An Essex Wedding - Page number 46 - September/October 2021 (Issue 100)

THE LITTLE WHITE BOOK Venue , Gosfield Hall, www.gosfield-hall.co.uk | P hotographer , Jasmine Jade Photography, https://jasminejadephotography.co.uk Bride’s dress and accessories , J’Adore, https://jadorebridalwear.co.uk | H air and make-up , Lipstick & Locks, www.lipstickandlocks.co.uk Bridesmaids’ dresses , The Bridesmaid Boutique, www.thebridesmaidboutique.co.uk | M other-of-the-bride and -groom outfits , Coco Fashion, www.cocofashion.com | G room’s suit , Hardys Menswear, www.hardysmenswear.com | C ake , Amelie’s Kitchen, https://amelies-kitchen.co.uk Flowers , The Willows Flowers, www.thewillowsflowers.co.uk | E ntertainment , Blue Lion Band www.bluelionband.co.uk, Fu nction Central, www.functioncentral.co.uk | B alloons , Balloons by Mel, www.facebook.com/MelanieJClancy55 pieces whilst guests were arriving before the ceremony: Clair De Lune by Debussy, Just the Two of Us by Bill Withers, I Get A Kick Out Of You by Jamie Cullum and Isn’t She Lovely by Stevie Wonder. As the bridesmaids walked down the aisle, he began to play the piece I Due Fiume by Einaude. This continued as my dad walked me down the aisle. This was a very special moment. I’d bought him some cufflinks for the day which said ‘Today a bride, tomorrow a wife, always your little girl’, which sums up our relationship really well. As soon as we started walking, dad spotted Jon was crying and pointed it out to all of the guests!” There were two readings: Jon’s brother-in-law read lyrics from the song More by Frank Sinatra and Hannah’s auntie read Ordinary Morning by Joyce Grenfell. “As we signed the register, our pianist performed What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong and Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Andy Williams which are two of our favourite songs. As the sun came out at the end of the ceremony, we walked back down the aisle to Everything by Michael Bublé.” For the reception, the couple wanted to see the band perform live before booking and found The Blue Lion Band. “They’re sort of like a ‘pick’n’mix’ band where you can select which instruments you want and you can also choose which music you want them to play from their set list and give them three requests to learn especially for your big day. They put on a showcase in London which we went to with Jon’s parents, and we thought they were great so we booked them for our evening reception. Our guests were up dancing all night, the band was fantastic at entertaining everyone, and the venue’s DJ played some great tunes to keep everyone on the dancefloor!” The couple’s first dance was to Never Too Much by Luther Vandross. “We asked the band to perform an acoustic arrangement of the song and they absolutely nailed it! We aren’t the most gifted dancers so didn’t prepare a choreography, but we did practise a couple of moves to make sure we didn’t look like complete melons!” MEMORABLE MOMENTS “I think it’s natural to worry about whether the speeches will go down well, but they were perfect. Dad started off, after a huge round of applause fuelled by Jon’s stags chanting! Dad had included props in his speech and managed to include a picture of the time I performed for Boris Johnson (who had recently been elected as Prime Minister) and a framed childhood blankey. It was the perfect balance of funny and emotional and he remembered to thank all of our suppliers – I would expect nothing less from my dad! “Jon’s speech was, again, very well-prepared and emotional. He extended our thanks and appreciation to our parents and our wedding party for everything they’d done to make sure we had the perfect day. Jon’s brother and best man finished off by telling a few funny childhood stories about Jon and the stag do. All three speeches were very well received, they couldn’t have gone better!” Not all weddings have a life-size cutout of a famous TV chef, Hannah explains why their day did: “On the hen do my friends and I discovered Ainsley Harriott’s ‘Why hello Jill!’ phrase and found it hilarious, so the night before the wedding whilst we were enjoying the hot tub in the Ladies Chambers my bridesmaids introduced me to a cardboard cutout of Ainsley! The guests loved him, there are loads of pictures of him in the DJ booth and he was centre of attention on the dancefloor when Jon and I were off mingling with our guests!” 46