Your Kent Wedding - March/April 2021 (Issue 95)

REAL WEDDINGS 35  C hristina and Andrew met in Berlin in 2016. Andrew was there on a business trip, and Christina, who is German, was on a weekend away celebrating her friend’s birthday. Both were sitting with mates at neighbouring tables when the two groups got talking and the pair noticed each other straight away. “We had a really great night, dancing and laughing, and ended up swapping numbers,” Christina says. At that point Andrew was living in Helsinki, Finland, and Christina in Frankfurt, so despite not being able to see each other for a few months, they managed to keep in touch. “Andrew was travelling a lot for his job and I’d meet him at some of the destinations where he was working at the weekends. So, our early days were spent on really cool city breaks, which we still love to do,” Christina explains. Following several months of long-distance dating, during which time Andrew had moved back home, Christina got the opportunity with her job to relocate to the UK also, and so they lived happily ever after! The proposal almost came as much of a surprise to Andrew as it did to Christina! The couple were enjoying a mini-break in the Cotswolds to celebrate the date they met, and while enjoying a lovely evening meal, they joked about how there had been much speculation from friends and family about whether Andrew would pop the question at some point over the weekend. Although he hadn’t planned to, this sent his mind into overdrive: “Why wouldn’t I ask this weekend?” he thought. So, while strolling back to the hotel and without any further ado, he asked Christina to marry him. They chose the engagement ring together in Oxford the very next day. On the venue checklist was somewhere they could host the whole day from ceremony to celebrations, was big enough to accommodate 150 guests, had a relaxed atmosphere, and was somewhere they could decorate themselves. After much research, they both liked the look of Ruffynes Barn, Ashford, and as soon as they arrived for a viewing, they were in love. As luck would have it, a date had just become available following a cancellation that was right around the time they had their hearts set on, and they booked it on the spot. Join us as we find out more about the big day from bride Christina… SETTING THE SCENE Since the barn was a blank canvas, the couple got their wish and were able to create the venue styling themselves. Christina planned everything to perfection from the table layout to the floral pieces created by her mum and sister. The pair designed a wedding logo, which adorned the stationery suite including invitations, menus, and thank you cards. It also featured on their wedding favours – small round magnets in their palette colours of navy and burgundy. The idea was that guests could use it to hold their pictures from the photo booth as a lasting memory of the day. The centrepieces were large floral arrangements featuring burgundy blooms. “We didn’t have a particular type of flower in mind, it was more about the colour and what we could get hold of in burgundy at the flower market at that time of year,” Christina explains. The table centres were accompanied by a menu, along with a signature wedding cocktail list, candles and some small decorative copper ornaments. In keeping with the relaxed vibe for the day the couple decided only to show guests which table they should sit at, rather than assign particular seats with place names. They chose English and German cities for the table names, with guests from the UK sitting at tables with German names and vice versa. “We used travel guides from each city to show which table was which accompanied by a note to tell guests they could take them home, as long as they promised to send us a postcard if they decided to visit,” Christina tells us. FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD The couple opted for a buffet wedding breakfast. Guests were offered a delicious selection of dishes and sides, finished off with dessert. “The highlight was a little freezer with a selection of ice cream pots, provided by our excellent caterer, Sally from Simply Catering Kent, who also owns