Your Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Wedding- February / March 2021 (Issue 25)

S haughney and Adam met at work when they were both teenagers. “Adam has a fantastic sense of humour and I loved his jokes,” Shaughney tells us. “We added each other on social media, swapped numbers and arranged to meet up outside of work and have been together ever since.” The couple became engaged during a holiday to New York for Shaughney's birthday. “It was our first full day in the city and we were both jet-lagged so decided to explore Central Park,” Shaughney tells us. “Adam had always planned to pop the question next to the fountain featured in the Home Alone movie but he got stage fright because there were so many people around! His second idea was to rent a rowing boat for a trip on the lake in Central Park. He would not let me have control of the oars and ended up rowing us into a hedge! He then started searching through his bag and said ’I can't get down on one knee but...‘ at which point I interrupted him. Because he is a joker and had been winding me up for years pretending to get down on one knee in a restaurant and other places, I said ’oh don't think about doing this again!‘ At that exact moment, he had the ring box in his hand and was gobsmacked at my response! We both started laughing and then Adam asked me to marry him.” During his proposal preparations, Adam had confided in some of Shaughney's closest friends regarding the engagement ring choice. “My best friend, who became my maid-of-honour, accidentally revealed that Adam was planning on proposing but didn't tell me when, where or how! So it was a lovely surprise,” Shaughney says SETTING THE SCENE “Adam's father and stepmother got married at St Bartholomew's Church and Adam is very close to his father so we wanted to have our ceremony there too,” Shaughney tells us. “Adam grew up in Churchdown where the church is located and I always wanted a church wedding and walk down a long aisle so we couldn't have chosen a better option. The idyllic setting on top of Chosen Hill is simply magical.” When looking for a reception venue, the couple wanted a large function room with a simplistic white interior and stunning grounds where they could capture glorious photographs of their special day. “The lake at wedding venue Manor by the Lake proved to be a big attraction for us,” Shaughney reveals. “We also liked the games den where Adam and his groomsmen could grab a drink, listen to music and play pool. We didn’t want the rooms to feel like those in a hotel and this romantic venue didn't disappoint! We only viewed two other places which didn't compare so we both knew then that it was the one for us.” The couple arrived at their wedding in style. “We always wanted an old-fashioned, convertible car so we hired a diamond white Beauford Convertible lovingly named Barnaby which featured black running boards and beading. It had an immaculate cream interior with faux-fur rugs and a black mohair soft top and was styled with silver ribbons. Our bridesmaids’ car was a dark blue BMW 7 Series with a silver ribbon running down the bonnet.” The couple's silver, white and grey colour theme with winter wonderland touches included large white circular hoops as centrepieces styled with white roses to tie in with Shaughney's bouquet and hanging tea lights suspended from the centre of each one creating mood lighting. Lanterns were placed at either side of the top table filled with fairylights and ivory rose petals and their table names were after landmarks in New York where they became engaged. “The table plan itself was presented on a large silver ornate mirror with silver calligraphy writing and our order of the day was a smaller version of this,” Shaughney describes. “Our elegant place names matched our invitations and other stationery presented on pearlised card with a silver glitter border and tied with dove-grey ribbon. Each place name was displayed in a clear bauble holder which also held pretty silver mirrored confetti. I had also created our menu cards to tie in with our theme in a shimmery dove-grey shade REAL WEDDINGS 21