Off to the West Country for Dan and
Briony’s mini-wedding; Dom (aka Tato) in tow and in full tweed regalia. Not
normal attire for a wedding it has to be said (there were comments), let alone
one you’re assisting with, but the man wears it well and we were in the country
so, when in Rome n’all…
We started the weekend with a pre-wedding meal at the
fabulous home of Dan’s parents who cooked up the most delicious feast, made us
laugh, plied us with fine wine, and sent us off swaying - only to be shooting
their son’s wedding the next day. If
only all weddings were so relaxed. At one point, all the men sitting around the
table had their trousers off. Port Club was in session and I would suggest
readers leave their imaginations at the door.
The ceremony was at Shaftesbury Town Hall, which backs onto a
cobbled street with the most superb view – this street is actually
famous! If you’ve ever seen the Hovis advert (directed by Sir Ridley Scott! Who
knew?!), with the little boy pushing his bike up the street (I can hear the
music in my head now), then you will know this street. It’s just beautiful and
so quaint (so hard to walk on in heels, as Briony discovered) – it’s so
sentimentally beautiful it makes me want to buy bread and ride rickety bicycles
down it.
This was the backdrop for this wonderful couple’s special
day. And what a lovely day it was. It was one of those cold, crisp blue-sky
days; very bright, but stunning and the service was so adorable - you certainly
can’t beat heckles from a couple of rowdy two year olds for giggles and
entertainment.
Dan looked very dapper in his suit and beaming smile and
Briony looked utterly exquisite in her dress and cape, lovingly made by her
mother. Now this lady is incredibly talented…not only did she make the cape
(see pictures), she made the cake (see pictures) and the confetti (a little
harder to see in the pictures) and she also made the little ones’ coats (see
pictures)…is there no end to this lady’s talent? I half expected her to
unbutton her shirt to reveal a wonder woman sign emblazoned across her chest,
but alas, she’s just a lovely mum with oodles of talent wanting to do the very
best for her daughter on her wedding day. Bravo Liz!
We then popped to The
Grosvenor Arms for afternoon tea and speeches and because it was so cold
outside we squished in to do a few family shots inside. There was an awesome
Soft Play area for all the kids (and grown-ups) - they do make quite nice hats
after all (see pictures). We then poodled off to the Lamb Inn for drinks,
supper, more merriment and speeches, plus I learnt that Briony is an intrepid
adventurer and Dan is light-fingered and not a good keeper of important
tickets. His grip is no match for tube wind, much to his father’s disappointment
;-).
All in all this was a wonderfully simple and elegant day for
two people to say ‘I do’, in front of the people who matter most to them. There was no pomp, no standing on ceremony
-just lots of heartfelt laughter, good times and yum food. I think it was
exactly what they wished for.
So to Dan and Briony (and little Tobias), I wish you all the
love, luck and happiness in the world! You’re such a gorgeously cute couple and
you deserve the very best. Thank you for allowing me to be part of your special
day – you were an absolute pleasure to work with and I hope the images will
bring back lots of warm, fuzzy, champagne-soaked, happy memories ;-).
My love and best wishes to you all…
Loukie xx
