Stacks Of Love

Carolyn Ford and Graham White

The Venue
Warren House was the first and only venue that Carolyn and Graham viewed - they immediately fell in love with its country house atmosphere and it was only a ten-minute drive from their church. With just a few months to organise everything and both working full time, the couple enlisted the help of Helen, from Milestone Weddings and Barbara, the wedding co-ordinator at Warren House who meticulously planned the day.

On the Day
The wedding ceremony took place at 1.30pm, on Bank Holiday Monday, 29 August, a scorching hot day, at All Saints Church, Putney Common in London. Afterwards, guests gathered at Warren House in Kingston-upon-Thames, which was booked on an exclusive-use basis for the reception.

Transport
The bride arrived in classic style in a Rolls Royce Phantom 1.

Ceremony
Carolyn looked radiant as she entered the church to the Hornpipe from Handle’s Water Music. The traditional service went smoothly and during the signing of the register, Alex Braugham, a friend of the couple, sang a moving solo of Ave Maria.

Outfits
Carolyn wore an ivory duchess satin two-piece dress by JK Couture and a cathedral length ivory veil with crystal detail. The bride and designer had sourced the fabric from Berwick Street, while another happy shopping day was spent with friends in search of the perfect Jimmy Choo shoes. As the finishing touch, Carolyn and the two mothers had their hair and makeup professionally done by Janice of Final Touches.

Flowers
The bouquet was a simple hand-tied arrangement of ivory roses, freesias and lisianthas with additional sprigs of hop, wheat, and lavender, supplied by the bride’s father.

Bridesmaids
Carolyn’s two little bridesmaids, Anna and Lucy, wore pale pink bridesmaid dresses from Harrods with ballet shoes and charm bracelets, which were given to them as special gifts. They carried sweet posies of ivory, lilac and pink flowers.

Groom
Graham, his best man and wedding party wore morning suits with lilac cravats, lilac patterned waistcoats and top hats.

Reception
Warren House, an elegant 19th century manor house with extensive landscaped gardens, was the perfect setting for a high-summer reception. The bride and groom, accompanied by the bridesmaids, arrived in the Rolls Royce Phantom and guests were greeted with canapés and Champagne as well as Pimm’s cocktails.

Wedding Breakfast
The wedding breakfast began with red onion and tomato tart, topped with fried quail eggs; followed by a main course of breast of corn-fed chicken with smoked garlic, tomato and parsley ravioli and watercress sauce. The feast was completed with a dessert of strawberry millefeuille.

Cake
As a professional cake designer, Carolyn decided to celebrate her wedding with no less than three wedding cakes. The main cake had three tiers of ‘death by chocolate’ sponge with Belgian chocolate and orange ganache and a traditional fruit topmost tier, baked by the groom’s mother. The second cake was a stack of Carolyn’s signature cup cakes with a top tier baked by the bride’s mother and finished with beautiful handcrafted sugar flowers. Finally, just for fun, there was a 3-D cake of the bride and groom on a sailing yacht - a little hint of the honeymoon that lay ahead.

First Dance
Carolyn and Graham danced to Beyond the Sea played by the live band, Opus One.

Refreshments
During the evening, a buffet was served accompanied by a barrel of London Pride. Guests enjoyed a casino of roulette and blackjack and several guests partied on in the snooker room until the early hours of the morning.

First Night
The newly weds spent their first night at Warren House.

Honeymoon
Carolyn and Graham flew to Corfu and spent the first three nights of their honeymoon on a luxurious seventy-foot sailing yacht. They then took a ferry to Italy and stayed a few nights in the south before making their way up to Rome.

Wedding Notes

Venue: Warren House (020 8547 1777, www.warrenhouse.com)
Photographer: Lloyd Dobbie (020 8763 0618, www.lloyddobbie.com)
Dress: JK Couture (07793 272 686, www.jkcouturedesigns.co.uk)
Cake: Cakes4Fun (020 8785 9039, www.cakes4fun.co.uk)
Flowers: LK Lily (020 8554 3342, www.lklily.co.uk)
Transport: Classic Car Hire (020 8398 8304, www.classic-hire.com)

© Wedding Venues Ltd 2006