SETTING THE SCENE Wanting to create the ultimate winter wedding, the Petwood Hotel was always the first choice for the couple. “Although we did look at other venues, they weren’t ultimately able to offer what we wanted,” shares Christine. “We wanted a property with character that would enable us to have our whole day there and accommodate our guests overnight. The Petwood Hotel is a lovely old building that works well at Christmas due to its wood panelling, Christmas trees in the entrances and its open fires.” The hotel’s lovely gardens set the scene nicely as guests arrived, and The Woodland Suite allowed Martin and Christine to contain their celebrations within their own wing with a private entrance, function rooms and a private bar. All the wider facilities of the hotel were also available and the well-appointed rooms allowed the bride to stay over the night prior, to both ease preparations on the morning of the wedding and to accommodate the guests that had travelled to share their special day. For the finer details on the day, everything matched the couple’s modern winter theme – there was no red, gold or poinsettia in sight! The florist used a pastel colour palette with soft pink, ivory and purple flowers accented by eucalyptus to give a winter-frosted appearance to the bouquets and table centrepieces. This colourway also matched the decoration on the wedding cake, invitations and also the attire worn by the groom, best man and the three ushers – Christine’s three sons, William, Matthew and David. The three-tier wedding cake, from Rosie’s Cakes and Bakes, was a light sponge with buttercream. Salted caramel was used for the top tier, with the lower two tiers being both Victoria sponge. The bake was decorated with fresh flowers on the day. The Petwood Hotel gave the couple a few different choices when it came to styling the function rooms. They picked the option of softly backlit sheer curtains and large, winter-themed candle lanterns to complement the swags and bows in the ceremony area. LOOKING THE PART The bride wanted something elegant and picked Poppy by Phase Eight, which had lace detailing on the back and a small train. She says, “I really couldn’t have been happier with the dress and I’ve had lovely compliments about it! I wore silver sandals from Cherries of Boston to pair with my dress – they really were so comfortable all day.” Martin decided on a three-piece blue/grey suit from Coneys of Boston, which differed from the best men as the groom wanted to standout. They all wore ties in pale colours that coordinated with the flowers and theme. The groom says, “Christine’s three sons all bought their suits and shoes from Cavani at Coneys in Lincoln and I have to say, the team was brilliant with them. The staff was absolutely spot on with the recommendations, had good humour and knew just how to make sure that all three of them were happy with their look.” The three bridesmaids Stacey, Ellie and Angie all wore pale salmon-pink dresses by Coast, which matched the lace details on the bride’s dress. 38
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