My biggest worry about yesterday's wedding was the weather. all week it has been completely unpredictable and when the bride and groom are desperate to be married outside, it is a continual yo-yoing of 'its the wet weather plan', 'no, the dry weather', 'ok, now the wet weather...' At the last minute we went for the outside ceremony and we did not see a drop of rain all day! Hoorah! In fact it was really warm and sunny. Made even sweeter by the persistent rain today.
The visibility was excellent, i think it was the first time i have actually seen ripples on the sea from our Terrace.
The bridesmaids, the bride (not pictured) and the mother of the bride all wore matching grey satin dressing gowns all morning and looked very stylish indeed.
Josie Lock (www.josielock.co.uk)is one of our recommended make-up artists and we think she's great. She always comes with a smile and it makes everyone feel relaxed even first thing in the morning. This is Kat in the rollers, who made a very beautiful bride.
The ceremony was lovely. The grooms cousin, Nia, sang the coldplay song 'green eyes'. I'd never heard it before but when i listened to her rehearse in the morning i came over a bit teary and when she asked if it sounded ok, i couldn't actually speak! The older i get the more things seem to make me cry i've noticed. Although, i'm not the only one, my friend Zoe was describing a book she reads to her two young sons and she couldn't get past telling me its title without dissolving into tears!
Tracey found these wonderful bamboo sticks from a website right down our street (www.pipii.co.uk) and i got Steve and the kids making them up with strawberry's, cucumber and mint for the pimms. Didn't they do well?!
Getting ready for the 'confetti shot'.
Sorelli strings played for the ceremony and then on into the afternoon. It created a serene backdrop to the chatting and the laughter.
The Ballroom looked amazing with the chair covers and pink sashes and the flowers which scented the whole space and hit you as you walked in the door.
What a gorgeous cake! The inside was made by the bride's mum, Tricia. three different layers - carrot, fruit and chocolate and the outside was iced by a local cake maker (whose name i will find out as she did a great job!)
The menu: To start.. pan fried salmon with herb cream sauce and asparagus wrapped in pancetta with fresh parmasan. The main course was chicken in a bacon, spring onion and cheese cream sauce with roast potatoes and a hand tie of veg or pan fried wild sea bass with rice, mange tout and a saffron cream sauce (SO gutted i forgot to take pictures of these). Followed by Etonian mess or a rich truffle torte with vanilla and raspberry sauces.
The children had their own special dessert of plain ice cream with a choice of sprinkle treats.
Holly is my right hand woman and is so good she has her own weddings next year. Holly also works with Steve for his company so Holly is almost part of our Pickwell family. I have to thank my friend Caroline here who stepped in for Holly (as Holly was needed behind the bar)and did a fabulous job, especially at making everything look pretty at all times. Thank you Fricksy!
Lovely Ski! Ski manages a surf shop by day and manages our bar by night, as well as having a wife and two gorgeous children. He is totally charming behind the bar and is completely unflappable. Just what we like.
The cake cutting ceremony....
followed by the first dance
Everyone went off to bed, tired, happy and a little sunburnt!
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When we arrived we found Lou in the garden picking raspberry's. The kids ran in to help and we found all sorts of brilliant things growing. 
Gooseberries, blackcurrants, squash, beans, peas, garlic, onions even goji berries. Lou had us eating chick weed. She even had Zac eating all this stuff that if you put on a plate he would never eat in a million years! 
We ventured up to the Yurt, laden with fruit, and found a sign in the ground as we approached..
It was a welcome and an explaination of what happens at summer solstice.
The kids had a great time playing on the swings 
and we had a great time drinking wine out of jam jars..yes i know what it looks like...
We all wittled sticks so we could toast marshmallows and Lou had us playing some great games..
When we came back down to the car Lou had left me a gift of a garlic bulb on the windscreen!
For most of the journey home we followed a hare who was running for its life! You can just about see it in this pic..
Thank you Matt and Lou, we had a lovely time x
