Jessica and James (known as Woody) met while working in the same office. “We worked closely together and enjoyed many thirsty Thursdays at the Golden Lion Pub!” Jessica tells us. “When I left the company, we stayed in touch and our relationship blossomed from there. I was attracted to Woody’s kind nature and confidence - he has the loudest laugh that could always be heard, even from the sound-proofed meeting room! He found me a nuisance to start with but I made him laugh and won him over with my cooking. After one year of dating, we moved in together.” The couple became engaged during a surprise proposal in Italy. “Woody had asked for my parent’s blessing beforehand and organised a holiday to Rome for my birthday,” Jessica tells us. “On our last day, he had booked a romantic restaurant for dinner overlooking The Imperial Forums. After the starters, he suggested having a photo taken on the terrace. Before I knew what was happening, he was down on one knee asking me to marry him! Naturally, I said yes although it happened so quickly that the restaurant staff insisted we do it again so they could take some photos so we had to reenact the proposal!” SETTING THE SCENE Jessica and Woody wanted to get married in a castle that would accommodate all their loved ones. “Because we live in London, we wanted somewhere different and Clearwell Castle in Gloucestershire ticked all the boxes,” Jessica explains. “It’s a beautiful historic castle set in stunning grounds, perfect for our princess theme with pink and white touches.” The couple chose boutique company Ella Bee Designs to create their table plan, place names, welcome board, invitations and thank you cards. “Owner Laura helped us with everything even when we couldn’t decide between the different designs and when our guest numbers were constantly changing due to the restrictions in place at the time,” Jessica says. The couple decided to have a candy stand instead of favours with bagged sweets available for each guest to take home. Their table centrepieces were tall martini-style vases filled with pretty flower arrangements that they spent months researching. “We picked pale pink, cream and white blooms mixed with soft green and silver-sprayed foliage,” Jessica says. Our florist, Louise, did a fantastic job considering that she had to source flowers that were out of season because our wedding date had changed from May to November. She created my stunning bridal bouquet and my bridesmaids’ posies along with the buttonholes and our cheese tower wedding cake was also decorated with the same fresh flower varieties.” REAL WEDDINGS 37
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