THE KEY TO my heart

Lucy and Adam said “I do” at Pilgrims Rest on 24th September, 2022

Images courtesy of NDavies Photography

Lucy and Adam’s romance began as so many others do in our modern world – on Tinder. They met in person a month or so after they started chatting online when Adam invited Lucy to his band’s gig not far from where she was studying at university. “We didn’t speak much on the night we met, he was a bit busy on stage. But I did speak to a lot of his family members, which was a bit strange considering I’d not met him properly yet,” Lucy remembers. “I must have been blown away by his performance though as we decided to go for our first real date the following day.”

Adam proposed at home in their flat. The couple had both booked the day off work as they were going to the Warner Bros Studio Tour, The Making of Harry Potter. So, Lucy was enjoying a lazy morning relaxing on the sofa before they set off, and Adam was making pancakes. “When he came in with them, he set down a Polaroid photo of us laughing together. It was captioned: ‘Mrs Ross?’ Then, he got down on one knee, and waited for my reaction, which may have included some expletives!” Lucy shares. Although she knew they may get engaged at some point, she hadn’t been expecting it at 9am in her pyjamas! Read on as the bride tells us all about their beautiful wedding day...

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Pilgrims Rest is a hidden gem in the quaint, historical town of Battle, which is also where Lucy grew up. The venue is a stunning 600-year-old Wealden hall house with endless original features such as inglenook fireplaces and ancient beams. Lucy tells us more, “The thought of a huge wedding was daunting to us and Pilgrim’s Rest is just the right size. It has a cosy, homely feel and felt magical to us when we viewed it. We could also have our wedding photos taken inside and outside the magnificent Battle Abbey next door, you just have to email them to reserve your date.”

Another reason for choosing Pilgrim’s Rest was the enthusiastic, knowledgeable staff. Hire of the venue includes styling and props, which are rotated according to the season and personalised to its couples’ tastes. Lucy continues, “It’s flexible too when it comes to suppliers and was the only venue we viewed that allowed us to choose any caterer we wanted, but they do have a list of recommended suppliers if you get a little stuck. Plus, they don’t charge corkage – bonus!”

Setting The Scene

The ceremony room was already decorated beautifully with foliage and lanterns provided by the venue. They also offer benches or chairs for couples to choose from as well as a choice between two types of decorative rugs. Lucy added to the benches some biodegradable confetti bags in autumnal hues complete with personalised stickers.

For the reception in the Dining Room, there were two long banquet-style tables and a top table for the bride and groom and their parents. They ordered some custom-sized, forest green cheesecloth as table runners with matching napkins. The bridesmaids placed their fresh flower bouquets in vases along each table once the ceremony was over, to serve as centrepieces. Along the tables, the couple arranged a diverse selection of gold candlesticks, which they collected from various boot sales and charity shops, with orange taper candles. Each guest had a place name made from hexagonal-shaped acrylic. Lucy painted them in orange metallic on one side and placed a vinyl cut out of their names on the other. Everyone was also gifted a bottle opener in the shape of a key with a label attached that read: “The key to happiness is love, and the ability to open a bottle.”

To sit behind the bride and groom’s seats Adam created an LED neon sign saying: “Mr & Mrs Ross est. 2022,” which sat on a copper pipe arch decorated with flowers. “We enjoyed adding these personal touches to the Dining Room, such as hanging up our baby photos, framed photographs of our parents at their weddings and photos of our lost loved ones.”

Food For Thought

Following the ceremony, the newlyweds headed off for the couple shots in the Abbey while their guests enjoyed prosecco and waffle pops in the garden. The wedding breakfast was three courses, and Lucy and Adam had decided to intersperse the speeches between each course. Lucy says, “The food by Mark’s Meals went down very well, the most complimented course being the mains, which were braised beef in a red wine sauce for meat-eaters and baked aubergine parmigiana for the vegetarians.”

In the evening, once the party had started, a local Italian restaurant delivered 60 pizzas for guests to graze on. “It was affordable and everyone loved it,” Lucy remembers.

The big-day bake featured two tiers. The bottom was chocolate and banana caramel flavour, while the top was a red velvet cake topped with a gold Mr & Mrs Ross. For an extra showstopping touch the main bake was surrounded by salted caramel flavour cupcakes.

Looking The Part

Lucy looked stunning in her Essense of Australia gown, style number D3145. After many, many bridal boutique visits, she managed to narrow down her preferred style to A-line, in an off-white shade, with sleeves. “I found the dress before I found the boutique,” she says. “I phoned ahead to make sure it was in stock and arranged an appointment. I knew as soon as I tried it on that it was the one, which was a relief.”

The bride accessorised with a gold pearl necklace bought for her by her mum. It featured a long chain down the back, which looked gorgeous against the low back of the gown. Her sister bought her some matching pearl earrings and she completed the look with a leafy gold hairpiece from Etsy. “I wore some small heels for the ceremony, but the gems kept getting caught on my dress, so I wish I’d gotten straight into my evening shoes – white Converse with embroidered hearts, a gift from my mother-in-law,” Lucy tells us.

The groom, his best man and his father’s grey, checked three-piece suits all came from Burton. Due to the fatherof-the-bride’s height, he had a different suit, but wore the matching waistcoat allowing him to fit in as the important member of the party he was. Adam made the men and mothers-of-the-bride and -groom buttonholes from dried, orange flowers and foliage. He also wore classic Doc Marten slip-on shoes.

The bridesmaids were all dressed in variations of Ever Pretty orange dresses having chosen whichever one they felt most comfortable in. “They were stunning and looked beautiful together,” Lucy shares.

Time To Celebrate

A live band entertained all assembled during the evening. The couple emailed them a playlist of songs for when they weren’t performing, and when they were, they took requests from guests. “They could quite literally play any song on the planet. They were brilliant,” Lucy says. They even let Adam perform a couple of numbers with them, which went down a treat.

Memorable Moments

The ceremony was the highlight of the day for Lucy. She says, “Our registrar was brilliant and gave us a beautiful, moving service. Having our closest friends and family involved, such as my nephew carrying the rings, the beautiful readings by my friend and sister-in-law and seeing my bridesmaids together on the stairs was just lovely. Thinking about making our vows still gives me goose bumps!”

The best man’s speech too was a memorable moment for all as he picked up his guitar and started strumming while chatting to the guests. He’s Adam’s best friend and band mate and explained how it was music that brought them together and solidified their friendship. Everyone was expecting a song, but he’d actually written a lovely and funny poem.”

ROLL CREDITS

Venue, Pilgrim’s Rest, www.pilgrimsrestbattle.co.uk | Photographer, NDavies Photography, www.ndaviesphotography.co.uk | Dress, Isabella Grace Bridal, www.isabellagracebridal.com | Hair stylist, Pompadour, www.facebook.com/anitamowleatpompadour | Make-up artist, Odette Beauty UK, www.instagram.com/odettebeautyUK | Suits, Burton | Cake, Cakes by Ashleigh, www.cakesbyashleigh.co.uk | Flowers, The Natural Florist, www.thenaturalflorist.net | Catering, Mark’s Meals, www.marksmealsweddingsandevents.com | Wedding rings, Etsy – Forever for Love, www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ForeverForLove | Entertainment, Oompf! via RH Live, www.rhlive.com/evening-bands/oompf | Waffle sticks, Sweet Dreams Candy Cart, www.sweetdreamscandycart.co.uk