Jen and Chris live in London, but as Jen grew up just down the road from us, Hornington was the perfect venue for them. Our 19 beautiful bedrooms throughout the Manor were used by guests who had travelled from far and wide to celebrate their day.
Everything about Jen and Chris’ wedding was beautiful, from their table decorations of jam jars wrapped in string (curtesy of Jen’s mum) filled with delicate gypsophelia and white roses, to the glorious weather across the bank holiday weekend! Jen had chosen the most amazing lace gown with floor length veil. She kept her jewellery simple wearing just her engagement ring, (which was later joined by her wedding ring of course!), and a silver bangle bracelet. Jen was radiant and her 6 bridesmaids were dressed in gorgeous grey beaded dresses which we were all swooning over!
Guests met at Bolton Percy Church for the ceremony, while Jen and her Father were chauffeured in a beautiful vintage white Jaguar which looked right at home in the courtyard at Hornington.
The Groom, Chris looked very handsome in his fitted navy suit and white rose buttonhole.
The newlyweds and their loved ones were welcomed back to Hornington to prosecco and chilled beers on the front lawn, accompanied by their friend and DJ playing summer tunes in the August sunshine. Our bar manager Simon couldn’t resist flying his drone over the party and taking some amazing shots of the manor and grounds being enjoyed by the guests.
Jen and Chris had chosen The Yorkshire Gourmet Kitchen as their caterers and Darren and his team created some wonderful canapes for the guests to enjoy. I must say, the mini roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding was to die for!
Once the guests had moved into the barn, they could all enjoy the hard work that had been put in to decorating the space by Jen and Chris (although we soon learnt, more Jen than Chris…) their top table had a beautiful flower arrangement at the centre and was framed by huge candles and jam jars. Their cake was a traditional 4-tiered fruit cake decorated with white roses and delicate little white flowers.
Dinner was served and guests were treated to enormous antipasti sharing platters, piled high with cheese and Italian meats, topped with homemade hummus and pesto. This was followed by barbecued steak, chicken and all the trimmings. Pudding was a DIY Eton mess and everyone got stuck in!
In their speeches, we learnt a lot about Jen and Chris and how loved they are by friends and family. Chris thanked the bridesmaids for putting on an amazing Hen do for Jen. She was buzzing when she came back, which was a world away from how Chris felt returning from his Stag do- he was a shadow of his former self and would never be the same again! He thanked guests for travelling from far and wide- London, Australia, across Europe, San Francisco, LA and even Bahrain!
He then spoke about the brand new Mrs Hope and congratulated her on planning the most perfect day. Chris gushed about his clever, funny, attractive northern Bride and told us of how he first knew she was the one; on their second date, Chris took Jen to Brighton for the day and the weather was horrendous. They found themselves sat in a below average fish and chip shop with a pot of tea and he had never seen anyone look so happy, it was days like this that made him fall in love.
The best man Adam, aka Pudsey, had flown all the way from Bahrain to be there for the special day and had many a story to tell about his 17 year long friendship with the Groom! He told us he had lots of time to think on his 4000-mile journey and had come up with a lot of material, and anything he wasn’t sure on or couldn’t remember, he just made up. Safe to say, we were hooked! Adam’s speech was genuinely hilarious and our favourite bits were learning of Chris’ OCD tendencies with cleaning, and undying love for cricket – despite being dropped from the team, much to Adam’s amusement.
Adam told us how Jen and Chris met in a Clapham bar and with the aid of alcohol and some low lighting, Jen appeared to be impressed! Chris couldn’t believe that someone as beautiful as Jen would agree to take him on as a project, and as for Jen, she was just happy she could now get her kitchen cleaned for free!
Jen and Chris are clearly two of a kind. They are adored by their friends and family, and we can see why. Such a wonderful couple and we are so lucky we too could be part of their day. Congratulations Mr and Mrs Hope!