Your Hampshire and Dorset Wedding - September/October 2020 (Issue 82)

REAL WEDDINGS 33  THE PERSONAL TOUCHES Post-vows the newlyweds arrived at Wherwell Priory in Jack’s brother James’ luxury Porsche. He’d arranged for Jack to drive it as a surprise for them on the day. “It was so special to have that quality time, just the two of us. We were in our own little bubble, driving through all the country lanes. It looked great in front of the house too,” recalls Jess. The venue provided the perfect blank canvas for their big day with plenty of scope to add their own personal stamp. Jess says,“We wanted the theme to reflect not only us, but our family and friends too, so we added special touches throughout.” Their blue and white colour scheme was inspired by a trip to Jersey with her mum the year before when she fell in love with the blue hydrangeas growing everywhere. The wedding flowers reflected their chosen palette with arrangements of beautiful blue and white hydrangeas, old fashioned white roses, gypsophila and eucalyptus. Jess added extra touches to the décor with jars of blue hydrangeas from a family friend’s garden dotted around the marquee and hanging chandeliers which she made with one of her bridesmaids using artificial white flowers and trailing wisteria. “We also added lights and they looked amazing all lit up at night. So many people complimented them, which made all the hard work worthwhile!” As an extra special personal touch, Jess’ godmother Sarah arranged for live event artist Lucy McLoughlin to create lasting keepsakes of their big day. “She captured our guests beautifully and surprised them with their own hand-painted portraits for them to take home,” explains Jess. “She also did a wonderful one of us which made me cry when I saw it. Lucy also had them made into little cards which we sent to every guest as a thank you note.” ALL IN THE DETAIL Everyone was able to relax and unwind post-vows with a barrow full of beers on ice for the drinks reception and a ‘Pimp My Prosecco’ table for guests to create their own tipple. Jess and her mum made the table plan from wooden pallets decorated with faux flowers. The tables were named after the years the couple had been together, starting at 2009 all the way to ‘Forever’, including Polaroid photos of the two of them from the different times relevant to each table. “We had wooden place names and hearts to scatter on the tables, games for our guests to play, as well as cards for them to fill out about themselves. Our favours were bags of blue and pink candyfloss, tied with ribbon and a label saying, “Thank you for making our day sweeter!” This was in honour of our grandmothers who both love candyfloss,” Jess explains. Other special features included a DIY sweets table and photos of loved ones who have sadly passed away. “My younger brother Oly is a graphic designer and he made signs for things like the flip-flops we provided and the gin bar for the evening. They were all in line with our theme and included blue hydrangeas,” adds Jess. Jack’s sister-in-law Christie designed the cake to complement their style and colour scheme with a subtle marble effect and different flavours including a tier of Jess’