I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU

from Your Surrey Wedding - December/January 2022/23 (Issue 98)

by County Wedding Magazines

COMPETITION

Racquel and Jean-Pierre celebrated their Friends-themed wedding at Sacred Heart Wimbledon and Glenmore House

Images courtesy of Stonelock Photography

Racquel and Jean-Pierre met in secondary school. “We were in the same class,” says Jean-Pierre. “We were just friends and stayed in contact when we went to different colleges. In 1999, we were out one day, and something felt different between us. It was an attraction that we hadn’t felt before. We started dating and became inseparable. Sadly, time passed and in 2004 we went our separate ways. Racquel went on to have two children, and when she became single in 2010, we met up to try and rekindle our friendship. Two years later, I had the realisation that I loved Racquel, so I asked her to meet me and told her how I felt. We started seeing each other again, and in 2013 we became pregnant with our son. We moved to Surrey to be nearer to my parents and have been incredibly happy ever since.”

Jean-Pierre proposed in April 2019 during a holiday to California. “We were vising my brother, and while we were there, I arranged a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon for the two of us,” shares the groom. “When we arrived, I asked one of the other tourists to take a picture of us, and while we were posing I got down on one knee and asked her to be my wife.”

SETTING THE SCENE

“Originally Racquel wanted to get married in Westminster Cathedral where she had been baptised and had her first holy communion and confirmation,” recalls Jean-Pierre. “However, logistically this was not suitable for where we wanted to have the reception. My mother said to have a look at Sacred Heart Wimbledon, which is not far from where she lives. We went to visit and were blown away by how beautiful it was. When looking for a reception venue, we found Glenmore House in Surbiton. We went to visit and immediately fell in love. It had an Elizabethan suite with a large portrait of the late queen, which is a style that Racquel loves as she is a big fan of Pride & Prejudice. What sealed the deal was how wonderful Faye, the deputy manager, was. We booked our date for September 2020, however, as with many weddings booked for 2020, this was postponed to September 2021 due to the pandemic. Then in 2021, we decided to postpone again until September 2022 as we were unsure if my brother and his family could come over from San Diego, and we did not want our guests to worry about being at a large gathering with masks being worn.”

Jean-Pierre created the order-of-service programmes and welcome board using floral images designed by ReiaColours. “I also designed the menus and reception programmes to be in keeping with our Friends theme,” explains Jean-Pierre. “Both programmes were ordered and printed by DigitalPrinting.co.uk.

“We decided to have a Friends theme because we watched the show when it first aired and are big fans,” adds the groom. “It seemed like the perfect theme as it’s a timeless series where not only people of our age know it, but even the younger people do, including Racquel’s daughter, who fell in love with the series during the first lockdown.”

For the ladies, Racquel made favours using Yankee Candle votives, which were decorated with a lobster sticker wrapped in cellophane and tied with a personalised ribbon. For the men, Jean-Pierre bought bottle openers in the style of an ace of spades and added heart-shaped stickers personalised with their surname and the date of their wedding.

“Our table plan tied in with our theme,” reveals Jean-Pierre. “This was sourced from a supplier on Etsy. Each table was named after a stage of our relationship in the style of a Friends’ episode or quote. During the wedding breakfast, this was replaced with the same table plan but with collage pictures instead.

“The centrepieces were tall silver candelabras decorated with flowers similar to the bouquets with a single sunflower in each,” continues the groom. “These were standing on mirror plates with tea lights around them. Each table had a Friends-style yellow photo frame with a collage of pictures featuring all of the guests on that table with us.”

The happy couple sourced their cake two weeks before the wedding. “Due to certain circumstances, we needed to find a supplier and Holly Dolly Cakes was able to make an amazing cake from Racquel’s description in a single video call,” remembers Jean-Pierre. “It was three tiers and the flavours were chosen by everyone in our household. Our custom topper was ordered online and was

In our clinic we are offering the most recently available combined laser technology to deliver superior results in much less time than traditional lasers. This is accompanied by a state of the art cooling machine, giving you fast almost painless laser hair removal. We also offer fat loss treatment using the Lipofirm Pro, used by celebrities and giving instant and lasting effects. Practice Beauty Clinic is a bespoke clinically led service in Sunbury-on-Thames. We use the latest cutting edge skin treatment technology accompanied by professional cosmetic products, some of which are only available in a handful of clinics across London.

The non-surgical tightening & toning solution to reshape & contour your body exactly where you want. This is a full body solution, and with this ultimate treatment, you can receive more than one TriLipo session in the same day. You can kick start your body contouring regime to assist in inch loss, firming, toning and reducing cellulite. This treatment will provide the effortless body shape with the bonus of no need for post treatment exercise as blood circulation, oxygenation and drainage is enhanced though out the treatment(s). For that important beautiful glow on your big day, we offer the Geneo+ Facial treatment. It is clinically proven to lift, contour and smooth lines and wrinkles. This technology combines oxygenation, radio frequency and exfoliation, brightening your skin, leaving you looking and feeling more youthful.We aim to provide our clients with a full aesthetic service all under one roof that is clinically evaluated, safely delivered and professionally monitored. The access to expert clinicians also means that you can opt for anti wrinkle and filler treatments if you wanted to. We aim to make every client feel amazing on their special day, as that’s our ultimate focus.

Dr Saba Khan

MBBS, DFFP, DRCOG, MRCGP(Dist), MSc (MedEd).

made from a picture of our faces combined with a picture of our wedding outfits. The cake table also had a small photo frame with details about each layer of the cake and why we chose those flavours. Holly Dolly Cakes saved our wedding cake and was very reassuring. We didn’t see what the final product would look like until we arrived at the reception, but the design that Holly came up with blew us away.”

For their transport, Racquel and Jean-Pierre hired a bus from RedRoutemaster.com for their guests, and the newlyweds travelled in a luxury car provided by Knights Wedding Cars.

“Glenmore House provided all of the catering, including canapés for our guests on arrival,” says Jean-Pierre. “We had a three-course meal with a salmon and crab fishcakes starter, roasted duck breast with duck fat roast potatoes and braised cabbage for the main and Chantilly cream filled profiteroles with warm chocolate sauce for dessert. There was also a vegan option and meal for the children. For the evening, a chef’s selection buffet was provided.”

DRESSED TO IMPRESS

Racquel chose an ivory Oleg Cassini mermaid dress from David’s Bridal. “She loved the off-the-shoulder look and beaded decorations,” explains the groom. “She accessorised with a sash belt, necklace, bracelet and earrings. I wore a custom-made tuxedo with black peak lapels, gold leaf lining and personalised stitching from Moss Bros. The groomsmen wore bright blue suits from Dobell with matching waistcoats and dusky pink ties from Burtons, which matched the bridesmaids’ dresses.”

The bridesmaids opted for pink maxi dresses from Dorothy Perkins, and Racquel’s maid-of-honour chose a lilac maxi dress from Little Mistress.

TIME TO CELEBRATE

“We hired two live performers that are West End professional singers called Tailored Tenors,” shares Jean-Pierre. “Before they started their first set, they did an act where one of them pretended to be a waiter that dropped a load of cutlery, causing a scene and then the other walked in pretending to be the manager, and they had an argument before breaking out into their first song. They were incredible and were a massive hit with all the guests. They sang songs that people of all ages knew and interacted with everyone allowing them to sing with them. One of the groomsmen thought it was recorded music until he saw them singing live.

“When the main room opened up again after the turn around, we had three dancers called Tropical Flowers Sega Dancers perform to add some culture to the day,” adds Jean-Pierre. “Sega is a style of music from Mauritius, which is where my father is from. They did two dances, and the third got some of our guests involved. My father even got up and danced and was in his element.”

Racquel and Jean-Pierre hired a photo booth from Booth Nineteen. “The attendant was very friendly and set up the Friends-themed backdrop that we provided,” recalls Jean-Pierre. “We received digital copies of all the pictures, which I made a video from for everyone to see. Later in the evening, we had Signature Sounds Ltd as our DJ. They performed our first dance song whilst they played a montage of pictures that I had put together. For the father and daughter dance, they played a video I had prepared featuring a montage of pictures of Racquel’s mother. As Racquel’s dad was not able to get up and dance with her, Racquel’s eldest son stepped in and danced with her whilst they held a picture frame of her mother.”

MEMORABLE MOMENTS

“We were both exhilarated, excited and overwhelmed on the day,” reveals the groom. “We weren’t nervous as there was no doubt that we were meant to be together after all that we had been through. We were completely stress free and were on a high from beginning to end. What helped was that although we did not have a wedding planner, we had a very good friend, ironically her name is Monica, that is experienced in event planning that offered to help make the day run smoothly, which took away all of the stress.

“My favourite moment was turning around at the alter to see Racquel in her wedding dress,” continues Jean-Pierre. “Racquel had bought her dress three years ago, and it had been in our house for over two years, so finally seeing her in that dress and how perfect her hair and make-up looked was wonderful. We loved walking into the reception area after taking photos in the park across the road from Glenmore House, and seeing everyone talking to each other, having drinks and having fun with the Tailored Tenors. The last song of the night was The Time of My Life from Racquel’s favourite movie, Dirty Dancing. We danced together in the middle of the room whilst several guests danced in a circle around us. When the second verse started we got the surrounding guests to join us in the middle where we all huddled together, danced together and sang together. This was the perfect way to end the night, celebrating with our friends and family.

“What made the day feel extra special for us was the real appreciation our friends and family had for all the effort we had put into the theme and decoration,” continues the groom. “We had numerous guests point out all of the things they loved, from the collage photos on the tables to the photo booth and how all of it fit together without being too cheesy or over-the-top.

“Our photographer, Stonelock Photography, was incredible,” explains Jean-Pierre. “Ally and AJ are husband and wife, and they made us feel so at ease, we had complete trust in them and did everything that they asked knowing we were in good hands. They were so accommodating, and as you can tell from the pictures, they are so good at what they do. We would highly recommend them to anyone as they are the loveliest couple!”

RACQUEL AND JEAN-PIERRE’S CONTACTS

Ceremony venue, Sacred Heart Wimbledon, www.sacredheartwimbledon.org.uk | Reception venue, Glenmore House, www.glenmorehouse.co.uk | Photographer, Stonelock Photography, www.stonelockphotography.co.uk | Videographer, The Camera Chap Weddings, www.thecamerachapweddings.com | Bride’s dress and alterations, David’s Bridal, www.davidsbridal.co.uk | Bride’s accessories, Swarovski, www.swarovski.com | Groom’s suit, Moss Bros, www.moss.co.uk | Groomsmen’s suits, Dobell, www.dobell.co.uk | Bridesmaids’ dresses, Dorothy Perkins, www.dorothyperkins.com and Little Mistress, www.little-mistress.com | Hair and make-up artist, Blush and Glow, www.blushandglow.co.uk | Cake, Holly Dolly Cakes, www.hollydollycakes.co.uk | Wooden décor, BestWoodGiftStore, www.etsy.com/uk/shop/bestwoodgiftstore | Transport, Knights Wedding Cars, www.knightsweddingcars.com and RedRoutemaster.com, www.redroutemaster.com | Stationery, DigitalPrinting.co.uk, www.digitalprinting.co.uk and FoxyFox, www.facebook.com/foxyfox.co.uk | Welcome board florals, ReiaColours, www.facebook.com/reia.colours | Singers, Tailored Tenors, www.tailoredtenors.co.uk | Dancers, Tropical Flowers Sega Dancers, www.facebook.com/tropicalflowers.segadancers | Photo booth, Booth Nineteen, www.booth19.co.uk | DJ, Signature Sounds Ltd, www.signaturesounds.co.uk

PROFESSIONAL HAIR AND MAKEUP ARTIST