England + Italy = PERFECTION

Andy and Silvia's wedding at the New Forest's Rhinefield House was a sumptuous blend of Italian style, the very best of English architecture and the fabulous wedding traditions of both countries. Andy and his family are English and Silvia and her family are Italian and the combination made for a fantastic wedding.

Unlike most English weddings, during Silvia's bridal prep, she was tended to not just by her mother...but her father too. The language of the bride's prep room was very fast and expressive Italian. We had no idea what was being said but it was gorgeous to listen to with such expressive rising and falling cadences and such emotional articulations.

At first it seemed odd, not hiding the bride's father away until his daughter was dressed...but in this Italian speaking prep room it seemed completely natural.

When it was time for Silvia's father to walk her to the ceremony room, he took her by the arm and led her down the gorgeous Rhinefield carved wooden staircase with tapestries on the walls

...and then led her up the aisle of Rhinefield's Great Hall to find her groom.

A sizeable proportion of Andy and Silvia's guests were non-english speaking Italians...

...but despite the proceedings being conducted in english, everybody seemed to know what was going on...

...especially when it came to the occasional stolen kiss by the newly weds.

When it came to the speeches, Silvia's brother did a wonderful job of translating so all the guests could enjoy...

...the touching moments...

...the jokes...

...the laughter...

...the thanks...

...and the joy.

After the bustle of their wedding breakfast, there were some tender moments on the wood-panelled staircase....

...the magnificence of which really showed Silvia's wedding dress at its best.

Most of the day you would never have known that there were so many guests who couldn't speak english because all the guests got on so well and so easily. It was a lovely day at an amazing venue with lots of laughter and joy. 

We wish Andy and Silvia all the very very best for their married life together.

by Steve Dunster

A Skylark Wedding at Whiteley

Scott and Karen had their wedding reception at the newly decorated Skylark Golf & Country Club in Whiteley near Fareham in Hampshire.

Skylark is perfect for an intimate wedding and only a few paces away from the reception building are gardens with water features and magnificent views.

Karen's day started round her parents' house for Bridal prep.

They had great weather for their wedding which gave us some wonderful skyscapes thanks to the enormous horizons available at Skylark.

Skylark has had a huge face lift recently and the interiors are wonderful with great views over the golf course. 

The bar area is very modern decor with plenty of room to dance and surrounding tables for guests.

Scott and Karen had a fabulous wedding day with lovely guests, great weather, intimate venue and very helpful staff at the Skylark Golf and Country Club.

by Steve Dunster

14 March 2014

Possibly Gosport's Best Kept Wedding Secret

If you were to drive into Gosport on the main Forton Road, you could be forgiven for driving past one of Gosport's best kept wedding secrets and not even noticing: St John the Evangelist's Parish Church of Forton.

It is a brick built church set back off the Forton Road which may not catch your eye but once you go inside you'll be amazed. It opens up into a glorious architectural space that you wouldn't be surprised to see in a cathedral, yet it is but a humble parish church for a relatively small region of Gosport.

Unusually for a church, the nave is North-South, consequently if there is any sun at all it pours through the windows above the altar like a heaven-sent blessing.

Katt and Dan got married in this gorgeous Gosport church in the November of 2011.

Katt had her Bridal Prep round her Dads' house...

...ably tended to by her Maid of Honour.

The church itself, despite its magnificence inside, has relatively small grounds, nevertheless there are a number of places suitable for outside-the-church portraits.

Katt and Dan went on to the Holiday Inn, Titchfield for their Reception and had a fantastic time with their guests.

Whilst Katt and Dan were the undisputed stars of their wedding day...perhaps the unsung hero of their day was the true magnificence of the church they were married in.

by Steve Dunster

A Very British Wedding at Victoria House

Arron and Sarah had a fabulously British wedding back in the Spring of 2011. Their wedding venue was the breathtaking Victoria House in Hamble, Hampshire.

Victoria House was built at the height of the British Empire and was originally part of the British Empire's flagship military hospital complex at Netley and still oozes class and the very best of Victorian Britain.

Sarah looked fabulous and her veil really set off her face and hair.

During their wedding ceremony, Arron looked at his gorgeous bride...a look which wonderfully portrays his feelings for her.

They were married in St Philip Howard Church, in Fareham which was very welcoming and the guests had tea and cake after their ceremony.

Arron and Sarah laid on a big red bus, resplendent with wedding ribbons, to transport their guests from the church to Victoria House. It was the perfect choice to add to the Britishness of the day.

Arron and Sarah of course had another British icon as their wedding car...

...and their choice of London Bus Red as their wedding colours, the whole ensemble looked very patriotic.

It was then off to the garden area of the Victoria House grounds for portraits...

...a lovely backdrop for portraits, it would even have been a perfect backdrop for a costume drama.

The room for their Reception was light and airy. Adorned with napkins and bunting the colour of a Guardsman's tunic, this too looked wonderfully British.

The tables were cleared and Arron and Sarah had their First Dance as man and wife...

...followed immediately afterwards by a very touching dance between Sarah and her father.

Arron and Sarah's wedding was full of love and gentleness...and was a wonderfully British wedding.

Highlights of our 2013 Weddings

2013 was a fantastic year for us and in putting together some highlights we hardly know where to begin. But the first notable thing was the weather, 2013 was a spectacularly good Summer.

We didn't just have amazing weather we had romance...

...and intimate moments.

We had grooms in fast cars, this groom got to drive his friend's Mercedes SLS...

...and this groom got a Ferrari California.

We also had fabulous brides...

...fizzing in expectation before their ceremony...

...during Bridal Prep.

We've had brides on stairs...

...on grass...

...in amazing venues...

...and even on a vintage fire escape of an ageing cricket pavilion we found just round the corner from the venue.

We had a groom secretly bring the bride's horse to the wedding. It was a complete surprise to the bride and guests until after the ceremony.

We even had a blue rhino at a wedding...it was actually part of a series of rhino sculptures funded by Marwell Zoo for charity during the Autumn.

We even had a wedding on Red Nose Day.

We had a groom on a Buckeroo ride...

...and a bride at the cricket crease...

...and the "boys" against a cricket sight screen.

We've had glorious sun and fabulous venues.

We've had cosy Christmas weddings.

We've had drama...

...and fun...

...and elegance...

...and style...

...great groups...

...and fantastic confetti

...and private moments.

We've had reflections in mirrors....

...and reflections in water...

...and reflective moments...remembering loved ones.

We've had walks through Spring petals...

...and walks through the grounds of grand venues.

We've had fabulous cakes...

...and creative themes.

We had special moments in the last few minutes of daylight...

...and even just after the sun had gone down.

Even after dark and in the rain, we had some great times. Here the groom wanted a shot with himself and his groomsmen looking at the pocket watches he'd given them as presents.

Of all the special weddings we had in 2013, surely the most extraordinary was the hand-fasting ceremony at Stonehenge at sunset just after the Summer Solstice.

We had lovely weddings at lovely venues...but best of all we had lovely couples...

...whose love for each other was a privilege to witness.

Jacqui and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our couples, all their guests and all their wedding professionals for our time with them during 2013...it was indeed an exceptional year.

Thank you

by Steve Dunster