A dreamy wedding…
- WHY DID YOU CHOOSE PYLEWELL?
So many reasons but if we had to condense them down we think they would be:
Dreamy surroundings – the gardens, the outdoor spaces, the views of the sea and the beach (especially for Laura, who grew up by the sea in Dorset). Our guests haven’t stopped talking about it!
Exclusivity – the privacy, the serenity, the rural feeling yet not too far or difficult for people to find. ‘How does somewhere like this exist’ repeated all day by your guests – how can you not feel special after that?!
Space – it was really important for us to have our closest family and wedding party with us throughout and having the opportunity for them all to stay over from the Friday to the Sunday, with plenty of great food and wine, and with the Penthouse as a groomsmen haunt, really appealed to us.
And did we mention the views of the sea?
Invaluable team – from our first visit to Pylewell to the big day itself (and beyond!) nothing has felt like too much trouble for the team and the absolute sense of professionalism and pride everyone had in the venue was really confidence inspiring. You guys made our special day happen!
The Privacy, The Serenity
- TELL US ABOUT YOUR MOST MEMORABLE PART OF YOUR WEDDING DAY?
Without a doubt it was the aisle walk – especially to the backdrop of a piano and vocal duet by two of the guests that Laura had managed to keep secret in the run up! Having never previously met, and with just a few Zoom rehearsals and a single run through on the wedding morning, the odds were against the duo but they absolutely nailed the final beautiful touch to an unforgettable moment.
Other honourable mentions – the food (Red Herring were fantastic), the music, the weather turning a corner and bringing beautiful sunshine after a week of wind and rain, watching our guests talking and laughing together at the reception, hearing the happy hum all around us at our wedding breakfast.
And of course, walking into the Pavilion to the theme from Top Gun. You can be my wingman any time.
- TELL US YOUR VISION FOR THE MARQUEE AND STYLING? DID IT LIVE UP TO YOUR EXPECTATIONS?
We’d probably, if left to our own devices, have simply labelled our vision for the styling as ‘elegant, understated, simple.’ Obviously three vague words would have been a challenge for anyone to make happen so we had to expand a little!
We knew we wanted round tables instead of banquet tables, and that we wanted to keep some visible wood to go with our wedding colours of sage green and peach and to compliment the beautiful garden surroundings. We kept the tables bare with sage runners, peach napkins and simple bud vases filled by Kemlo and Kemlo to let people talk across the tables. We were a bit wary of the tables being ‘cluttered’ but we needn’t have worried – even with place settings, a couple of candles and some menu cards in wooden log holders it all came together.
It was important to us to put our own stamp on things and our friends really came through to help – one sorted all the wine and fizz (even managing to find bottles with floral designs) and another designed menu cards in a peach colour scheme and table names referring to trips we had made together complete with photos from our adventures! We finished things off with a hand-painted beach stone placename for our guests to take away as a memento, which kept Laura and her mum busy pre-wedding!
- HAVE YOU GOT ANY FEEDBACK ABOUT THE PYLEWELL TEAM? WE WOULD SO LOVE TO HEAR IT.
You guys were all fantastic from beginning to end – from helping us work out what we actually wanted to keeping the aisle walk song a secret. All the small touches – Taylor Swift playing when we arrived (the inspiration for one of our table names), looking after our guests and making our wedding party feel at home, the writing on the mirrors and all the coordination and setting up that happened in the background. You all clearly love what you do and your passion and enthusiasm (even on our first visit) really shone through especially when compared to other venues we had looked at. We felt you were just as excited as we were!
WHAT’S YOUR TOP TIP FOR ANY FUTURE PYLEWELL COUPLE?
Definitely make sure to plan yourselves a chilled evening the night before your wedding. We were perhaps guilty of getting a bit stressed with final preparations over the afternoon but the evening was a great opportunity to just chat with our wedding party, soak up the atmosphere with some good food (shout out to The Kitchen Social) and drink, and remind ourselves how excited we were!
We also benefitted from taking the time to find a photographer who we gelled with – we looked at several people’s work and knew we wanted someone to be as unobtrusive as possible and to catch the moments that we might otherwise miss. We didn’t want too much structure or staging but we did want a few specific photos/locations, and from our first conversation with Martin of Martin Bell Photography we knew we had found the right person.
Likewise we did well from delegating – the best men and bridesmaids knew the plan and at mid-morning on the wedding day we simply said ‘if there’s any issues, do what feels right and tell us what we are doing next!’ They all did a stunning job and of course had a member of the Pylewell team on hand (Alex – what a hero) to help coordinate and ensure things ran smoothly. Ditto the guests – they’ll all sort themselves out and make it there and back in (broadly) one piece! Our sole contribution to their plans was reminding them to book taxis and accommodation early – it can be tricky at short notice!
Photographer credits: Martin Bell Photography
