We welcomed friends and family from near and far to celebrate the marriage of Helen and Michael. From South Africa to Norfolk, their nearest and dearest made a weekend getaway to be a part of their special day arriving with them from Freethorpe Church in glorious afternoon sunshine.
Enjoying the sweet sounds of acoustic guitarist Peter on the terrace and the warmth of Winter Pimms, Ethel (the car) made her way onto the shingle drive for Mr and Mrs Board’s first official entrance as husband and wife.
As our beautiful bride stepped out onto the grass, her full length veil caught in the crisp breeze whilst twinkling in the sunlight. Guests soon huddled around the loved up couple to offer their congratulations and admire the new rings on display!
Helen’s team of helpers transformed Coronation Barn on the eve of the big day with fairy lights, bunting and little personal touches to ensure both Helen and Michael’s personalities were captured throughout. Godparents Auntie Chris and Uncle Ron must be mentioned for their talent and attention to detail by hand making truly fabulous ‘boarding card’ place cards, destination booklets and a stunning three tier cake complete with lace icing and sugar flowers. Helen and Michael have clearly travelled all over the world together and each table was named after one of their favourite destinations and followed on from their passport style invitations sent to guests earlier this year which Father of the Bride carefully created.
The Little Flower Shop made the finishing touches by tying cream and pink ribbons on the bay trees adorned with fairy lights whilst KWF candelabra’s were dressed with romantic dusky pink and cream roses and trailing ivy – simple but elegantly beautiful in every way.
As the temperature dropped guests were formally received into the warmth of Coronation Barn by the bridal party to wonderful aromas from the kitchen. A sumptuous meal featuring a perfect winter warmer of lamb shank, creamy mash and seasonal vegetables with lashings of minted gravy soon followed which was complimented by specially sourced South African Shiraz to salute Michael’s home country. As guests dived into their dessert, you could tell the three men on top table were beginning to get a little nervous with speeches only around the corner!
Father of the Bride Ray told us a few tales of Helen’s childhood during which we were all introduced to a very important person in her life – ‘Nookie bear’. This bear is so special to Helen that he was present throughout the whole wedding day and even had his very own tux bought for him to celebrate the occasion!
As the final speech drew to a close, our happy couple escaped for some magical couple shots in the secret garden whilst the Joe Ringer Band set up ready for a night of dancing.
The famous S’mores bar opened and after some gooey marshmallows wrapped in chocolate and sandwiched between cookies, there was no reason not to hit the dance floor to party the night away!
Congratulations Mr and Mrs Board, have a wonderful honeymoon in Zanzibar and Kenya – can we come too!? X
Photo credit: JMA Photography
