We were excited to see this Ramster wedding photographed by Matt Penberthy featured recently on Love My Dress. Here we share an abbreviated version of the stunning wedding feature.
Finding the perfect venue
“We both love the area, having spent a lot of time cycling in Surrey, and after looking at a number of venues, when we visited Ramster Hall, we just knew that this was the perfect venue for us. Rosie, the owner, was very friendly and welcoming, and we loved the fact that there was no corkage fee, and we could enjoy a trip to France to select the wine for our wedding.”
Colour & theme for the day
“In terms of colours for the day, I looked for warm autumnal colours to reflect the time of year, going for colours which also worked well with my bridesmaids dresses, and the rich, warm décor of Ramster Hall.”
Lovely autumnal colours were also present in the beautifully romantic floral arrangements by Spriggs the Florist. The bridesmaids carried bouquets of ivory roses and cala lilies, with greenery and seasonal berries, whilst Sian carried a striking, fiery arrangement, which included wonderful two-tone coral and pink Miss Piggy roses.
“I saw a previous bouquet that Spriggs had provided for another wedding, and Samantha Spriggs was wonderful at advising how we could make that work with the colours I wanted, using beautiful Miss Piggy roses to tone in with the bridesmaid’s dresses, and also bring in the rich, warm yellows and oranges.”
“We wanted the day to reflect us and the things we love. We are both keen skiers, and we used that as a mild theme running through the day, with the resort that we go to every year (where Marcus’ family has been going since his father was a child) providing the backdrop to our seating plan and table names. We even managed to find a bride and groom on a chair lift for one of our cake toppers.”
Old ski boots belonging to Marcus were filled with flowers, and placed beneath the seating plan, and the lovely, timber-framed, panelled reception room was decorated with more blooms in gorgeous shades of orange, red, crimson and pink – garlands on the top table and across the mantelpiece, table centrepieces and petite vases dotted around the room.
The wonderful wedding feast was provided by caterers Jacaranda.
There was a lovely semi-naked cake, too, baked by Rachel Simmons of The Wholesome Bakery.
“We chose to have a semi-naked cake after much debate on log boards to reflect our slight alpine theme, decorated with edible flowers and fruit that complemented the autumnal colours we’d chosen for our flowers.”
“We had a delicious tasting with Rachel where we chose the flavours for the tiers of our cake (chocolate – Marcus’s favourite, carrot – my favourite, and a Victoria sponge) Rachel also produced a beautiful gluten free cake and small gluten/dairy free cupcakes. Rachel was very helpful in advising us which flowers and fruits would last for the day without wilting, too.”
“Our favours were Lindt milk chocolate bears. Marcus’ sister works for Lindt, so sourced the bears and kindly printed personalised ribbons for us. We had a Polaroid camera and guestbook, it was great to look back at the photos!”
After cocktails and cake cutting, it was time to dance, and Fully Funktional returned – this time as a 6-piece band, and later, a DJ, too.
“The band were recommended to us by my sister-in-law’s boyfriend, as they had played at his work’s Christmas party. They were great, and we have had so many compliments since. They really engaged all the guests, and moved around the reception to include everyone without being intrusive.”
“For our first dance, we chose Take Over the World by the Courteeners. We didn’t want a generic ‘lovey’ song, and the Courteeners were the first band we saw together.”
Words of Wedded Wisdom
“I would advise any bride and groom to take time to enjoy it and take it all in – this was great advice that was given to me by a good friend. The day goes so quickly, so I would suggest to take a moment for the two of you just to absorb it all. It isn’t often that you get all your favourite people together in one place.”
Full feature can be viewed at Love My Dress
