Real Wedding

Katie and Alex’s Wedding at Cain Manor

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August Celebrations at Cain Manor for Katie and Alex

Katie and Alex celebrated their August wedding at Cain Manor with 110 guests.

The Proposal Story

Katie and Alex were friends for 15 years before anything remotely romantic happened. This love story dates back to 1998 when the couple met at Liverpool University.

They were both studying to be teachers and lived just doors apart from each other in student digs. Katie moved to Dubai in 2011 and by chance, Alex happened to move to Dubai shortly after! It was natural for Katie and Alex, as friends, to meet up for movie nights, dinners and dancing over the course of 2 years and their friendship developed in to something much more serious.
A year and a half in to their relationship, Alex took Katie for a surprise weekend to York. As tourists, the couple went up to the top of York Minster and when no one was around, Alex dropped down on to one knee and proposed! Excited and ready to take their relationship to the next level, the couple announced their engagement and spent the next 12 months preparing for the big day.

Finding A Garden Wedding Venue

Katie and Alex had initially wanted to get married in Mallorca but decided against it when they took the time to visit what could be their wedding location. There were too many challenges and logistical issues and the couple quickly came to realise that an English country wedding during the summer months would be easier to organise, but be just as lovely. According to Katie and Alex, it was even lovelier than they could ever have imagined! “We had a look at Cain Manor on a rainy winters day and instantly fell in love” remembers Katie. The couple thought that if Cain Manor could look this good on a miserable day it will look dreamy on a sunny day – and luckily for them, the sun was shining and the gardens and venue looked spectacular on the early August wedding date that they had chosen.

Wedding Planning 

Katie searched and searched for the perfect wedding dress and tried on around 30 different designs before deciding to get her wedding dress made bespoke. She thought it was the only way to get what she really wanted.

However, on the morning of her first measurements, she received a phone call from Emma at Emma Louise Design to say that a dress had come in to the shop, which matched the description of what Katie had her heart set on. The bride-to-be headed over to the shop and tried the dress on, which turned out to be perfect and only needed minor alterations to transform it in to Katie’s dream gown.

Katie asked two close friends, Sasha and Gemma to be her bridesmaids on the big day. As each bridesmaid had a different figure, it made sense for them to wear dresses to suit their shapes and to keep them comfortable throughout the day. Two dusky pink gowns, (chosen long-distance) designed by Mark Lesley, looked wonderful.

The bride and her bridesmaids had their hair and make up done by Suzanne Dusek at the venue – while the groom and his party dressed up in stylish suits from the DKNY range at Moss Bros.

The Big Day: 6th August, 2018

Katie and Alex chose to get married during the mid-afternoon at Cain Manor so that they had plenty of time to get ready at the venue before hand. Katie enjoyed some girly time with her mum, bridesmaids, auntie and future mother-in-law in the gorgeous bridal suite, whilst the groom and his party got ready in the Stable Block from lunch time.

The wedding ceremony was Katie and Alex’s favourite part of the whole day. They couple wanted to involve their family as much as they could in their ceremony, so Alex’s two sons walked down the aisle at 3:30pm carrying the rings. Then, Alex and his mother walked down the aisle followed by Katie’s mother and brother. The bridesmaids proceeded the bride, who walked down the aisle with her father to Canon in D playing in the background.
During the ceremony, Alex’s mother read a poem that she had written about the couple and then as a surprise, Katie’s three nephews read out a sweet, funny poem which had everyone laughing a crying at the same time. Katie’s best friend ready a short story called ‘Love Monkey’ which had a personal meaning and everyone (including the registrar and string quartet) commented on how the ceremony was the best they’d ever seen.
The newlywed couple and their 110 wedding guests enjoyed Prosecco and delicious canapés on the patio, whilst enjoying music from The Salieri String Quartet before heading back in to The Music Room which had been transformed to receive guests for an incredible wedding banquet.
Katie and Alex’s ten wedding reception tables were named after locations from the couple’s childhood including Jumeriah Beach in Dubai where the couple had their first date. Guests were given gold wooden letters of their names as wedding favours to take home as a memento of the day and the speeches had everyone laughing and crying. It was a very special afternoon at the country house wedding venue in Hampshire.
The couple commissioned Harper Partner Le Papillon to design their elegant three tired wedding cake which was decorated with fresh blooms added by Sonning Flowers. The cake was cut at 20:50pm, just before the first dance – ‘Feeling Good’ by Michael Buble. The couple had practiced a choreographed dance in advance, but it didn’t go quite to plan when the newlyweds were in the spotlight. It was, however, a memorable moment for everyone and the perfect start to an evening of dancing and celebrating ahead to music played by a live band – The Longstraws.
Katie and Alex celebrated their marriage on honeymoon in Sorrento; the best holiday the couple had ever experienced.

Cain Manor ceremony

Pink Wedding Flowers

Katie and Alex turned to Harper Partner Sonning Flowers when it came to filling Cain Manor with beautiful, fragrant florals. Their colour scheme was rose pink and the bride carried a hand-tied bouquet featuring a combination of pretty roses, lisanthus, carnations, astilbe, freesia and soft foliage such as eucalyptus. The groom’s party each wore a rose & foliage button hole and for the ceremony, two pedestals stood tall by the altar and a beautiful arrangement stretched across the registrar table. Small bouquets were tied to the chairs lining the aisle, and a collection of small vases were dotted around each wedding reception table later on in the day. “The flowers looked amazing! We were so happy with the way the barn style ceremony room looked with the fairy lights and wooden beams. It was like a fairytale.” said Katie.

Cain Manor Banquet Menu

Starter: Red onion tart, spinach & saffron shallot, mascarpone, red currant & balsamic
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Main Course: Slow braised sticky Hampshire beef with creamed parsnip mash, Root vegetable crisps and Olivette carrots
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Dessert: Blackberry and apple crumble with caramel ice cream and creme Anglaise

Katie and Alex’s Wedding Suppliers

Wedding Venue: Cain Manor
Wedding Photographer: Bill Sykes
Wedding Florist: Sonning Flowers
Wedding Dress Designer: Wendy Makin
Bridesmaids Dresses: Mark Lesley
Bridalwear Shop: Emma Louise Design
Bridal Beauty: Suzanne Dusek
Groomswear: DKNY by Moss Bros
String Quartet: The Salieri String Quartet
Wedding Cake: Le Papillon
Wedding Band: The Longstraws

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