Hannah and Tom met at Blenheim Palace where they both walked their dogs. “Tom proposed during a trip to Diamond Beach and Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon on the final day of a holiday exploring Iceland,” Hannah tells us. “It’s one of the best winter destinations I’ve ever been to. After he asked me to marry him, we watched a beautiful sunrise and spent time on the beach capturing special photographs we still love now. We ended the evening with dinner, a bottle of Moët & Chandon and watching the Northern Lights before flying home the next day.” The couple loved the traditional character of the Oxford-based wedding venue Rhodes House mixed with contemporary touches. “The spiral staircase and glass pavilion set within the award-winning gardens are stunning,” Hannah tells us. “The McCall MacBain Hall is striking, and as soon as we saw it, we knew we wanted to walk down the aisle there. I am from Oxford, and Tom is from Chipping Campden in the Cotswolds, so we wanted a central location in a beautiful city with plenty of on-site bedrooms to accommodate guests travelling from as far as Australia and Denmark. Oxford provided the excellent network connections we needed.” The couple were originally going to get married at Villa Antiche Mura in Sorrento and loved the idea of an Italian wedding because Hannah’s side of the family has ancestry links to the country. “Both of our dads were diagnosed with the same cancer within the same year, and we realised that life was short, and if we wanted everybody to be there then we needed to get married that summer,” Hannah tells us. “We chose to bring an Italian theme to Rhodes House and got married with just nine weeks to plan it! Luckily the bank holiday date we wanted was available due to a cancellation.” The couple had a live pianist perform while their guests were being seated. “During the ceremony, my friend Jelani Munroe sang alongside the pianist,” Hannah tells us. “He performed a beautiful rendition of Ave Maria just before I walked down the aisle, followed by If I Ain’t Got You by Alicia Keys whilst we were signing the paperwork - it made many of our guests cry.” Hannah and Tom kept their flowers and décor neutral, showcasing the beauty of the venue. “We got married under a magnificent chandelier,” Hannah tells us. “I took advice from our florist, Joanna Carter, as to what would work best for the room, and she changed the ideas of what I originally thought I wanted. She takes so much pride and care in her work, and we repurposed many of the “I loved our one-year-old son being the ring bearer, and the fact that our daughter was inside my tummy on our wedding day.” - Hannah 26
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