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Amy and Ashley

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Why Ufton Court?

​We had a vision in our minds and Ufton Court fitted that vision perfectly. From the moment we started driving down their scenic drive we felt we were somewhere special. The views are simply stunning and everything we were looking for. We always wanted a rustic barn type wedding and Ufton Court ticked all the boxes, we also loved the history behind the venue and that our money would be going towards supporting their in house children’s charity. Another factor we really loved is the several options of where to have each part of our wedding, you felt like you had plenty of space and locations without having to physically leave the venue. We had our ceremony in Archers Hall, photos and canapes in the gardens near the manor house and then our evening in the Tithe Barn which was a great way to show off the venue to our guests. The team at Ufton Court were incredible from the start, clearly and simply explaining all our options and answering our many questions. We felt supported through every step and nothing was ever too much for them.

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Wedding Style

We wanted to stick with the rustic/boho theme as it really complimented the venue. Our chosen colour scheme was sage green, gold and white which was easy to tie in throughout the day. We wanted to keep things minimal and use decorations to enhance the natural beauty of the venue rather than mask it. We chose simple décor for the Tithe Barn during our meal and evening, my sister kindly provided us with a stunning balloon arch that sat behind our top table as a main feature. We decided on lighting from Oakwood Events as it looked beautiful when we were shown around and really created a magical feel to the Tithe Barn. To save on costs and storage we decided to hire items from Little Wedding Things such as seating plan and welcome sign. Most of our other items I found via Etsy and were incredibly happy with the quality of them all. All of our decorative items were set up by the wonderful team on the morning of our wedding and they were exactly as I had requested them to be.

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The Ceremony

We chose to have our ceremony in Archers Hall, we liked that it was a smaller room which felt more intimate whilst still spacious enough to accommodate our guests. The hall has lovely wooden beams and prestine white walls which continues the rustic feel yet provides a bright, clean location that we felt really enhanced our ceremony photos. We chose three songs that meant a lot to us as a couple, the aisle length was perfect for the bride’s entry song giving enough time for the bridesmaids to walk down and for me (the bride) to make my entry. I think myself and my husband had the only dry eyes in the room!

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The Dress

Finding my dress was such a special occasion. I decided to bring my mum and sister to my first appointment at Tilly Mint in Fleet for some honest opinions. Within minutes I had fallen in love with a dress and didn’t feel the need to visit any other bridal stores. It is definitely true what they say, you do not walk out with what you thought you would walking in. I was sure I wanted a tighter fitted dress with a long train but decided on something quite the opposite. The team at Tilly Mint were fantastic, encouraging me to try on styles I may not have considered and giving honest feedback which was greatly appreciated. I also decided on a pair of medium height heels from Quiz which managed to stay on all night!

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The Flowers

We were always quite set on usage faux flowers for our wedding, partly due to the impact on the environment but also because I loved the idea of being able to keep my bouquet for ever. We found the amazing Amanda from Dream Day Designs UK via Instagram and immediately knew I wanted them to do my flowers. The quality was outstanding, none of my guests thought they weren’t real, and I had the reassurance of them being more sturdy as I moved them around throughout the day. We aren’t huge flower people, so Amanda was superb at suggesting flowers that fitted our theme, colours and season. We were updated as and when each flower element was put together, being sent photos for us to approve once we were happy. Almost a year on and I have my stunning bridal bouquet in a vase to admire for years to come.

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Food and Drink

This was probably one of the most important areas for us on our wedding and a huge factor as to why we fell in love with Ufton Court. We are both huge foodies and wanted our guests to leave feeling full and satisfied! The catering options were all lovely however we decided on Fosters Catering, and we are so pleased that we did. Their options are mouth-watering, and the quality was out of this world. We had guests chasing the servers round to grab more canapes as they were so delicious! We opted for the family sharing option as we loved the idea of having a few options for our guests and felt it really got people talking at their tables as they were passing round and sharing dishes. Even now guests still comment that our wedding had the best food of any wedding they’ve been too! Our guests enjoy a drink so we also included the Kilner Cocktail jar option which went down great during the photos, keeping guests entertained and quenched!

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The Cake

Ashley’s wonderful Auntie Amy kindly accepted our request to make our wedding cake, being an absolutely fantastic baker. We requested a three tiered cake with Italian meringue buttercream outside, our tiers were chocolate, victoria sponge and lemon drizzle. I ordered a personalised topper from Etsy and a friend provided us with wooden log slices which we used to display the cake. The taste and look of the cake exceeded any expectations we had.

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The Entertainment

We as a couple and family we love a dance. It was important we sourced a DJ that would listen to our requests and was able to provide all genres of music we wanted. We found Paul at Thames Valley Disco’s via Facebook and were so impressed with the ease of creating playlists and blacklisting any songs (sorry Cotton Eyed Joe). To really get our guests moving we dedicated an hour to purely Drum & Bass music and I must say, seeing our parents and elderly relatives dancing to Pendulum is not something we will soon forget! Paul our DJ respected all our wishes and communicated with us throughout.

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The Photographer

Finding an amazing photographer was certainly one of my top priorities and we certainly feel we found the best. Lauren from Lauren Mitchell Photography is quite simply one of the nicest people we have had the pleasure of meeting. We wanted our photos to be as natural as possible and after scowering the internet for hours we finally came across Lauren via Instagram and immediately loved her work. Included was an engagement shoot which was a great way to get used to how Lauren worked and what it felt like being in front of the camera. Lauren kept in regular contact up until our wedding day and made everything clear about how the day would work, what shots we would be capturing and length of time this would take. On the day Lauren kept everything running as clockwork, our group shots were fantastically organised with no running around to find missing guests! We always felt at ease around Lauren, who gave clear directions to ensure we got the very best images of our day. There was such a great mix of natural shots of our guests laughing, us as a couple and spontaneous dance moves. I still sit and look through our wedding album now and am so pleased we found our perfect photographer.

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Advice to future couples

The advice we’d most highly give is to simply book the wedding that you as a couple have always wanted. At the start of the planning, I was so concerned with what favours would our guests like, are our flowers big enough, is there enough entertainment for our guests and I eventually realised that no one remembers these things. The main things people remember is the food, drinks prices and the dress. After focusing on what was important to us as a couple all my stress melted away and we found the whole planning stage really enjoyable. Also, and I know this is such a cliché, but the day really does go as quickly as people say it does! Soak up and absorb every minute of it, take a moment with your new spouse to just step back and take it all in, whether it be a private moment during the wedding breakfast or standing back watching your guests on the dance floor.

Ufton Court truly provided us with the perfect backdrop for our unforgettable day but ultimately their entire service ensured we had our dream wedding. I couldn’t recommend them highly enough and if you decide to host your wedding here you will certainly have a life changing experience.

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Ufton Court 

Green Lane

Ufton Nervet

Reading 

Berkshire

RG7 4HD

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Tel: 0118 983 2099

weddings@uftoncourt.co.uk

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Ufton Court Educational Trust - Registered Charity Number 1116659 Company registered in England Wales - Company Number 5794281

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