WEDDING A woodland Claire and Jonathon’s special day at Monkton Barn Estate featured a natural, forest-inspired theme Images courtesy of Wendy Aldiss Timeless Wedding & Portrait Photography Claire and Jonathon met at work. “We got to know each other and discovered that we had plenty in common, and our love story began from there,” Claire tells us. “Jonathon proposed on the morning of his own birthday during a celebratory breakfast, which is a family tradition. He got down on one knee and popped the question. It is a known fact that I talk a lot, and this was the only time I have been left speechless!” The couple chose to get married at Monkton Barn Estate in Marlow. “It’s a beautiful venue and was the first one that we visited - we knew straight away it was the one,” Claire says. “It features a secluded woodland ceremony area, which was important for us, having two German Shepherd dogs, Rex and Böe that we wanted to be a part of our wedding. Team members from our kennels, Mutts and Moggies, kindly brought them along. Just as we were announced as the new Mr & Mrs Sweetman, our dogs had arrived and began barking, which was such a magical moment for both of us.” During their ceremony, Claire and Jonathon had a live acoustic singer, Sion, with whom they curated a playlist for their ceremony music. “It included White Wedding by Billy Idol, sung in Sion’s style, which created a special atmosphere for our ceremony,” Claire tells us. “He continued singing throughout our drinks reception outside in the meadow while all of our guests enjoyed a variety of lawn games.” The venue required very little styling for Claire and Jonathon’s woodland theme, incorporating natural forest tones. “We added emerald green table runners with natural wooden log slices along with long-stemmed flowers and a selection of green tapered candles to the tables,” Claire tells us. “Our stationery was made by my mum and I to fit in with our theme.” The catering was provided by Monkton’s Rustic Table at the venue. “It was important to Jonathon that we did not have a typical three-course dinner but a sharing experience,” Claire tells us. “The food tasted incredible, with guests talking about it months later. During the evening, we had a pizza cart (which is Jonathon’s favourite food) with a variety of toppings.” It wasn’t important to Claire and Jonathon to have a large tiered cake. “I baked and decorated a small cake to cut, then we had a variety of doughnuts and brownies cascading down the natural wooden tiered cake stand,” Claire tells us. “It looked great! Our guests were also served beer from the local Marlow Brewery, wine from Marlow’s local wine merchants, The Grape Expectation, plus we also had two signature drinks named after our two dogs. Rex was a rum punchinspired drink favoured by Jonathon, while Böe was a sloe gin drink, which is a favourite of mine.” When it came to choosing her wedding dress, Claire was excited to try on different styles. “My final choice was a bespoke gown created with different aspects from styles that I liked,” Claire tells us. “It featured a low scoop back with lace edging and delicate buttons running down the length of it. I teamed it with a pair of slingback bridal shoes with a chiffon ribbon bow and the same hairpiece worn by my mum on her wedding day.” The couple’s bridesmaids wore floor-length green satin dresses in different styles and shades of green, including emerald, moss, olive and eucalyptus. “They worked so well with Jonathon in his dark green three-piece suit,” Claire says. “He also wore an ivory tie with a delicate floral design, and on the morning of our wedding, I gifted him a set of German Shepherd cufflinks to incorporate our two dogs into our day, along with a Fossil watch that had an emerald watch face tying in with our theme.” REAL WEDDINGS 29
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