WEDDINGS Lauren & Will Gosling celebrate their wedding day.

A Very Special Guest

Whilst Covid may have delayed the wedding on Lauren and Will, the disruption did at least allow them to invite a very special guest to their day, held at The Granary near Boston...

Wedding Photographer: Sophie Hayward Photography, 07946 595 231, www.sophiehaywardphotography.co.uk.

THE BEST THINGS come to those who wait, and though sometimes there’s a sense of frustration at having your plans disrupted, often it’s just a case of life wanting to do things in its own good time. One of the unfortunate consequences of Covid is the number of weddings which were disrupted by rules curtailing social gatherings. Will Gosling and Lauren Wheatley were due to marry 10 years on from becoming a couple, but had to wait another year to enjoy their wedding day… although that did allow them to invite a very special guest along for the day. Both from the village of Fishtoft, an outlying village of Boston, Lauren is a dispensing optician and Will works in finance and HR in the accountancy sector. “We met at the age of 16 and we’ve been together ever since,” says Lauren, “We’ve been living together for about five years and we’d mentioned marriage but for a young couple practical things take priority over a wedding. We both wanted to get married though, so we knew it was going to happen at some point.” Even so, Will’s proposal still came as a surprise for Lauren. With a rather good sense of timing the couple had just managed to book in a spa break together in Cambridgeshire before lockdown made such things impossible. Returning refreshed and revived, Will dropped down on one knee at home and proposed to a delighted Lauren who, of course, said yes immediately. Wedding planning began in earnest, although neither of them were quite aware of just how long lockdown would delay their plans. “I think I took the lead on wedding planning although Will was great at contributing ideas and giving his opinion. Our main criteria was to marry somewhere we could invite all of our friends and family, a place for both the ceremony and the reception.”

“We wanted to make a weekend of it, and having heard of the place before, we looked around the Granary at Elms Farm Cottages at Hubbert’s Bridge. We liked the fact that you could take the space and make it your own, adapt it to suit. We fell in love with its character, but we also liked the fact that there was accommodation on site and a nice courtyard where guests could mix and enjoy a drink on what we hoped was going to be a warm and sunny day.”

“The owner, Carol Emerson, was really helpful and really interested in what we wanted from the day too, and there are 11 holiday cottages on the site so there were plenty of opportunities for guests to stay the whole weekend.”

Wedding venue decided upon, Lauren turned her attention to her dress, and wisely visited Wellingore’s Belle & Bouquet where Maggie, Simone and the team helped her to choose a Ronald Joyce A-line gown in ivory with Swarovski cathedral-length train.

The boys, meanwhile, headed off to Moss in Lincoln to find their navy check tweed suits which they accessorised with Champagnecoloured ties. Lauren had four bridesmaids to accompany her on the day including Chief Bridesmaid Charlotte Hardy, whilst Will had four ushers and was joined at the front of the ceremony by Best Man Daniel Baines.

Whilst walking down the aisle, Lauren carried an arrangement created by florist Clare Dunbar, comprising native foliage, eucalyptus and blush roses. >>

WEDDING SUPPLIERS

LAUREN & WILL

Wedding Ceremony and Reception: The Granary, Elms Farm, Hubberts Bridge, 01205 290840, www.weddingbarnvenue.co.uk. Wedding Dress: Belle & Bouquet, Wellingore, 01522 811122, www.belleandbouquet.co.uk. Bridal Hair: Leanne Hewerdine, leanne.hewerdine@live.co.uk. Makup Artist: Leanne Hunt, leannehunt93@hotmail.co.uk. Groomsmen’s Attire: Moss, Lincoln 01522 542651, www.moss.co.uk. Wedding Band: Flipside, www.flipsidepartyband.co.uk. n

>> Leanne Hunt provided bridal makeup for Lauren and the girls, whilst Leanne Hewerdine created Lauren’s bridal hair. KP Kakes of Sutterton created Lauren’s five-tiers of sponge in flavours from Victoria to lemon to salted caramel, with chocolate ganache over the tiers, whilst evening catering was provided by Sheppard’s Delight. “Elms Farm’s courtyard really came into its own whilst we were having our photos taken,” says Lauren. “The weather was absolutely fantastic and our caterers provided canapés and barbecue food so that our guests could enjoy being outside in the sunshine, especially as we were off having our photos taken.” “Our photographer was Sophie Hayward, and she’s become a real friend. We knew of her before, but on the day she really was amazing, and put us totally at ease. The photographs we’ve come away with are stunning and they’re the kind of images that we want to admire and put into frames so we can enjoy them for the rest of our lives.” “One of the highlights of the day for us was Daniel’s Best Man’s Speech, which was really funny, and our band Flipside were really entertaining, getting everyone up and about with a dance-off competition. It was so lovely to spend time with family and friends, all having a great time, but one guest made it very special indeed.” “Between lockdown and the wedding we brought our little boy Vinnie into the world and though he slept a lot during the day –being only about nine months old at the time – it felt really lovely that he was there too. We love him so much that the idea of the most special person to both of us not being there wouldn’t have felt right.” “We enjoyed a minimoon to Bakewell in Derbyshire after the day – still feeling a bit nervous about committing to travel anywhere, what with all the uncertainty – but we’re planning a trip to Rhodes this year.” “It was a lovely day, just how we imagined and we’ll definitely remember it as the happiest time we’ve spent together, shared with family and friends!” n

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