Lucy & David
Saturday 24th July 2010
Lucy, her mum Carol and bridesmaid Tracey arrived for a very relaxed dinner and girly night in our Rose Room on the Friday before the wedding.
The girls were up with the dawn for a light breakfast and plenty of bucks fizz as various hairdressers and beauticians arrived to glam them up for the midday ceremony at Littlebirch church.
Lucy looked beautiful and so elegant in a strapless gown with amazing beading detail on the bodice and a flowing train, set off wonderfully by a gorgeous tiara on her upswept hair.
Lucy’s Dad arrived in plenty of time to accompany his daughter to church and after a slight last minute clothing hitch (nothing that Proprietor Christine’s sewing machine couldn’t fix!) they were off to the church.
A few hours later the new Mr and Mrs Cook arrived with 70 guests in tow to be greeted with a choice of Pimms or a cider and elderflower cocktail, and a selection of honey and mustard sausages and mini fritatta to nibble on.
In spite of a slightly overcast day their photographer Lars managed to get some gorgeous exterior shots, with Ross-On-Wye, the spire of St Marys church and Chase Woods in the background, before heading inside for some truly lovely pictures of the bride and groom on our spiral staircase.
The speeches took place in the drawing room bar before they went in to dine, with a glass of sparkling pink fizz for everyone.
The dining room looked absolutely fantastic, with beautiful terracotta pots overflowing with country flowers in pinks and whites as table centres (done by the bride and her prospective mother-in-law, clever girls). The homemade favours doubled up as place names, and finished off the tables beautifully.
Guests were called into dine on a choice of either trio of summer melon or a conference pear and avocado platter with a blue cheese and poppy seed dressing, followed by Sirloin of roasted Hereford beef with all the trimmings, then either a very naughty Baileys and white chocolate cheesecake (a special request from the bride!) or a Windmill Hill farm strawberry and raspberry Eton mess.
After the meal everyone made their way down to the drawing room for the cutting of the stunning and simple cake (a mixture of fruit and madeira-made by the groom’s mother) and some coffee before more guests arrived for the evening reception.
The night progressed with a lively disco, with a pause at about 9pm for an evening buffet of chip and bacon butties to keep everyone’s strength up for more dancing into the wee hours.
Breakfast the next day was a happy affair, with Lucy dividing up the beautiful table centres as gifts between their guests, before heading off to sunnier climes on honeymoon.
