made from a picture of our faces combined with a picture of our wedding outfits. The cake table also had a small photo frame with details about each layer of the cake and why we chose those flavours. Holly Dolly Cakes saved our wedding cake and was very reassuring. We didn’t see what the final product would look like until we arrived at the reception, but the design that Holly came up with blew us away.” For their transport, Racquel and Jean-Pierre hired a bus from RedRoutemaster.com for their guests, and the newlyweds travelled in a luxury car provided by Knights Wedding Cars. “Glenmore House provided all of the catering, including canapés for our guests on arrival,” says Jean-Pierre. “We had a three-course meal with a salmon and crab fishcakes starter, roasted duck breast with duck fat roast potatoes and braised cabbage for the main and Chantilly cream filled profiteroles with warm chocolate sauce for dessert. There was also a vegan option and meal for the children. For the evening, a chef’s selection buffet was provided.” DRESSED TO IMPRESS Racquel chose an ivory Oleg Cassini mermaid dress from David’s Bridal. “She loved the off-the-shoulder look and beaded decorations,” explains the groom. “She accessorised with a sash belt, necklace, bracelet and earrings. I wore a custom-made tuxedo with black peak lapels, gold leaf lining and personalised stitching from Moss Bros. The groomsmen wore bright blue suits from Dobell with matching waistcoats and dusky pink ties from Burtons, which matched the bridesmaids’ dresses.” The bridesmaids opted for pink maxi dresses from Dorothy Perkins, and Racquel’s maid-of-honour chose a lilac maxi dress from Little Mistress. TIME TO CELEBRATE “We hired two live performers that are West End professional singers called Tailored Tenors,” shares Jean-Pierre. “Before they started their first set, they did an act where one of them pretended to be a waiter that dropped a load of cutlery, causing a scene and then the other walked in pretending to be the manager, and they had an argument before breaking out into their first song. They were incredible and were a massive hit with all the guests. They sang songs that people of all ages knew and interacted with everyone allowing them to sing with them. One of the groomsmen thought it was recorded music until he saw them singing live. “When the main room opened up again after the turn around, we had three dancers called Tropical Flowers Sega Dancers perform to add some culture to the day,” adds Jean-Pierre. “Sega is a style of music from Mauritius, which is where my father is from. They did two dances, and the third got some of our guests involved. My father even got up and danced and was in his element.” Racquel and Jean-Pierre hired a photo booth from Booth Nineteen. “The attendant was very friendly and set up the Friends-themed backdrop that we provided,” recalls Jean-Pierre. “We received digital copies of all the pictures, which I made a video from for everyone to see. Later in the evening, we had Signature Sounds Ltd as our DJ. They performed our first dance song whilst they played a montage of pictures that I had put together. For the father and daughter dance, they played a video I had prepared featuring a montage of pictures of Racquel’s mother. As Racquel’s dad was not able to get up and dance with her, Racquel’s eldest son stepped in and danced with her whilst they held a picture frame of her mother.” REAL WEDDINGS 45
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