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Cain Manor exterior wedding garden photograph

Rebecca & Davids' wedding

Cain Manor

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The Proposal

After having celebrated so many anniversaries around the holiday season over the past 10 years, David thought that it would be perfect to propose around Christmas, as winter had a special meaning to them both. Therefore, he spent just under a year sourcing the perfect oval diamond, which he then had set on to a stunning band by a bespoke jeweller, Smith & Green, based in London’s Hatton Garden.

The proposal itself was beautiful – rose petals, light and candles set the mood and Rebecca’s favourite song was playing in the background as David bent down on one knee. After accepting David’s romantic proposal, the couple decided that they’d like to get married around Christmas time the following year.

newlyweds outside Cain Manor gardens in December
December ceremony with twinkling fairy lights

Choosing Cain Manor

Rebecca and David didn’t look at any other venue after having viewed Cain Manor. They knew from the beginning of their wedding planning that they wanted to book a cosy winter wedding venue with the ultimate winter feel and Cain Manor ticked all the boxes. They wanted space with a homely, warm feel for their festive wedding. Imagining two roaring fires, paired with flowers, fairy lights and twinkling candles seemed just perfect and the couple booked Cain Manor for the middle of December, giving them just under a year to plan their winter wedding.

satin silk bridal gown with back bow detailing

The Dress

Rebecca went shopping in Reigate for her winter wedding dress. The bride-to-be tried on only three different designs before trying on a dress that made her skin glow. The sensational white satin gown, designed by Pronovias, featured a bateau neckline and a large detachable train, ideal for dancing. Rebecca decided to personalise her wedding dress by having the buttons extended all the way down to the bottom of the train, in order to give the gown a vintage twist.

Rikki Casey from Feel Unreal styled Rebecca’s hair on the morning of her wedding. Her up do was very classic, with some plaits added at the side to create a more youthful look. The body of her bun sat at the nape of her neck as she wanted to see some hair from the front, to frame her face with loose tendrils.

Bridesmaids dress close up beaded detailing bouquet

The Flowers

The couple chose to have Country Flower Company create and design all of the floral arrangements for their winter wedding. Rebecca carried a hand-tied bouquet with white ranunculus, ‘White Cloud’ roses and ‘White O’Hara’ roses, gypsophila and soft dusty miller foliage, with hanging grey ribbon, down the aisle. The groom and his party each wore simple cream rose button holes with winter foliage.

A beautiful white gypsophila posy was tied, with ivory ribbon, to the end of each chair down the aisle in The Music Room at Cain Manor. A stunning gypsophilia wedding wreath was hung on the cathedral length windows and the bride and groom had mistletoe tied to the backs of their chairs at the altar. Mistletoe was also hung in The Library, with a sign saying ‘What happens under the mistletoe, stays under the mistletoe’. All of the beams in The Music Room were wrapped with ivy and blush roses, with twinkly fairy lights in between to add an extra warming feel to the grand space.

To decorate the reception tables in The Music Room, antiqued silver mercury vases were filled with natural arrangements of white Avalanche roses, white clooni ranunculus, plus blue delphinium, pink astilbe, muted blush Quicksand roses, cream garden White Majolica roses, white-blush super-bubble roses, soft grey brunia and dove grey dusty miller.

Guests gathered and celebrated in the warm and cosy Library at Cain Manor where they were able to look at the creative and uber festive table plan which had been designed to look like Christmas stockings hung over the fireplace. The Master of Ceremonies called everyone back in to The Music Room ahead of the exquisite three course meal to follow. Each of the 12 reception tables were names after one of the 12 days of Christmas, and the top table was the partridge in a pear tree.

In the evening a photo booth, set up by PodGuys was a huge hit, and a further 36 guests joined the newlyweds during the early evening, to witness the cutting of the cake and the first dance, which was also the song played at the very moment David proposed; Can’t Help Falling in Love with You by Elvis Presley. The bride tossed her bouquet to all of her single friends and the band, Revelry UK, kept the wedding party entertained throughout the night. The photo booth doubled up as a guest book, as it printed two strips of three images; one for the guest to take home and the second to be stuck directly in to the guest book along with a message.

Top Tip

Rebecca’s wedding planning advice: “Plan your budget carefully, I had a spreadsheet with 13 tabs as well as the online planner and we kept close track of the money. I would recommend to future brides to get estimates from close friends and family in your local area as location makes a difference. We are both perfectionists also, so struggled to settle for anything less than premium quality, which again was probably not initially factored on websites when other brides shop around or are willing to make compromises. I also didn’t feel like I could ever haggle on price – it seemed to me to be offensive to ask any vendor to reduce their price when they put so much time and effort into their art or trade.”

Suppliers

Photographer: Razia N. Jukes | Wedding Dress: Pronovias | Hair Stylist: Feel Unreal | Florist: Country Flower Company | Cake: Tier by Tier | Suits: Hackett | Photo Booth: Pod Guys | Wedding Band: Revelry UK