Happy Anniversary Cher & Ray

Happy Anniversary to the lovely Cher and Ray.

…….not many brides end up having two wedding dresses!

I was instantly drawn to the warmth and smiles of this couple and was delighted to be able to help in the organisation of their intimate, unique and fun wedding.  They held their ceremony in our Naples gallery at 4pm on one of the hottest Tuesdays of the year!  One of the delights of being in our galleries, apart from the stunning architecture and beautiful art work, is the constant ‘perfect’ temperature, which was certainly a blessing in July 2019.

Cher made the very noble decision to walk down the aisle by herself, led by her two bridesmaids.  There were quite a few tears of joy during the service from some of the guests and the bride and groom were all smiles from start to finish.

Cher and Ray choose to have their confetti line in our Dan Pearson meadow on the East lawn followed by a drinks reception on our lakeside.  Whilst the guests were milling on the lawns, prosecco in hand and enjoying playing with the lawn games, Cher and Ray took the opportunity for some photos alone with their photographer, and took advantage of the stunning landscape our parkland offers.

Cher also decided that this was the perfect time to change into her second dress of the day!  Ray had accidentally seen her wedding dress in the run up to the day so Cher purchased a new ‘surprise’ dress for the ceremony that Ray had not seen!  Fortunately she was able to keep this one under wraps.

Also at this time, some of the events team were hands on deck, creating a surprise element for the guests on our Portico.

Here we were setting up the wedding breakfast table that Cher had designed.  A lovely rich blue silk runner, greenery, candles and ivy leaves with gold writing as place names.  Had there been even a hint of breeze, I’m not sure the leaves would have stayed in place and the guests may have been a little confused as to where they should be sitting (😊) but due to the outstanding weather, it all worked perfectly and I particularly loved this unique table set up.

The guests were suitably delighted by the new addition of the dressed table, when we called them through to begin their meal at 6.30pm.  The couple choose a buffet, served from the Adam Hall. The menu included duck breast and green peppers in coconut curry sauce, slow cooked lamb in mint and redcurrant preserve, finished with roast beetroot and red onions, pan fried fillet of sea bass on a fennel and leek risotto dressed with roast tomato and basil oil, wok fried vegetables and noodles, coconut scented rice and spring onions and Caesar salad with roast peppers topped with shaved parmesan.

The dessert choices were lemon drizzle sponge with vanilla citrus sauce, Baileys Irish cream coffee cheesecake and layered apple and caramel tartlet with vanilla pod ice cream.

Tea and coffee, cake cutting and speeches followed in The Adam hall, with the opportunity to enjoy the grounds and the lawn games once more, before carriages at 9pm.

Registrar contact – Warwickshire registry service
Photography – Chris J. Turner Photography
Flowers – Bride’s own design
Cake – Family sorted

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