On meeting with Tara and her Mum when I first showed them around Hornington Manor, I immediately recognised their strong mother and daughter bond, which was so lovely to see. They were a very close family unit and I could tell this was going to be a very important day for everyone to enjoy.
Friday morning, Tara arrived with Adam and her Dad at the crack of dawn, with a van in tow full of all sorts of exciting decorations that Tara required to turn the barn into her idyllic wedding venue. Her decorations were very creative with milk urns full of wild flowers, ears of corn and little acorns. It really was the perfect country scene. Working hard as a team, the barn was soon ready and other wedding duties could be carried out.
Jeanette arrived with trays of sausage rolls and pork pies to feed everyone, and give them a well-deserved break from the setting up of the wedding. With final preparations completed, the weekend was well on its way.
Tara and Adam’s big day had arrived, the sun rose to provide a beautiful backdrop to Hornington Manor. Soon there was a hive of activity and a buzz in the air as everyone was busy getting ready and excited about the day ahead.
The videographer, David Spink, was already capturing footage of the bride getting ready and other memorable moments, which will no doubt be shown on future family gatherings.
The photographer, Mark Newton Weddings, was revelling in how the gorgeous weather along with the venue and lovely people to work with, had made his job so easy.
Tara’s spectacular transport arrived – two horses from KRM Horse Drawn Carriages. The two stunning stallions were dressed with lemon flowers in their mane, coordinating with the carriage and flowers to match Tara’s bridesmaids. What a wonderful picture they created in front of the Lychgate awaiting Tara and her Dad to take them to our beautiful church in Bolton Percy.
Guests all the way from Italy and the not – as – far – away down South along with the rest of the wedding party arrived back from church ceremony for drinks and canapés on the front lawn. Forty bales of straw had been dotted around on the lawn, creating extra seating and a source of entertainment for the kids to climb on, jump over and under. The straw bales tied in wonderfully with the country scene set up in the barn, and the whole theme fitted perfectly with the back drop of the farm, and surrounding sheep.
Tara and Adam made a grand entrance on the carriage with the majestic stallions. The photographer took pleasure in snapping away, taking plenty of photographs but as bride and groom stepped out of their luxury carriage and posed with the horses, one of the stallions thought it would be a good time to have a “pee”. Adam only just pulled Tara out of the way so that her beautiful dress didn’t get soaked as it was like someone had turned the hosepipe on!
The most wonderful time was had by all when the wedding party moved into the wedding barn. Everyone stared in amazement at the picture Adam and Tara had created in decorating the barn with the help of the florist, Buddy Marvellous.
Bradshaws did a delicious job of feeding everyone, with big smiles on everyone’s faces as they tucked into the food before them.
Tara and Adam hired out a photo booth which proved to be very popular and everyone took the opportunity to capture their own moments of the wedding to take home as a souvenir.
Simon and our bar staff had never had such a generous amount in their tip jar, with lovely guests congratulating them on such a fabulous day and rewarding them for their efforts in making sure everything ran smoothly.
Tara’s Dad was emotional as he celebrated the wonderful occasion with his daughter, commenting that she was the loveliest daughter anyone could ever wish for; he said her patience when planning of the big day was always met with grace and her gentle nature knew no bounds.
However she did admit to me her Father was slightly blinkered as she did have a minor melt down on the morning of her wedding and threw a mini strop, but we can forgive her of that as she is absolutely one of the nicest brides we have had the pleasure to greet here at Hornington Manor, as indeed are the whole family.
With a BBQ and “It’s a knock out “style games on the front lawn; fun was certainly the name of the game on Sunday to complete their wedding weekend.
Bless them, they even said they actually enjoyed the time cleaning up on Monday morning before they left.
With hugs and kisses, they left in convoy and a firm agreement on my half to contact them the minute they have a window of opportunity to all come back for a weekend, to re-live the fantastic time they had.
Well that time was sooner than they thought, as I got an emergency message to turn all the cupboards out and look high and low. They had lost the wedding certificate! Tara’s sister and chief bridesmaid had been in charge of it and put it between two plates in the kitchen of the lodge that she was in for the weekend with her beautiful children. Well it was the perfect hiding place because it took us a few hours to find it!
All photography featured was taken by Si Stock Photography.
Don’t forget like our page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!