5 minute read
WEDDINGS Sophie and Andrew’s special day at The Dower House in Woodhall Spa.
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A Vintage Wedding
When Sophie and Andrew were seeking a venue for their vintage wedding, they were over the moon to find The Dower House Hotel in Woodhall Spa... and there was plenty of space for a lindyhop, too!
Wedding Photographer: Jonathan Mank at PM Photography Ltd, www.lovemy.photos, 01522 522067.
WHEN YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW. And Sophie certainly knew, from the first date, that Andrew was somebody very special indeed. “We had our first date in Stamford, which was equidistant to where I lived on the border of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, and where Andrew lived in Lincoln.
“We’d been speaking online and Stamford proved pretty perfect for our first date, it’s a lovely town. I soon found myself really missing him when we weren’t together and even though it felt quite soon we both clearly felt the same, we were each holding back but we both knew that it was going somewhere!” “Sensing a proposal might be on the horizon, I thought our upcoming trip to the Peak District would be the perfect place. On our visit to Chatsworth house, in the estate’s very beautiful autumnal gardens, I was waiting... and waiting... and waiting!” “It was autumn and the place looked lovely. We went for a walk and the colours were spectacular. Andrew was trying to get me to look at something across a lake, and I was getting a bit moody because I couldn’t see what he was pointing at. I turned around and sure enough he was down on one knee.” “I wasn’t expecting it there and then so it was a really lovely surprise, and it took my breath away. I was delighted!” “Neither of us are keen on really hot temperatures and both of us prefer spring and autumn to high summer. For that reason we didn’t really want a wedding right in the middle of June or July.” “We were concerned that spring weather might be changeable, and thought autumn might be a better bet. As it happened we were able to plan our day on 28th October, exactly a year after the proposal!” “After the date, the next decision was the style of wedding we wanted. Andrew was into Lindy Hop dancing, and introduced me to it, so we were both adamant that we’d like to include that as an element of our day.” “That dictated the vintage theme of the day, with the 1930s and 1940s featuring throughout. We began looking for a venue and with Andrew working in aeronautical engineering in Coningsby, we were keen to have the wedding in Lincolnshire.” “Woodhall Spa is synonymous with the 1940s but it was a tricky time to view wedding venues as Covid meant that many hotels and restaurants were closed.”
“Happily Carolyn from The Dower House provided us with a guided tour and even though it was closed we could tell how warm and welcoming the place would be. We fell in love with it immediately!” “The plan for decent weather that wasn’t too sweltering proved a good bet. It was still about 17°c and the time of year meant that there was lots of autumn colour all around the grounds of The Dower House.” “We married outdoors under the stone folly and the weeping willow. We had photos taken under there later, too, by Jonathan from PM Photography. His images are incredible, we’re both obsessed with them and we keep going back to them to look at them because they remind us of the day!” “After the ceremony we had an afternoon tea, and waited until the evening for a hog roast, organised by Carolyn and the team. To accompany our afternoon tea we played the Vitamin String Quarter, a group which specialises in traditional acoustic string versions of contemporary songs.” >>
WEDDING SUPPLIERS
SOPHIE & ANDREW
Wedding Ceremony & Reception: The Dower House, Woodhall Spa, 01526 352588, dowerhousehotel.co.uk. Wedding Dress: Shades of White, St Ives, 01480 464774, www.shades-of-white.co.uk. Chair Sashes: www.finishing touchesweddinghire.co.uk. Wedding Entertainment: Lincolnshire Lindy Hop, 52ndstreetjump.co.uk. Wedding Cake: The Baking Kitchen, Spalding, via Facebook. Wedding Flowers: Bridget’s Flowers, 01553 771089, www.bridgets.co.uk. n
We wanted a vintage-era wedding but lively, too, so a Lindy Hop really set the tone for a fun reception!”
>> “In the evening, our music and dancing was provided courtesy of ‘DJ Dr Swing,’ who’s otherwise known as Steve and his wife Caron. When we were dating, Andrew took me along to his Lindy Hop club for their Christmas social. I fell in love with dancing and it became one of our favourite things to do together. We always knew we’d like to include it as an element of our day. Little Bitty Pretty One by Thurston Harris soon became our favourite song to dance to and was the perfect choice for our first dance!” “There was plenty of dance tuition for the uninitiated and it was enormous fun, it really did add a special touch to the reception. We wanted a sort of vintage-era wedding but lively, too, so it really set the tone for a fun reception.” “Our cake was beautiful, too. It was created by a hobby baker from Spalding called The Baking Kitchen. Our flowers, too, were from Bridget’s Flowers and again they looked absolutely beautiful.” “It was a fantastic day and The Dower House was a great venue. We had a minimoon to Norwich but we’re planning to spend Christmas in Copenhagen and explore the city, so that’ll be a lovely festive treat!” n
Wedding Photographer: Jonathan Mank at PM Photography Ltd, www.lovemy.photos, 01522 522067. 102