Your Sussex Wedding - Feb/Mar 2019 (Issue 77)

Our cake was made by someone who’s made birthday and occasion cakes for my family for about 20 years. It was a simple design topped with an adorable handmade bride and groom dinosaur couple. We had a long running joke about dinosaurs when we first met, which we can no longer remember the origin of! It became a bit of a thing over the years though, so we decided to tie this into our wedding. The tables were named after dinosaur species, and the wooden boxes my dad made for the floral centrepieces were painted with dinosaurs. Favours and place names were miniature dinosaurs with tags attached. U niversity sweethearts Claire and Sean met at their entrance interviews for Clare College, Cambridge, aged just 17 and 18, respectively. The veterinary student and physics student kept in touch, meeting up again several months later while back in town for a rowing competition that Claire’s brother and Sean’s friend were competing in. By the time their first term started, they were a couple. Claire says: “I had always said I wouldn’t want to get engaged as a student.” So Sean, respectful of his bride- to-be’s wishes, waited until after her finals in 2016, six years after they got together, before proposing. While away on a camping trip with friends in the Lake District, Sean took Claire to one side. She says: “Our friends were just around the corner, wishing we would hurry up with being soppy so we could get on with climbing Helvellyn!” A friend who was in on the plan had brought a bottle of champagne, so they all toasted the couple’s future on the top of the mountain. Sean happened to be staying near to Grittenham Barn for work at the time the couple were looking at wedding venues. Claire says: “He popped in just to have a look and knew he had to show me.” They were instantly attracted to the rural barn setting, as they had their hearts set on a venue with everything under one roof that allowed the pair to select their own caterers and venue styling. Claire explains: “Having it available the day before to set up was a huge plus. But the two donkeys in the stable next to the barn were the biggest selling point!” The date was set for 30 th September, 2018. Here the bride shares more memories of the wedding day… We decided on sunflowers as they were in season and tied in with the colour of our university sports teams. We thought they’d really brighten up an early autumn day and complement the bridesmaids’ navy dresses. We decorated the chimney in the centre of the barn with photos of us over the past seven years on one side, and wedding photos of our parents, grandparents and relatives on the other. 46