Real Wedding

Charlotte and Jon’s Wedding at Botleys Mansion

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A Sunday Wedding at Botleys Mansion Planned in 7 Months

A mutual friend decided to bring two of her single friends together. They agreed to meet for a dinner date one Friday evening in Covent Garden and just under three years later the couple announced their engagement.

A Japanese Proposal

Charlotte used to live out in Japan teaching English. After falling in love with the country, people and culture, she continued to work with Japanese people for 6 years after returning to the UK. She would, however, travel back to Japan every other year for a holiday. As Jon had never been to Japan, the couple planned a 2 week trip during February 2016. On the final night of an amazing trip, Jon got down on one knee and popped the question!

Jon proposed with a beautiful and very special ring that he’d bought in Japan, knowing how significant it would be for Charlotte. They then chose and designed an official engagement ring together once they were back in London ahead of planning their wedding in just 7 months.

Choosing a Mansion Wedding Venue

Charlotte had always wanted to get married in September and loves a good challenge, so the couple decided to have a 7-month engagement and get married in September 2016. After visiting several wedding venues in Surrey, they fell head over heels with Botleys Mansion. It was perfect! Due to booking their wedding at such short notice, Botleys Mansion couldn’t offer the couple a Saturday wedding date, but seeing as they didn’t want to wait, and they really wanted a September wedding date, the compromised and booked a Sunday. They definitely chose a good date, because Sunday 25th September, 2016 turned out to be a beautiful sunny day.

During the run up to their wedding at Botleys Mansion in Surrey, Charlotte and Jon found Harper’s online wedding planner really helpful. They referred back to it a lot during their planning and also found their wedding co-ordinator a great encouragement; Aly was available whenever they had any questions or queries, from the day they booked, right up until the day before the wedding.

Finding a Dream Wedding Dress

Charlotte tried on approximately 30 wedding dresses ahead of her Mansion wedding at Botleys.

She was encouraged to try on as many different wedding dress styles as possible before saying ‘yes’ to a stunning lace, A-line design by Sophia Tolli. The bride had the dress adapted slightly to suit her bridal style and teamed her gown up with a glamorous pair of shoes from the Rainbow collection which she found at John Lewis.

One of her bridesmaids, Rachel Louise, was a professional Wedding hair stylist, so she did Charlotte’s hair as well as her bridesmaids on the wedding morning. It was lovely having someone she knew so well help her prepare for the big day. Charlotte’s bridal beauty was done by a lovely freelance make up artist named Katie Basquil.

The Bridal Party

The bridesmaid dresses were from David’s Bridal. They each wore a stunning, Cadbury purple dress, which matched the overall wedding colour scheme perfectly. The Versa collection of bridesmaids dresses offered up to 30 different strap/sleeve designs to choose from, which meant that each bridesmaid had some flexibility in making their dress slightly individual and suited to their own style.

The groom, Jon, wore a tailored suit from Ted Baker, Covent Garden and the grooms party hired Ted Baker suits from Moss Bros and accessorised with purple ties from John Lewis. Everyone looked great on the day.

The Big Day: 25th September, 2016

Charlotte and Jon chose to get married at Botleys Mansion as The Green Room was so beautiful. Also, the fact that the bride, her bridal party and the grooms party were all able to get ready at Botleys Mansion from 11am on the morning of the wedding was a huge bonus.

The couple had booked The Fine Flowers Company to decorate their wedding with purple hues throughout. The bridal bouquet was simply stunning and the wedding ceremony was decorated with large pedestals of flowers at the altar and small arrangements attached to chairs lining the aisle. The Fine Flowers Company also decorated the tables in The Atrium ahead of the wedding ceremony.

Charlotte walked down the aisle in The Green Room at Botleys Mansion with her dad, to Canon in D by Pachelbel. The couple had two readings during the ceremony by family members and then Charlotte’s Uncle David who is a minister, held a short spiritual blessing directly after the civil ceremony which was really special to the couple.

After the exchange of rings and a kiss to seal the deal, the newlywed couple and their 80 wedding guests enjoyed canapés and drinks outside the front of Botleys Mansion. The sun was shining and a saxophonist from Saxophonic played live music to set the tone. The newlyweds spent a few minutes alone, soaking up the atmosphere and walking around the beautiful grounds surrounding Botelys Mansion, while their wedding photographer and Harper Partner, Bill Sykes, captured the moment.

When everyone walked back in to the Mansion after the luxurious drinks reception, they were greeted with a stunning purple and silver decorated Atrium and a delicious menu that had been hand-chosen by the couple during their menu tasting session at Botleys Mansion several months before.

Wedding Banquet Menu

Starter

Baked French brie parcel, served warm with a bacon, red currant and caramelised orange salad

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Main Course

Slow braised Hampshire beef with creamed parsnip mash, root vegetable crisps, olivette carrots, and a Yorkshire pudding.

 

Dessert
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Blackberry and apple crumble with caramel ice cream and crème Anglaise.

Wedding Cake & Favours

The couple commissioned Corrine at Classic Cakes in Bexhill to design and create their four tier wedding cake. The chocolate fudge, toffee, red velvet and lemon drizzle tiers were covered in a luxurious white icing and decorated with intricate purple iced flowers to bring the whole colour scheme of the wedding together. Cake, menu and wine tasting we’re by far Jon’s favourite part of planning the wedding.

Each place setting featured a candle in a jar as wedding favour and the tables were named after a city that Charlotte and Jon had visited together. The couple had hired a band called Doppelganger to entertain their guests during the evening and they danced their first dance as a married couple to ‘To Show You My Love’ by Mike Schmidt. The couple had also hired over-sized light up letters to make their dance floor look even more incredible.

The Honeymoon

After spending their wedding night at Botleys Mansion and enjoying a lovely breakfast with friends and family the following morning, Charlotte and Jon then flew off to Mauritius for their honeymoon. They spent ten nights at a luxurious resort in the north of the island which was absolute paradise; the perfect way to start married life together.

Charlotte and Jon’s Wedding Suppliers

Wedding Venue: Botleys Mansion
Wedding Photographer: Bill Sykes
Wedding Videographer: ‘I Do’ Productions
Wedding Dress Designer: Sophia Tolli
Wedding Beauty: Katie Basquil
Wedding Flowers: The Fine Flowers Company
Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal
Saxophonist: Saxophonic
Wedding Cake Designer: Classic Cakes, Bexhill
Wedding Band: Doppelganger
Wedding Gift List: John Lewis
Wedding Hair Stylist: Rachel Louise

Purple floral wedding cake at Botleys Mansion Wedding
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