11 minute read
NEARLYWED NEWS
This summer, guests of boutique bolthole No.15 by GuestHouse Bath will be delighted to discover a thoughtful reimagining of the eight bedrooms in the hotel’s cosy Coach House. With its Gothicstyle frontage and quatrefoil windows, The Coach House sits pretty and preserved behind the hotel’s main townhouse. GuestHouse’s inventive interiors combine heritage and modernity, with artisanal touches that celebrate local creators.
Inspired by the building’s beginnings as a Georgian carriage house and taking its lead from the main house, the new bedrooms honour the history of the surroundings. Guests are greeted by a dramatic entrance featuring calming deep olive greens and uplifting candy pink tones, while warmly-lit hallways open up into light-filled bedrooms decorated in soft colour palettes. With a strong commitment to championing local makers and creators, GuestHouse has selected finishes, fittings and furniture that casts the spotlight on talented Somerset-based creatives.
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A total makeover of the Coach House offers the perfect opportunity to get away with your best gals and guys to celebrate your impending nuptials as you get to spread out and enjoy time together. Here, you’ll have the privacy and freedom to play music on the record players or gather on the fluffy sofas and armchairs for board games by the fire. It’s NEWS NearlywedA a place where you can all kick back, relax, indulge and make some special memories. Discover more at www.guesthousehotels.co.uk Catch up on the latest from around the region
www.tobymitchellcreative.com
WELCOME RETURN
Andrew Swann has been appointed executive chef at The Castle at Taunton in Somerset, returning to where he started his career more than 20 years ago. As part of his role, Swann will be responsible for the food and beverage offer across the award-winning hotel, including its 70-cover Brazz Restaurant, as well as its 44 rooms and suites.
He initially joined the business in 2000 as a 17-year-old commis chef, and has since worked in some of the UK’s top hotels and restaurants including Michelin-starred Zafferano and L’Escargot, as well as The Savoy. Most recently, he was head chef at Luciano’s by Luciano Pierre White in Dorchester. A classically-trained chef, his cooking style focuses on using seasonal produce, sourced locally.
The move comes following a recent £150,000 kitchen refurbishment, allowing the restaurant to offer wider, more sustainable and energy efficient options for guests. Andrew says, “It feels so great to be back home. I’m especially excited to be able to work with an incredible core team and to have access to some of the country’s greatest produce. Where we are, we’re spoilt every season and I can’t wait to get reacquainted with the local farmers and producers.”
It sounds to us as though it’ll be well worth keeping an eye out for Andrew’s menus and sampling the delicious fare on your next date night. Visit www.the-castle-hotel.com LOVE IS LOVE
Somerset Registration Service has devised a very special offering for Taunton Live & Pride festival goers this year – free mini ceremonies in the Wellbeing Zone, specially written for the occasion. You can even choose from a range of vows personalised for you on the spot.
Couples young and old can have their love recognised, friends can celebrate their relationship or individuals can pledge to love and honour themselves. There’s no need to book, just bring yourselves and some love! The ceremony team will be on hand to answer questions on how to go about tying the knot legally or booking a full-length celebration or vow renewal.
Taunton Live & Pride takes place on Saturday 16th July in Vivary Park, Taunton. Check out https://tauntonpride.co.uk for more, along with details of a special competition by Jen The Celebrant (https://jenthecelebrant.co.uk) to win a full ceremony on stage.
BRIDAL BLING
Recently-engaged TV personality Vicky Pattison has launched an exclusive bridal jewellery collection with Bath-based brand Abbott Lyon. This new range offers the perfect accessories to complement every step of a bride-to-be’s journey to W-day.
Since being crowned Queen of the Jungle in the 2015 series of ITV’s I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Vicky’s career has gone from strength to strength. With an army of loyal fans who adore her dressed-up glam looks as much as her down-to-earth real talk, she’s amassed a following of over five million people on Instagram alone. Having recently become engaged to Ercan Ramadan, Abbott Lyon saw her as the perfect fit for their new bridal collection.
The bespoke range consists of more than 30 pieces, including The Signature Pearl Name Necklace (£89), Tie The Knot Ring (£49), and Custom Initial Pearl Choker (£89), with pieces in the collection starting from just £25. All styles can be fully personalised, with the option to add a customised gift box for that extra special touch. The sustainable range is complemented by faux pearls, which symbolise love and beauty.
Shop the full collection at www.abbottlyon.com
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
The National Trust is delighted that the ancient Horner Wood in Somerset, in its care, has been chosen as part of a nationwide network of 70 ancient woodlands and trees to be dedicated to The Queen in celebration of her Platinum Jubilee. Fingle Woods in the Teign Valley on Dartmoor, the ancient black walnut tree at Antony near Torpoint in Cornwall, and the Tolpuddle Martyrs tree in Dorset are further South West offerings to be selected. The initiative was launched by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, who is patron of The Queen's Green Canopy, a tree-planting initiative.
Horner Woods is one of the largest unenclosed ancient seminatural woodlands in the UK. In 1995 it was made a National Nature Reserve together with the surrounding Dunkery moorland. Evidence of humans living in and using the woodland dates back thousands of years to the Bronze and Iron Ages, and seven settlements, six of which are still occupied, are recorded in the Doomsday Book.
Little Quarme Cottages & Weddings is located in Exmoor National Park just a hop, skip and jump away from Horner Wood Nature Reserve and Dunkery Beacon. So, if you like the idea of saying “I do” in the shadow of this remarkable ancient woodland, it's well worth a look. Check out www.littlequarme-cottages.co.uk
More than 350,000 weddings will take place in the UK this year with around £14.7 billion spent on these events globally. With so much money being invested in weddings, guests attending will no doubt have some expectations!
New research from Steven Stone Jewellers reveals that Bristol is in the top three cities whose residents get invited to the most weddings. The engagement ring specialists surveyed 2,000 Brits to find out exactly how much they’re spending on each element of a wedding, how they feel about forking out and what they expect in return. It materialised that the average cost of being a wedding guest in 2022 is up to a whopping £1,203, with the bill racked up by expenditure on an outfit, accommodation, transport, childcare, gifts and more! Of those surveyed in Bristol, 30.21 per cent will attend at least one wedding in 2022-23 and their list of expectations is topped by receiving a formal invitation and being served evening food. It may comfort you to know though that a mere six per cent said they expected a free bar, so you can save your pennies there! Finally, you may be surprised to hear that men spend more on their wedding guest outfit than women – £190 versus £121.
www.gregshingler.co.uk
RUSTIC PERFECTION
Court Farm, a lovingly restored 16th-century farmhouse, is set in ten acres of gardens and grounds in the heart of the Somerset countryside. New to its wedding venue offering is a recently-converted second barn, the Woolshed. A beautiful industrial-chic space, it works brilliantly as a wedding breakfast location with a twist. Suitable for practically anything from a ceilidh to a hog roast, it’s so versatile and the choice is yours. It can seat up to 108 nearest and dearest and is stylishly furnished with trestle tables, antique chairs, floral hoops and rustic lighting.
A further exciting addition is the newly-installed luxurious wood-fired hot tub, offering the perfect opportunity to enjoy some R&R the night before W-day. Court Farm can be hired for two nights, including accommodation for 10 to 14 people in the boutique-styled cottages and cow byres. All units face their own private courtyard, which is frequently used for exchanging vows and enjoying cocktails and canapés. The beautifully modernised cottage sleeps four to six, the Cider Barn and Dairy sleeps four to six too, while the Cow Byre sleeps two.
To find out more about hosting your big day at Court Farm, check out www.courtfarmstanderwick.co.uk
SLICE AS NICE
The UK’s oldest British caterer is celebrating its 175th anniversary with the recreation of a royal wedding cake created by its founder, John Searcy, 126 years ago. The caterer has taken a trip back through its archives to the1896 royal wedding of Princess Maud, then the future Queen of Norway, to Prince Carl of Denmark. Considered the society wedding of the year, royal attendees included Queen Victoria, grandmother of the bride, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark.
Confectioner and Royal Warrant holder, John Searcy came out of retirement to bake the breathtaking multi-tiered big-day bake. Adorned with sweet treats, the cake included fine sugar work flowers, roses and angels, along with the Royal Arms of England and Denmark.
In tribute to its founder, Searcys has recreated the same cake in partnership with baker Elizabeth Solaru of Elisabeth’s Cake Emporium. Working alongside Searcys own pastry chef, Yvonne Graham, the confectioners spent three weeks tirelessly completing the bake to reflect the original design. Five-tiers of Dundee fruit cake are covered with delicate marzipan and white and gold lattice work icing before being toped with carefully crafted sugar work of flowers, fruits, cherubs and lion.
The cake will travel across Searcys restaurants throughout the summer, so for your chance to sample a slice of the action head to The Pump Room in Bath (https://thepumproombath.co.uk) from early July to early August. The Princess Maud wedding cake can also be made to order for any wedding celebrations booked at Searcys iconic venues. To find out more check out www.searcys.co.uk
Outside eremonies Are Here To Stay
It’s official! Outdoor ceremonies are now a permanent fixture. Is your dream to say your vows barefoot on the lawn with sun shining overhead, breeze in your hair, birds singing in the trees? We can’t guarantee the weather, but the open sky is now all yours. James & Kerrie Photography at The Cider Barn, Dillingotn Estate
Originally brought in as a temporary covid measure, the law changed in April to allow couples to say I Do outside at any existing licensed venue. Somerset Registration Service has been working with wedding venues across Somerset & North Somerset to give couples a greater choice of spots to say their vows. There are still a few essential boxes to tick for safety and accessibility, but otherwise all venues with gardens or outside space may be able to offer that open air option you’re looking for.
Simon & Kiana Photography at Huntstile Organic Farm
Our Outdoor Top Tips Inside or out, only licensed venues can hold legal ceremonies, so still no vows on the beach or on top of Glastonbury Tor. Ceremonies can be held anywhere in the gardens and grounds. It’s worth not straying too far away though – bathroom breaks, catering top ups, and getting yourself from the prep room to the aisle are major considerations. Let your venue help you find the perfect spot – trust them, they know what will work for everyone on the day. Make sure the site is accessible for your guests – heels, mobility issues and grassy hills aren’t a great combination! Let your guests know the plan – they might want to opt for a change of sensible shoes and an extra cosy layer or a broader brimmed hat and some sun screen. Have a bad weather backup plan. This is England, after all. Don’t feel bad if you need to head inside. We’ll make sure the ceremony is so full of love you’ll forget you had to switch plans! While the old rules already allowed outdoor vows with the wedding party standing under a permanent structure like a gazebo or bandstand, this really does free things up. Venues have added stone circles, private woodlands, walled gardens and lakeside lawns to their ceremony offers – even marquees now get the go ahead. Spots where only nonlegal blessings could take place are now a choice for the real deal. Our registrar teams are super excited about a season of joining happy couples in some truly gorgeous new locations.
