Your Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Wedding- December 2020/Janaury 2021 (Issue 24)

REAL WEDDINGS 27  D anielle and Adrian met 13 years ago whilst working for the same company in Bristol. “The very first time we met was when Adrian decided to take our team out for a thank you drink,” Danielle tells us. “We got chatting and ended up drinking numerous bottles of flavoured Lambrini before dancing around poles and sharing a kiss in the basement of Reflex nightclub! Adrian was my line manager at one point, meaning that our early days of dating were spent in secret, which was exciting and kept us on our toes,” Danielle reveals. The couple became engaged in a surprise proposal at luxury hotel Ellenborough Park in Cheltenham. “We had visited the hotel to enjoy a champagne afternoon tea that friends from work had treated me to for my 40 th birthday,” Danielle explains. “I wasn’t expecting Adrian to propose even though we had talked about marriage. He had everything prepared - he had already asked my father for his permission and got down on bended knee with a ring box. When I opened it, there was a little note inside that said ‘I owe you something shiny’ because, after 13 years together, he knows me well enough not to have chosen the ring but instead, pick one together! It was all so romantic.” SETTING THE SCENE The moment the couple visited Clearwell Castle, they knew it would be their wedding venue. “It was simply breathtaking,” Danielle tells us. “It looked like something from a fairytale, with manicured gardens and the beautiful ballroom that worked perfectly for the ceremony and the wedding breakfast. We both loved the fact that we could have exclusive use of the venue and host our entire day in one place, and then stay over with all of our friends.” Adrian had another reason why he wanted to get married in the castle. He tells us that, “Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple are just some of the rock bands who used the castle to record their albums in and being a big rock fan, I loved the fact that we would be able to party where my idols had created some of their masterpieces!” The couple chose an ivory and burgundy colour theme for their venue décor. “The team at the castle arranged our flower displays to decorate the venue that tied in with our chosen colours and they also organised the burgundy chair sashes,” Danielle explains. “Our cake complemented our colour theme with handmade burgundy and ivory sugar flowers created for the topper that cascaded down the entire