Last wedding of the year and our first naval one
A magnificent yellow and white striped marquee went up on the lawn by the house - supplied by Ernest Hart - www.ernestghart.co.uk - and the team took enormous trouble to get everything right.
New Forest Bell tents also arrived as some guests camped from Thursday night.
Friday brought a team of friends and naval colleagues. Tables were set out and pieces of slate or slices of wood were place in the centre of each one. Onto to these went jam jars decorated with lace and filled with silk flowers, all pre-done by the bride. Shillingstone House lent the purple tea-lights. Navy blue napkins were tied up with lace and chairs were festooned with enormous grey bows - a hint of the colours of the wedding the next day. A sweet stall was set out in jars also decorated with blue ribbons.
With most of the arrangements in place the campers retired to the camping field for a barbeque before collapsing into their tents for the night.
Saturday brought the arrival of the band Danny Perma Beast Covers who set up in the marquee. I meanly had to stop them playing at 11am - one step too far for our wonderful village who are so patient over the noise our weddings produce. The band were all known to the bride and groom. (Call 07568192551. ADDITIONAL CONTACT INFO. permabeastcovers@gmail.com.)
The post box, beautifully decorated by the bride, was put in place, beside the wedding cake. This was kept carefully shrouded until after the ceremony as it had sugar paste figures of the bride and groom on the top and would have given away the wedding dress secret. The incredibly detailed cake was created by Rachel Holder from Baking Aces. (http://www.baking-aces.co.uk)
Chairs were set out on the lawn ready for the ceremony and balls of silk flowers were placed in front of the gazebo.
The bride arrived in a beautiful white dress. She had a wide navy-blue sash which streamed out behind her - a tribute to the groom who looked magnificent in his naval uniform. She walked across the lawns to the gazebo, accompanied by her bridesmaids who were also dressed in navy.
Drinks outside followed the ceremony and formal photographs were taken by Baylee Bayliss Photography - https://twitter.com/bayliss_baylee
Then the rain came down! This held off later to allow guests to collect their food from the street food vendors in the field. Both the vendors had been to Shillingstone before and once again the food was voted delicious.
Hog Roast BBQ 01202-421-760/07481104982
CrepeNWaffle Shop - 07950469798 www.crepenwafflestop.co.
Food was accompanied by the gentle tones of Buddy Holly from Herbert Hellbilly - https://en-gb.facebook.com/HellbillyTattoos
Later the louder sound of heavy metal music from Danny Perma Beast Covers roared out and the couple danced their first dance. Details of Danny above.
Finally a disco started to alternate with the band - www.soundcitymobiledisco.co.uk
The party finished at midnight but sadly it was too wet to continue round the fire-pit in the camping field. The bride and groom spent their night in our bell tent in the walled garden choosing the blue and white interior to go with the naval theme.
All hands on deck the next morning after a fantastic breakfast cooked outside.