Your Hampshire & Dorset Wedding - Mar/Apr 2020 (Issue 79)

REAL WEDDINGS 49  We and our parents hand-dried all the confetti. It meant a lot to us as we used bouquets bought for birthdays, Christmas and anniversaries as well as flowers from our garden and Houghton Lodge. The setting was so beautiful we wanted everyone to be able to appreciate it so we had a marquee that enabled us to have the sides down and enjoy panoramic views over the River Test. My parents created lots of little signs and special touches for the day and my dad made our table plan. We wanted a relaxed day with a summer garden party feel where all our friends and family could have a good time with no pressure. Pete’s mum is the flower queen so she and a friend of ours arranged all the loose blooms to line the aisle and decorate the tables. We had our cake for dessert with summer berry salad which was really tasty. We had long tables and sharing platters of food to encourage our guests to chat and get to know each other.