Green and White Weddings

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Sophie and John, August 2006
Upwaltham Barns

Sophie’s Story

The Proposal

John proposed when we were on holiday in Southern Ireland visiting our friends who own a restaurant in Clonakility. We had been there before and Inchydoney beach is a favourite place of ours. John had secretly taken a day off of work and chosen a ring before meeting my father for a drink that night to ask permission. After nearly leaving the ring in the pub, it eventually made it to Ireland in the hand luggage. It was a complete surprise and even more special that he chose such a stunning spot to pop the question.

The Outfits

The Bride – My dress was a strapless ivory dress with a lace bolero made by Pronovia called Babel. I added a few touches to it to make it a bit more individual. It was so light and comfortable to wear, I knew it was the one straight away!

The Bridesmaids – They wore their own outfits as I didn’t have bridesmaids as such.

The Groom and Groomsmen – They wore their own suits.

The Ceremony and Reception Venues

Upwaltham Barns in West Sussex was just what we were looking for. We knew we wanted a civil ceremony and reception in the same place and not in a hotel as I had always worked in hotels. It was only 25 minutes away from where I had grown up and when my dad was courting my mum he would always drive past the barns on his way from London to Chichester every weekend. The Sussex barns were just the perfect setting for the type of wedding we wanted.

The Decorative Touches

As our best man Russell is a fantastic florist, who else could we use! I gave him an idea of what we wanted, relaxed country arrangements in pale pink, cream and lime. He then designed the centrepieces for the table and decorated the barns in stunning arrangements. My bouquet was a selection of roses, hydrangeas and some lily of the valley that Russell had wired and made the night before. We trusted Russell so much as we love all his work that we pretty much let him create. True to the history John and Russell worked together on the morning of the wedding putting everything together which bought back many a memory of the past.

We had high and low arrangements on alternate tables placed on mirrors with plenty of candles. We also had fairy lights on the beams, and night lights in the holes in the walls. In the evening we had torches lighting the garden and two large gas torches to greet the evening guests when they arrived.

The Cake

Our cake was a dark chocolate cake covered in white chocolate twirls and fresh raspberries. It was so moist and yummy!

The Transport

I traveled to the wedding in a Mercedes Benz S class. John worked for a Mercedes Benz dealership and one of his drivers was kind enough to drive my father and myself to the venue.

Advice to other couples

Always take time out during the big day to be together on your own to savor the moments. Be organised with a list of any particular photos you want. Remember this is your wedding day; you should have what you dreamed of.