First Wedding of the Year

Collins Marquees arrived early on Thursday morning to set up their pole tent. They have been before and are a very helpful and efficient crew. They lined the pole tent and strung tiny lights from the roof and kindly twisted the wedding couple’s faux ivy down the poles which was very effective. (Collins Marquees - 01202-882-301 - www.collinsmarquees.co.uk )

It was another cloudless hot day and the garden was feeling the strain of a severe lack of rain but was still full of colour with the roses still in full bloom.

As the marquee went up, the bridal couple worked tirelessly in the heat getting props ready for the setting up the following day. These included a table plan made from old vinyl records which caused a little despair as one of the records warped and melted in the heat. The groom showed great skill in calligraphy.

The following day family and friends arrived help with decorations. They brought a wonderfully happy atmosphere with them.

Bowls were lined with sliced oranges in the shade of the catalpa tree and filled with flowers before being stored in the cool of the porch. These proved to be a clue to the colour theme of the wedding day. The beautiful flowers inside were arranged by a friend of the family who also created some much larger arrangements for the top table etc.

A flower wall was delivered ready for the photo-booth - see the competed booth later in the blog. (David Bessant - 07952 513696 - www.11-11.events ) Tables were laid, with vinyl records in the centre to mark the numbers. Each place had a selection of sweets in an orange voile bag, ready to eat after the wedding breakfast.

A board of photographs was put up on one of the tables in the tent and on another jars containing sweets for the guests the next day. The caterer, a family friend, set up her catering tent and began to fill the chiller trailer with food and drink. ( www.country-coolers.co.uk )

Later the disco arrived (Andre Shenoi 07971 5874890 / andre@shenoi.co.uk) to set up his equipment, while the groom, who plays in a band, and his fellow musician arranged their instruments on the stage. (They had hired their sound system from Complete Music and Sounds - 07813078998 / https://www.completemusicandsound.co.uk )

The band started to tune up and play big time but sadly , as they were very good, we had to curtail this as we had not warned the village that there would be music on the Friday night at well. The groom stayed late into the night sitting in the marquee finishing the video that he had prepared for the next day.

Saturday dawned and another baking hot day. The groomsmen and friends came to finish the photo-booth and two huge screens were delivered to show the groom’s video. (Modus Visual Communications - 01202-399-609 - www.modusvisualcomms.co.uk )

A friend came to finish off the wedding cake that she had made. This proved problematic as it was too high to fit the shelves of the chiller trailer. We plundered our wood store to find a suitable plank to make a new shelf and the cake was installed and decorated.

The caterer and her helpers worked tirelessly at getting the salads ready to go with the Hog Roast being provided by Dorset Porkers later in the day. Lawn games were set out on the grass.

A very smart rustic bar arrived and was quickly stocked with an amazing range of drink including the ingredients for some special cocktails for the day, including three reflecting the couple’s home towns (The Liquid Inn - 0795 261888) https://www.theliquidinn.co.uk/about-us

Finally the flowers were placed in the centre of each table and the decorations were complete..

The bride and groom were getting married in Ferndown and they stopped off on their way back to Shillingstone to have photographs taken in the avenue at Crichel.

While they were waiting for the bridal party to arrive, guests mingled on the lawns where they were served delicious canapes.

Dorset Porkers had set up their hog roast on the lower lawn ready to serve at 4.30 and the crackling was looking perfect. ( Dorset Porkers - 01258-839-115 - http://www.dorsetporkers.co.uk/ ) and the caterers put out their salads - all was ready to for the Wedding Breakfast to start.

Time moved on - where were the bride and groom?! Luckily they arrived in time to greet their guests and move swiftly in to the marquee to have their wedding breakfast. The bride looked stunning in a tightly fitting lace dress which exploded at the bottom in a froth of lace and net. Her Bridesmaids were all in orange, as had been suggested by the decorations, and they looked amazing.

Great bursts laughter came from the tent as the speeches were made and guests were shown photographs of the bride and groom on the screen that had been installed earlier.

With their delicious meal over and speeches made, everyone gathered on the lawn for a group photograph taken from an upstairs window. The bride and groom then went off to have photographs and videos taken in the grounds while their guests played croquet, hoopla and Jenga on the lawns.

All the amazing photographs, except those marked with SH, were taken by the talented photographer, Kasia, from Peppermint Love photographs. ( https://www.peppermintlovephotography.com/wedding-photographer-dorset-uk/ ) ( https://theweddingvideoguys.co/wedding-videographer-dorset)

The couple returned to cut the cake which had been carefully carried into the marquee, under the worried gaze of it’s creator, still on it’s board which was now shrouded with a piece of orange voile, hastily found in the house!

As the light faded, the band struck up and the couple took to the floor for their first dance. Later in the evening the bride and groom both came up on the stage to sing and play to the delight of their guests! With the floor full and the band alternating with the disco, the party went on until it was time for the couple to leave on their honeymoon. They left between lines of flaming sparklers and the cheers of their guests.

With still an hour to go before midnight the guests continued to party to the end.

The next day family and friends returned to tidy up ready for the marquee to come down on the Monday. It had been a wonderful weekend, filled with laughter.