we had had. (www.ernestghart.co.uk / enquiries@ernestghart.co.uk /01258 881047 )

The marquee was very large and the groom and John from Harts can be seen below making the final decisions about it’s position on the lawn.

The marquee was unlined but John and his team strung yards of bunting, made by the bride’s mother, from the roof.

Friday brought a raft of helpers and vintage lampshades were hung in the catalpa tree and beautiful ribbon strings, made by the bride, were tied to the back of the chairs laid out for the ceremony the following day. More of these were hung in the marquee.

The families had grown pots of plants and extra ones were bought from  Island Garden Nurseries, Upwey, Weymouth. These were placed round the marquee and the Gazebo transforming the latter into an amazing flower bower with hanging basket added to the eaves - www.islandgardencentre.co.uk~

Huge buckets of flowers were collected from 'Holes Farm Flowers' which is part of a consortium called Flowers from the Farm. They were amazing. A few more came from Happy Blossoms (www.thehappyblossoms.com) The family arranged the large ones in enamel buckets and watering cans from our in-house collection which perfectly fitted the vintage theme. Smaller ones filled decorated jam jars - some ours and some decorated by the bride.

(Susan Hole - sjmhole@gmail.com - https://www.flowersfromthefarm.co.uk/members/holes-farm-flowers )

The wedding breakfast was going to take the shape of a cream tea and the families had been collecting vintage china and cake stands for many months. This was all laid out on long tables in the marquee.

An enormous amount of trouble had been taken in choosing favours for the guests and gifts for the children and these were arranged by each place.

Every type of drink was available from wine on the tables to a Gin bar with a huge selection of mixers, a table of draft craft beers, fresh juice and elderflower cordial and a Slush Machine which was hugely popular in the heat. (Slush Machine Hire - 07592554955 - www.slushymania.co.uk

Tables were set up to hold the sweet display and a book put ready for guests to sign the following day.

The attention to detail continued outside where the couple had organised some wonderful signs - a pallet one with the timing of events showing as little alarm clocks set to the appropriate time - made by a friend, Mel, who sells through her facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/MadeByLisseeBee/- and some chalkboard signs created by the Groom’s former Art teacher - https://www.facebook.com/bespokechick

Getting all this right took time and trouble and it was late before the family left to go home.

Saturday dawned and the caterer, Julia’s Kitchen, laid claim to the catering tent and started to assemble the cream tea and lay out the cakes made by friends and family. (www.therealfoodcookeryschool.co.uk) Drinks were made up using the wonderful fresh water tap made by the bride’s step father, Phil, and kindly donated to us to use for future weddings.

The groom and his friends arrived to complete their last minute “to do” list. Rugs were put out ready for the cool of evening and extra throws appeared at the entrance to the tent.

Tables were given their labels and a sign welcoming everyone to the wedding arranged by the front door. Chairs were checked and the final flowers put out at the beginning of the Aisle.

Hay-bales delivered by Vines Close Farm had vintage tablecloths were thrown over them to protect ladies’ legs from the prickles. (https://vinesclosefarm.com ) and

Finally a map of the world showing the table plan was put in place by the entrance to the tent and everything was ready to go!

The bridegroom went into the house to see the Registrars and then was shooed out of sight before the arrival of the bride.

She arrived with her mother looking amazing in a tight bodiced, full skirted gown by Brides with Curves with her hair flowing down her back in ringlets. Her bridesmaids looked lovely in gowns in shades of pink.

Outside the front door was the couple’s Dalmatian dog, Pixel, waiting patiently to join the bridesmaids who were to follow the bride and her mother under the Catalpa tree and across the lawn to the gazebo.

The photographer rushed from the house to be in place to take the a picture of the groom as he saw his bride coming towards him. She is a friend who they had met in Thailand and who lives and works in Austin, Texas, and had flown over specially. She was the greatest of fun and thought nothing about throwing herself on the ground to get the best shot. She took all the fantastic photographs not marked with SH which are in-house - https://creatrixphotography.com~

The sun shone as the bride and groom took their vows, with rings presented very proudly to them by a small ring bearer dressed in blue shorts and braces.

With the register signed, they walked back down the aisle being pelted with homemade dried flower confetti which had taken eighteen months to make!

Ceremony over, the guests chatted on the lawns while formal photographs were taken, before everyone headed into the marquee for their delicious cream tea and speeches.

Delicious food finished it was time to relax.

With their guests happily relaxing, the bride and groom went to have more informal pictures taken in the grounds including one taken down a multicoloured slinky!

As the bride and groom returned to their guests, mouth-watering smells rose from beside the marquee where Dorset Porkers had set up their hog roast for the second time this year and guests queued up to get their roast pork and all the trimmings - dorsetporkers.co.uk~

The band and disco struck up as the sun went down and the bride and groom danced their first dance. They played to a full dance floor until Midnight. Such a good time was had by everyone that they forgot to light the sparklers so carefully put ready. ( https://www.tailored-entertainment.com › one-big-reunion-band-surrey )

Midnight brought the end to the music and weary revellers followed the fairy light trail to their tents or taxis, with the bride and groom collapsing in exhaustion in our Indian Themed Bell Tent in the Walled Garden.

The next morning brought clearing up, a breakfast of croissants and two huge buckets of flowers for us to use in the house. All the hard work really paid off and it was an amazing, happy weekend. As Jenna, the photographer said “ Rebecca, I knew where you were because I heard you laugh” and it was a frequent wonderful laugh.

We were left with a lovely reminder as the lawn was still sprinkled with confetti!