Your Sussex Wedding - April/May 2020 (Issue 84)

Check out the news that’s local to you Nearlywed NEWS NEXT IN BEAUTY New Sussex-based hair and make-up artist agency, Illuminate, was created to provide a platform for individual beauty professionals across the UK. It’s founder and owner, Ella Sutherland, enjoyed a career in recruitment for many years until she found herself starting to look for another challenge that would enable her to grow and be creative. She says, “Creativity involves talent and skill, which is exactly what our make-up artists and stylists have. They’re passionate and will collaborate with you to create a bridal look you’ll love.” Wherever you’re located, Ella can offer the bespoke Illuminate experience, discovering exactly what you need and matching that to one of the agency’s artists. Head over to illuminatetheagency.com to find out more. NEW VENUE ALERT! Oakwood School’s beautiful Regency mansion in Chichester, West Sussex, has been launched as an exclusive wedding venue. This gracious building sits within tranquil grounds, and will be available during selected weekends and school holidays. Its expansive fields and woodlands provide couples with a fairytale backdrop, as well as complete privacy and seclusion. The elegant Heritage Room is licensed for civil ceremonies and is also ideal for more modest receptions. Alternatively, there’s the choice to use the extensive grounds for a marquee or tipi. Oakwood’s own marquee, which is set up in July, can seat up to 200 guests, offering options to reflect the bride and groom’s style, and can be partitioned to provide a more intimate atmosphere if desired. To find out more or to arrange a visit, contact Catherine Hutchin on 01243 575 209 or email office@oakwoodschool.co.uk danwilsonweddings.co.uk AND THE WINNER IS… Last issue we reported that Field Place Manor & Barns in Worthing had scooped the regional 2020 Wedding Industry Award for Best Town or City Wedding Venue. This meant that it would automatically make the shortlist for the national awards, and we’re delighted to tell you that the Sussex- based venue has now won this accolade too! The prestigious awards are an annual event, with seven different regional final ceremonies held around the UK. This culminates in the national finals, which pits the regional winners against each other, all battling to be named the nation’s best in their category. Praise from the awards’ judges was nothing short of glowing. Following high scores on the night one commented: “You clearly care a huge amount about the couples who get married at your lovely venue, and work passionately to ensure that each wedding is as individual as possible. I was particularly impressed at how often couples name-checked individual members of staff as they’d clearly got to know them on a personal level.” Find out more about the venue at fieldplace.co.uk AYE, DO The UK’s only immersive Medieval festival, Loxwood Joust, returns this August. Leave the modern world behind and peruse traditional wares in the Medieval Marketplace, where traders and hawkers vie for your attention, and wandering minstrels, dance troupes, and a court jester entertains the crowds. Full-contact jousting happens twice each day, along with displays of weaponry, archery, falconry, and cannon fire in the battle staged by re-enactors. Plus, there’s the Woodland stage, which hosts live performances. In fact, it’s so much fun, why not getting married while you’re there? That’s right, Loxwood Joust offers you the chance to experience a truly ancient and nature-based ceremony, offering everything from Medieval handfasting to full bespoke weddings, which take place in the Faerie Woodland. Packages range from £50-£250. The festival takes place on 1-2 and 8-9 August, 2020. Visit the wesbite loxwoodjoust.co.uk/loxwoodjoust/weddings 8