What does a drop of rain matter! A truly wonderful wedding!
All the beautiful photographs, not marked otherwise, were taken by David Wheeler Photography - 07931 974123 / david@davidwheelerphotography.co.uk / davidwheelerphotography.co.uk/work/wedding-photography-hampshire
The sun was shining and the sky an amazing blue when John from Marqco Marquees arrived to put up a village of Capri tents for the wedding in the field and another in front of the Gazebo in case of bad weather for the wedding ceremony - impossible to predict this year.
Capri tents are quick to put in place and under the watchful gaze of our wire rooks, they were soon up and ready to be filled with decorations etc for the next day
07787 825548 / enquiries@marqco.co.uk / marqco.co.uk
Friday saw friends and relations turning up to help with the decorating and arranging of tables, lawn games etc. The children laid out a huge train track ready for Saturday.
A Crisp wall and a memories table was set up in the marquee, along with a basket of shawls to keep guests warm the following evening.
Wedding flowers, from Black Shed Flowers, were arranged in informal milk churns and metal buckets. Even the bride’s bicycle basket and Wellie Boots were adorned! Jam jars filled with white flowers were set ready to place on logs down the Wedding “Aisle” . Many were stored in the porch of the house over night to keep them cool,
07859 911817 / nfo@blackshed.flowers / https://www.blackshed.flowers/
Tables were laid. Long hessian runners went down the centre, covered in the most beautiful strings of eucalyptus leaves and roses. Jars of mixed flowers were dotted in between.
The final touches were bottles of Pickering’s Gin! The Bride’s maiden name was Pickering. Tables were named after local Iron-age hillforts as the groom is an archeologist. Luggage labels showed each guest their place. The Bride’s place was indicated by an apron with “Wifey” beautifully embroidered on the front, that she had made on her hen party, ready to wear for the meal.
Time to go home.
Saturday and sadly the weather that had been so lovely was forecast to rain. The groom and his friends arrived to put out the many notices that had been sheltering in the marquee and to put the vases of white flowers in their place on the aisle. A quck check and everything was perfect.
Cheese from The West Country Cheese Company arrived and was stacked to form a most beautiful wedding cake. Once in its place of honour, little replicas of the couple’s dogs sat on one side with pictures of the bride and groom as children.
https://www.westcountrycheese.co.uk/ 01271 379944 / enquiry@westcountrycheese.co.uk
Other photographs had already been strung along the sides of the marquee.
Time to get ready and for the groom to wrestle with his buttonhole before going into the house to see the Wedding Registrars..
We just managed to get a carpet laid out at the bottom of the front steps before the first guests began to arrive. - a mixture of rain and spilt flower water threatened to spoil the bride’s dress.
Soon the bridal car was spotted coming up the drive before stopping in front of the house. The Bride looked so beautiful in a simple sheath wedding dress with a long lace trimmed train. It suited her perfectly. Her hair was decorated with little sprigs of gypsophila.
Dress by Wed2b 01202 830652 / customercare@wed2b.com /
wed2b.com/bridal-shops/south-west/dorset/wed2b-bournemouth
She was greeted, as her father helped out of the car, by a very special group of old school friends. If you look carefully you will see a glimpse of her very sensible personalised footwear!
The bride made her way into the dining room to see the Registrars, passing the ancestor on her way. The formalities did not take long and the bridal party was soon posing for photographs before making their way to the Gazebo and the nervous bridegroom.
Miraculously, the rain continued to hold off and the Wedding Ceremony was able to go ahead outside. It was a very personal service with a lovely reading followed by an amazing performance by the groom's sister and nieces His sister had written a poem about their marriage and love and compared it to baking a cake which they proceeded to do!
The fun did not stop there! Vows said, there was a scurrying in the aisle and the couple’s collie, RINGo, burst out bearing the rings.
Having signed the register the couple slowly made their way back to the house, pausing on the way to have photographs taken with their dog, who was soon joined by its younger companion Rocket
Into the house again to catch their breath before facing a barrage of confetti on the lawn. Luckily rain had been foreseen and the bride was protected by a lacy umbrella.
Chairs were hurriedly moved back to the marquee before the forecast really rain set in.
For a while the guests were able to enjoy their pimms and cannapes on the lawn, serenaded by the music of Steve and his folk band but soon they had to make a dash for the marquee where the band soon set up again and continued to play. Canapes were from our local bakery, Oxford's, in Sturminster Newton, oxfordsbakery@gmail.com / 01258 473624 / https://www.oxfordsbakery.co.uk/
With everyone sheltering in the marquee, and the band playing, there was a wonderful cosy, family atmosphere, there was even an art table set out for restless children.
Time for the bride and groom to stop having their rather damp photographs taken and to make their grand entrance - and what an entrance - to the applause of their guests.
Everyone tucked into their Wedding Breakfast of delicious pies prepared Mesa Catering before starting the wedding speeches which seemed to a cause great amount of hilarity.
https://www.mesacatering.co.uk / 0117 251 0282 / hello@mesacatering.co.uk
With great timing, the rain stopped after the speeches and guests could spill out onto the lawn for a group photograph before the bride and groom were taken off for some informal shots in the grounds.
The light in the field was too good an opportunity to miss but after having a few photographs taken they returned to the marquee to cut their “cheese” wedding cake and perform their first dance with aplomb.
It turned into a really lovely evening and guests made up for lost time, chatting in the huge deckchairs, trying out the lawn games and exploring the memories laid out in the marquee.
But as darkness fell, everyone returned to the marquee to dance the night away to the sound of Ed and The Indie Heads - eddrumsuk@hotmail.com - who kept the dance floor full to the end. The Horse Box Bar provided by Vintage Tipple Trailer from Sturminster Newton, also kept up a busy trade!
07805 136840 / vinntagetippletrailer@hotmail.com / vintagetippletrailer.co.uk
Midnight brought the call to retire to tents or B&Bs. Some had succumbed to sleep a little earlier than others, exhausted by the celebrations.
The party continued the following day with close friends gathering to help tidy up and share a picnic in the field. It had been a truly wonderful weekend.
