Your Sussex Wedding - Page number 43 - June/July 2021 (Issue 91)

Kerry and Matt said “I do” at The Ravenswood in December 2020 Images courtesy of John Scofield Photography You’re on in a million M att proposed to Kerry in the summer of 2019 at Cottesmore Golf and Country Club. One of the little chalets had been arranged, or so Kerry thought, for his family to stay in while visiting for the weekend. But when she arrived to find the room decorated with rose petals, balloons and flowers, she realised a surprise was afoot! Both sets of families eagerly awaited the newly engaged couple to emerge so they could all celebrate together. “I was lost for words when it happened,” Kerry tells us. The couple looked at many venues across the county when planning began in earnest, but had been unable to find quite what they were looking for until they found The Ravenswood. Kerry explains, “The turreted exterior is beautiful and the grounds are astonishing with the old boat house and three lakes. I really wanted somewhere that offered the opportunity to hold our ceremony in the open air, so the Little Castle truly ticked my box of being a princess for the day. Inside, the venue had everything to offer and the staff were so welcoming and helpful, nothing was too much hassle.” With the venue booked for 1 st December 2020 and the guest list finally whittled down to 60 the couple were excited for their big day. However, Covid had different ideas. “It was really difficult deciding who to invite when we discovered our guest list would have to be halved, but when we were later informed we had to halve it again to just 15 that was the real challenge. We still wanted to get married though, that was the most important thing for us. So, we decided to go ahead joined by our closest family and friends followed later by a fantastic celebration with all of our loved ones once restrictions have been completely lifted. This is already being referred to as ‘Wedding 2.0’!” Luckily, they’d chosen to move the wedding back slightly by two weeks to 15 th December, which meant they were clear of the second lockdown and able to go ahead. Thank goodness for technology too as many of their original guests were able to join them virtually via the live stream, and the couple were delighted to receive lots of lovely video messages, which they played with the speeches in the evening. So, without any further ado join us as Kerry tells us all about their intimate wedding day… REAL WEDDINGS 43