A picture-perfect fairytale…
- WHY DID YOU CHOOSE PYLEWELL?
So many reasons! Matt said he’d happily marry me wherever, but the English Literature graduate inside me knew it had to be a Jane Austen-esk beautiful building with gorgeous grounds. I knew about (and had thoroughly researched) Pylewell before getting engaged – my parents moved from Buckinghamshire to Lymington a couple of years ago, and my youngest sister actually worked a couple of weddings at Pylewell as a waitress. Pylewell was the very first venue we saw after getting engaged in November 2022 and it ticked all our boxes; complete exclusivity (so no chance of another couple booking it the night before), bedrooms for our immediate family and bridal party to stay in for the entire weekend, stunning building and lots of ceremony options. The fact that it backs onto the Solent was really the cherry on top of the cake – I grew up as a competitive swimmer and often ended up spending weekends crewing for my dad on his sailing boat, so I’m definitely happiest by the sea.
Midsummer Night’s Dream
fairytale
- TELL US ABOUT YOUR MOST MEMORABLE PART OF YOUR WEDDING DAY?
We loved it all – so it’s impossible to pick ‘the best bit’. Walking down the stairs in the main house and greeting my dad in my dress was just surreal – and despite telling my bridesmaids to walk slowly down the aisle, I basically ran, I was so excited.
It sounds so very cliche, but the best part really is just having all your friends and family in the same place.
- TELL US YOUR VISION FOR THE MARQUEE AND STYLING? DID IT LIVE UP TO YOUR EXPECTATIONS?
I sent our poor florist an eight-page ‘tablescape ideas’ PDF outlining the vibe I wanted to create. I’m a bit of a control freak (hence why we didn’t employ a wedding planner and I did everything myself), so I struggled a bit with the fact that I wasn’t going to get to physically see the Pavilion set up until the day of. But I needn’t have stressed. Rhiannon, from Willow and Wisps, nailed my brief and made all my saved Pinterest board images come to life.
The vibe I was going for was; rustic yet chic, minimal yet covered in foliage, with lots of modern pastels, bows and ribbons. Our florist decorated the two middle hanging chandeliers with a mixture of green foliage, roses, carnations, gypsophila, peonies and asters (all in soft whites, pinks and lilacs) with white and lilac ribbons draping down – and also hung extra greenery draping from the chandeliers to the sides of the room. It created a ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ type fairytale.
Since we opted for a feasting-style menu, we had to be clever with the space we had on the tables – so we used a mixture of cute bud vases and some larger ‘footed bowls’, alongside white tapered candlesticks in clear boho-style candlestick holders, and simple white cheesecloth runner. Each person had their own menu, printed on cotton rag paper (which matched our invites) and a personalised lilac bow place setting.
We also doubled up the flowers from the ceremony and used the floor ‘meadows’ – which ran along the aisle – as flowers for the ends of each of the tables.
- HAVE YOU GOT ANY FEEDBACK ABOUT THE PYLEWELL TEAM? WE WOULD SO LOVE TO HEAR IT.
We honestly thought you were the dream team – and I’m sure our house guests would agree. You made the whole process so seamless and were always at the end of an email or phone call to help answer my many, many questions.
I loved all the small touches – the writing on the mirrors, the midnight snack box that Kalm left on our bed, making sure there was champagne left in the Penthouse at the end of the night etc. It’s all those thoughtful touches which show how much you love your job and care about all your couples.
WHAT’S YOUR TOP TIP FOR ANY FUTURE PYLEWELL COUPLE?
Make sure you get your couple shots by the sea. It’s such a special setting and I can’t imagine getting married at Pylewell and not having a picture with the ocean as a backdrop. We snuck off during the desserts (so hopefully not many of our guests noticed we were missing for half an hour) and it meant we were blessed with the most perfect golden hour lighting and were able to get some really incredible pictures. Kalm, our caterers, went the extra mile by making sure we had our own Pavlova to dig into once we got back (so we didn’t miss out on dessert).
If you decide to buy a guest book (we got ours from Papier) and invest in a Polaroid camera, make sure your guests actually know it’s there. We did ask our groomsmen, as part of their role, to remind guests to take pics with the Instax Mini and sign the guest book, but it only got signed by a few people (we couldn’t get them off the dancefloor!) So it’s definitely worth thinking about where’s best to pop your guest book in the Pavillion.
I’d also say, if you can persuade your photographer to come down on the Friday night (to scope out the best spots), it’s really lovely to get a couple of pictures to document the ‘night-before’. After all, if you’re staying at Pylewell, you’re already making your wedding a weekend (or a couple of days long) affair – so you might as well have the pictures as proof!
Photographer credits: Lauren Juliette Photography
