Your Sussex Wedding - December 2020/Janaury 2021 (Issue 88)

REAL WEDDINGS 33  M elissa was 15 minutes late for her first date with Jim, leading him to believe he’d been stood up and mistaking a speaker for a seat in his distress. “He quickly realised though that a quarter of an hour is practically early for me,” Melissa laughs. Despite her time keeping and his seating incident, they both had a wonderful time and set their second date for Valentine’s just a few days later. “Jim met me off the tube with a rose and a bag of dolly mixtures,” Melissa explains. That’s true love for you! Jim proposed in the kitchen of their new home where, having returned from collecting the engagement ring, he found Melissa in her pyjamas reading a magazine at the kitchen table. “I was absolutely blindsided as I always presumed I’d see it coming. Such was my shock that he had to propose again once I’d regained the power of speech!” she tells us. St John’s Church, Dormansland, is the bride’s family parish and her dad sings in the choir there, so this was an easy choice for the ceremony venue. All they needed then was a reception location nearby. Melissa explains, “Buxted Park was one of the first venues we looked at and immediately knew it was right. It’s a beautiful Georgian house with history spilling from every room, and the stunning grounds reflect the countryside we grew up in.” We couldn’t wait to find out more about the couple’s big day, which took place on 27 th July, 2019… SETTING THE SCENE “We didn’t have a particular colour palette or theme in mind, we mainly just went for bright and us,” Melissa shares. The pair both work in film and television, so they wanted to incorporate elements of this. The table names were all labelled as cinema screens with a mini lightbox on each one. They created their table plan as a movie poster with their wedding as the main event. This was stuck to a board and surrounded by Hollywood-style make- up mirror bulbs and foliage. The centrepieces were a combination of high and low arrangements with either faux-blossom trees seemingly growing out of popcorn boxes, or gin-bottle vases adorned with reels of cinema tickets. The super-cool place names, designed by Jim, were in the style of old-school cinema tickets decorated with clapperboards. The groom also cleverly designed all of the table stationery, including menus, in the Art Deco style as a nod to Hollywood’s golden age. When it came to the wedding favours the couple opted for Tunnocks Tea Cakes and Bars as the retro wrapping tied in well with the décor. Hydrangeas were the showstoppers of the floral displays, being readily available in July. “They were all incredible,” the bride says. Her bouquet was a mix of peonies and sweet avalanche roses to match the two in her hair. As well as lining the aisle, giant balloons also decorated the exterior of the church where they were anchored in gypsophila-filled churns. Each guest was asked to take the balloon at the end of their pew to the venue with them, where they were put to use decorating the reception space. Creativity certainly prevailed at this wedding. With the combined talents of the couple and their wedding planner, Laura, there was a wealth of fabulous elements that made the event a memorable one. Melissa made a faux foliage backdrop with a neon sign for one of the venue’s alcoves. This was used for cards during the day and in the evening it was transformed into a doughnut bar, which the couple had plumped for instead of a cake. Pinterest provided a wealth of inspiration from the personalised napkins to the peg board labelled: “Because no love story ever started with salad.” Another alcove was used to house big rose gold tubs filled with glow sticks, for guests to grab on their way to the dancefloor. No corner had been left without care and attention; even a set of shelves between the reception room and bar had been given the five-star treatment with framed photos, unicorn candles, lightboxes and various knickknacks. FOOD FOR THOUGHT Buxted Park supplied the delicious catering, which the pair had a chance to sample at a menu tasting – “This was a really special and fun experience in “Celebrate the best day of your life exactly how you want to, with some glitter on top.”