Weddings

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Melissa and Jack

28th November 2022

"We had always dreamt of a traditional and elegant wedding, so Goodwood completely fitted the bill!"

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The beautiful grounds of Goodwood Hotel and Estate instantly drew us in, as we both had plans for a wedding reception that could be celebrated both inside and outside.

Rearranging and postponing our wedding due to the COVID pandemic allowed us to think about what we really wanted. After getting married in our local church, the idea of celebrating in the walled garden was the perfect setting for an elegant outdoor spring drinks reception. We also loved the fact all of our guests could stay over in the hotel if they so wished. Plus, the Cedar Suite at the Goodwood Hotel had plenty of space for partying and dancing!

On a more personal level, I have fond childhood memories of Goodwood Aerodrome where I used to watch, and often join, my dad flying light aircraft.

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We had always dreamt of a traditional and elegant wedding, so Goodwood completely fitted the bill! The packages on offer gave us everything we wanted and the option to edit your package as you go along meant that we could ensure our wedding was completely personal to our needs. Our wedding planners were so warming and helpful right from the start, we were always made to feel really special.

Our wedding day was pretty and elegant with a traditional flare. We got married in our local church, where my (Melissa) parents got married, and then had our wedding reception in the Cedar Suite. We had fresh greenery and ivory peonies mixed with gold candlesticks and floating candles to create a soft and natural theme. We chose the chivari chairs and paired them with ivory drapes and greenery. We also had a milk churn of flowers with some bunting in the garden.

We got engaged in April 2019 and originally had plans to get married in Spring 2021. Due to COVID, we ended up postponing to Spring 2022 after attempting to rearrange and downsize our original wedding. The journey was initially stressful as there were so many uncertainties and financial implications that in the end, we decided to push our wedding back by a year. We are so glad we did! We had the best day ever with 80 guests in the day and 120 in the evening – the big wedding party we had always planned!

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The food was outstanding at Goodwood. The tasting evening included in our wedding package was a beautiful occasion in itself and really helped us decide on what food we would have on the big day. We loved the wine tasting included in the taster evening, it was great fun and we actually changed our wines based on what we sampled that evening. The feedback from our guests was extremely positive. All our guests have commented on how delicious the food was and how fresh the dishes were. We also had gluten free, vegan and vegetarian choices, all of which were catered for.

We treated ourselves and our guests to canapes at the drinks reception which included chorizo sausage rolls and Charlton cheese twists. For starters, we had the smoked salmon and crab tartare with avocado, followed by the braised shin of beef for the main course and a milk chocolate bavarois for dessert. We had chosen the wines we enjoyed the most at our tasting evening – Swartland Sauvignon Blanc and the Swartland Merlot which complimented the dishes well.

Every step of planning was so enjoyable.

Nothing was ever too much trouble from the start of the planning journey right up until the morning of the big day. Every time we had a meeting, we were offered drinks in the bar or lounge and made to feel very important each time we visited Goodwood.

Emily and Ruby were incredibly helpful with the planning and coordinating, whilst Brett was outstanding on the day – cheerful, calm and relaxed. On the morning of the wedding, the hotel staff were fabulous at ensuring myself and the bridal party were fuelled for the day ahead, bringing us ‘breakfast in bed’ with fresh orange juice and acquiring extra champagne flutes when we needed them for a toast! A huge thank you to all of you.

Was there a highlight for each of you, which stood out as a particularly memorable part of your day?

Jack – a real highlight of the day was being introduced to all our guests by Brett as the new Mr & Mrs Patrick before we sat down for our meal. This was the first time since the ceremony we had addressed our guests as a newly married couple. Brett ensured all our guests were seated and then invited us into the room with the music playing – it was a great moment!

Melissa – The whole day was incredible but a particular favourite and thoughtful moment of mine was when Brett came to get us both so we could just have a moment of calm before going off to have some photos alone with our photographer. It was lovely to have that moment together on what was such a busy day. Thank you.

Photographer – Lucy Lou Photography & Lucy Waddell
Florist – Nursery Fresh Floral Design
Venue Decor – The Little Details Company
Hair – Charlotte Gardner
Make Up – Birute Thomas MUA