Kim and Scott’s Wedding at Notley Abbey

Wedding guests, who were blown away by the beauty of Notley Abbey, gathered outside and then headed in to The Abbot’s Hall before the civil wedding ceremony was about to commence. The bride walked down the lantern-lit aisle with her father to the sounds of ‘A Day Like This’ by Elbow and two readings were read during the ceremony. Kim and Scott’s marriage was sealed with a kiss and the couple celebrated with their guests outside in the glorious autumnal sunshine.

The couple took a walk down to the fabulous driveway to have some wedding photography captured of their first few moments as husband and wife, before inviting their guests to enter the wedding banquet which had been set up in The Monks’ Refectory. Harper partner, Party Lights, had decorated the ceiling of the Monks’ Refectory with twinkly lights and the couple displayed tall candelabras in the centre of each table, surrounded by a ring of pretty flowers that had been provided by Harper’s preferred florist, Sonning Flowers. Men were given a drink token as a wedding favour and women received a small hessian bag filled with a packet of ‘Party Feet’ to give them comfort in their heels throughout the night.

Sonning Flowers also created Kim’s stunning bridal bouquet which featured a selection of roses, orchids, freesias and berries, all of which tied in to the burnt orange, autumnal wedding theme.

At their Wedding Planning Wednesday session with their dedicated wedding planner Ann, the couple decided on a banquet menu consisting of the red onion tart to start with, followed by the Hampshire sticky beef and Harper’s specialty chocolate pot with Jack Daniels ice cream for dessert. The couple ordered a four tier, naked wedding cake decorated with fresh fruit that was cut and distributed to guests after the emotional wedding speeches.

40 additional wedding guests arrived to congratulate the newlywed couple in the early evening and a band called Mr Kanish played the slow version of Chaka Khan’s ‘Ain’t Nobody’ as the bride and groom danced their first dance surrounded by their nearest and dearest. The first dance set the tone for the whole evening and the dance floor wasn’t empty from that moment on, for the rest of the night. To keep the ladies comfortable, Kim had arranged for a basket of flip flops to be displayed in The Monks’ Refectory for guests to wear if they needed them.