We just love a good romantic story, and Claire & Tom’s is no exception. Claire & Tom met in January 2017 via Tinder and ‘hit it off straight away, soon our dates became more and more frequent until Tom moved in with Claire in November of that year!’ Starting as they mean to go on, Tom proposed to Claire in their lovely back garden on a beautiful sunny day (Claire tells us ‘obviously I said yes without hesitation! He is the love of my life and the best husband you could ask for!’) in July of 2019 followed by a spiritualist ceremony in the Fernhill gardens on a glorious day in July of the following year.
Claire tells us how ‘the wedding itself took place during the covid pandemic, however due to the staff and wedding coordinator Ann we were very much reassured about the safety of our 50 guests! We went ahead with our wedding on our original date and were delighted we did. The theme of the wedding was very much based on a summer/outdoor vibe. With the bridesmaid’s dresses being a beautiful shade of green and the groomsmen wore light grey suits with complementing green ties.’
Undoubtedly changing wedding plans due to covid restrictions was not what Claire & Tom had planned for their wedding celebration, but love overruled and the wedding plans went ahead. Claire tells us that ‘our main priority was that our guests would feel safe and at the same time enjoy the day. We practised social distancing throughout the day and at that stage we had all been familiar with it since March so it felt natural. The hotel provided hand sanitisers throughout the hotel and marquee, where we had our drinks reception. During the meal which took place in the main ballroom we were all well-spaced out with plenty of room for 50 of us!
’
We asked the lovely couple what made Fernhill the wedding venue for them: ‘Fernhill was the one for us from the beginning due to the variety of options for a spiritual ceremony! We were delighted that we could choose from the gardens/ marquee or a big reception room in the hotel, weather dependent. We were very much looking forward to spending the whole day celebrating at Fernhill. Ann was superb and nothing was too difficult as we discussed our various options for food and drink etc. Once the pandemic hit Ann was available at all times to address any concerns we had and I can’t thank her enough.’
Claire kindly provided some words of advice for brides and grooms going forward and planning a wedding with Fernhill would be to ‘trust in your wedding coordinator and try to relax as not everything is within your control. Often enough we had to entertain different options and guest numbers for our big day and while we didn’t have our 150 guests and people were sorely missed, Fernhill couldn’t have done more to make it a special wedding for us! The first one; summer of 2020 after opening again after that first phase of the pandemic!’
Celebrant: Damian Moloney
Photographer: Mark Coombes Photography
Ceremony Location: Fernhill Wedding Garden