ceremony table flowers and cylinder vases and pillar candles placed down the aisle. Our stunning centrepieces consisted of three cylinder vases of differing heights with pillar candles – two were re-purposed from the top of the aisle. These were surrounded by three bud vases, jars and three tea lights set on log slices.” The couple chose to have 11 round tables seating eight guests at each one, plus their rectangular top table. “Our seating plan was presented on wine bottles displayed on a ladder with fairylights filling the bottles,” Claire tells us. “We used numbers for ease which were placed on wooden gold holders and as place names, we used cocktails. This theme was continued with our favours which were his and hers cocktails consisting of Rackleys Garden Fizz and Amoretto Sours.” Claire and Adam used a retro bicycle from the venue with the front basket as a beer holder. “We also had a sweetie trolley for our pick and mix sweets wrapped in personalised bags plus a Polaroid camera and props for our guest book,” Claire says. “There was a handy wicker basket filled with flip-flops as a little treat for our guests’ dancing feet!” The delicious wedding breakfast was provided by the in-house caterers at the venue, Absolute Cuisine. “For our canapés, we chose Yorkshire pudding and roast beef; asparagus wrapped in parma ham; king prawns with sweet chilli and mushroom and spinach filo tartlets,” Claire tells us. “Our mouth-watering starters consisted of pan-fried scallops with black pudding and pea puree; mushrooms on brioche toast and smoked haddock and salmon fishcakes. Chicken supreme, a fillet of sea bass and sweet potato and leek en croute were offered as the main course options.” Baileys crème brûlée; apple and raspberry crumble and deconstructed Eton mess were the options for dessert and Claire and Adam’s single-tier sponge cake with decorative fading icing in white to peach was offered alongside a macaron stand offering blue, white and peach varieties.” LOOKING THE PART Claire chose a long gown decorated with sequins and glitter that featured a train and low back. “As soon as I tried it on, I knew it was the one,” she tells us. I accessorised it with some beautiful jewellery and a pair of stunning wedding shoes. My long veil matched my dress which was my something borrowed from one of my bridesmaids. They wore soft blue dresses in different styles to suit their body shapes while our young bridesmaid and flowergirl wore pretty dresses from Monsoon.” Adam rented a herringbone morning suit from Moss Bros that he teamed with a champagne-coloured, double-breasted waistcoat different to the grey double-breasted waistcoats worn by his groomsmen. “Adam wore a tailored shirt with our initials personalised on the cuff,” Claire says. “His wedding look was finished with a new pair of Cartier cufflinks which were a gift from me on the morning of our wedding.” TIME TO CELEBRATE For their reception, Claire and Adam hired a live band called The Penny Kings who also performed later in the evening with the addition of a saxophonist. “We had three sets of 40 minutes of live music played, one of which they were able to accommodate bandeoke in which the musicians played while our guests got up to sing which was lots of fun,” Claire tells us. “One of the most special moments was one of our close friends, Jade, singing Crazy for You by Adele as we cut our cake!” “We didn’t stop smiling from start to finish.The best thing was looking around the room and seeing everyone else having a great time, which made us enjoy it even more.” - Claire and Adam REAL WEDDINGS 31
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