Lucy and Adam’s romance began as so many others do in our modern world – on Tinder. They met in person a month or so after they started chatting online when Adam invited Lucy to his band’s gig not far from where she was studying at university. “We didn’t speak much on the night we met, he was a bit busy on stage. But I did speak to a lot of his family members, which was a bit strange considering I’d not met him properly yet,” Lucy remembers. “I must have been blown away by his performance though as we decided to go for our first real date the following day.” Adam proposed at home in their flat. The couple had both booked the day off work as they were going to the Warner Bros Studio Tour, The Making of Harry Potter. So, Lucy was enjoying a lazy morning relaxing on the sofa before they set off, and Adam was making pancakes. “When he came in with them, he set down a Polaroid photo of us laughing together. It was captioned: ‘Mrs Ross?’ Then, he got down on one knee, and waited for my reaction, which may have included some expletives!” Lucy shares. Although she knew they may get engaged at some point, she hadn’t been expecting it at 9am in her pyjamas! Read on as the bride tells us all about their beautiful wedding day... LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION Pilgrims Rest is a hidden gem in the quaint, historical town of Battle, which is also where Lucy grew up. The venue is a stunning 600-year-old Wealden hall house with endless original features such as inglenook fireplaces and ancient beams. Lucy tells us more, “The thought of a huge wedding was daunting to us and Pilgrim’s Rest is just the right size. It has a cosy, homely feel and felt magical to us when we viewed it. We could also have our wedding photos taken inside and outside the magnificent Battle Abbey next door, you just have to email them to reserve your date.” Another reason for choosing Pilgrim’s Rest was the enthusiastic, knowledgeable staff. Hire of the venue includes styling and props, which are rotated according to the season and personalised to its couples’ tastes. Lucy continues, “It’s flexible too when it comes to suppliers and was the only venue we viewed that allowed us to choose any caterer we wanted, but they do have a list of recommended suppliers if you get a little stuck. Plus, they don’t charge corkage – bonus!” SETTING THE SCENE The ceremony room was already decorated beautifully with foliage and lanterns provided by the venue. They also offer benches or chairs for couples to choose from as well as a choice between two types of decorative rugs. Lucy added to the benches some biodegradable confetti bags in autumnal hues complete with personalised stickers. For the reception in the Dining Room, there were two long banquet-style tables and a top table for the bride and groom and their parents. They ordered some custom-sized, forest green cheesecloth as table runners with matching napkins. The bridesmaids placed their fresh flower bouquets in vases along each table once the ceremony was over, to serve as centrepieces. Along the tables, the couple arranged a diverse selection of gold candlesticks, which they collected from various boot sales and charity shops, with orange taper candles. Each guest had a place name made from hexagonal-shaped acrylic. Lucy painted them in orange metallic on one side REAL WEDDINGS 31
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