Saturday 27th September 2014 was a perfect late summer’s day with warm, hazy sunshine shining through the trees. The perfect day in fact for Catherine & Nick’s outdoor civil ceremony in the stunning White Garden at Birtsmorton Court. Catherine & Nick have been kind enough to share their story and their experience of getting married at Birtsmorton Court with us. It was a lovely day, for a lovely couple…
Tell us about the proposal Catherine, how did it happen?
The proposal was a complete surprise for me. We had our Christmas Day on 27th December 2012 as Nick was working away over Christmas. At the end of the day he suggested a walk up the Worcestershire Beacon. At the top he got down on one knee, with a Tiffany’s box! It was the most amazing surprise and moment ever!
What made you look at wedding venues in Worcestershire?
I was born and bred in Malvern and although I moved away from the area for work where I met Nick, we both knew that we wanted to get married in Worcestershire. Our idea for the wedding was to try and do everything as local as possible, with local water, sweets and wine.
Did you look at many venues, before booking Birtsmorton Court?
We looked at about 10 venues but none compared to what we saw when we visited Birtsmorton Court. It wasn’t just the obvious beauty of the gardens and the buildings but the professional and friendly people we met. Immediately we had a really good and comfortable feeling about the place. Once we’d seen the option for an outdoor ceremony in the stunning White Garden I think both our minds had been made up that it was the venue for us!
Tell me about the day, the details and the other wedding suppliers that you involved.
We used the Great British Florist (www.greatbritishflorist.co.uk) for our flowers, and they were just beautiful! We hadn’t seen all of the bits we’d made and bought for the day in place at Birtsmorton Court until we arrived. It was so exciting to see everything come together even better than we could have possibly imagined. Gemma Williams (www.gemmawilliamsphotography.co.uk) and her colleague Chris were our photographers and they were exceptional. The catering was amazing, Dine with Style (www.dinewithstyle.co.uk) were brilliant to work with from the start and they didn’t disappoint on the day, everyone said how delicious the food was. We decided to make a donation to Macmillan cancer support instead of favours as a thank you to them and in memory of my father who we sadly lost last year. My mum was an amazing support in helping us with the wedding, walked up the aisle with me and even made a speech. All of the speeches were just brilliant! My mum had included my old toy that I’d had all my life, which was a lovely surprise.
What feedback have you had from your guests following the day?
Our guests have all said they had the most wonderful day, and looking through our photos they really were enjoying themselves! One of the best surprises for our guests was the band and the Garden Room that they had no idea about, until it was revealed after dinner. We had booked The Live Wires (www.livewiresband.co.uk) who were an awesome band. Using our Wedding Manager Trish’s advice we had 3 sets with the pig roast served during the first break and an amazing fireworks display during the second break. The Garden Room was perfect to have a band with a great dance floor and plenty of room for guests to sit down and relax if they wanted to.
Any tips for other couples getting married at Birtsmorton Court?
The day went by so quickly, our advice would be to take a few minutes out for yourselves just to drink in the atmosphere and reflect on the day. If anyone is considering having their wedding at Birtsmorton Court, we’d say do it! It was the perfect day and we wouldn’t change a thing about it. Thanks Catherine and Nick, it was our absolute pleasure to work with you both, and to help you with the planning of your special day.
