Michael and Paul

“Paul has a long standing association with Goodwood having been involved as a marshal for the Festival of Speed from the beginning through the first dozen years. Paul introduced me to Goodwood via the Festival of Speed and he also fell for the wonderful nature of the estate and the exceptional events that take place there.

“From our first show-around meeting in May 2018 we both fell for the history, beauty and atmosphere of Goodwood House. Whilst appearing grand it manages to pull off the trick of being homely and personable at the same time. The moment we entered the building we relaxed and enjoyed every minute. We knew then that Goodwood House was the only possibility for us.

“The journey to the day of the wedding was longer than anticipated back in 2018, as it has been for so many people. Originally scheduled to take place on 21st August 2020 (sixteen years to the day that we met) due to the current global circumstances it had to be moved. We eventually chose 21st November 2021 (21.11.21) for the symmetry which links to Michael's Asian heritage but still containing 21, to tie it back to the original date. All of the vendors and Goodwood were so supportive in the changes required and made the elongated time period from booking to the wedding day easier to deal with.

“We had many themes through the wedding tying our love of so many things together. The sculptures of giraffes (an animal that we adore) made by a Kenyan art collective from recycled scrap metal, that started as one artist and is now forty artists which sustains a community of nearly 600 people, the wonderful landscapes created by Abigail that enhanced the sculptures and made guests believe it was a permanent installation in the Front Hall, the fun of our penguin cake (another animal we love) and all of the sculptures created by Phil and Christine and the wonderful music from the moment guests arrived to the moment they left which we gave to Nathan and Nick as a concept "Soundtrack of Our Lives".  All of these tied together in Camilla's beautiful photographs documenting all the work behind the scenes that went into making the day so special.

“The food was stunning. Throughout the whole weekend we made a decision to serve game from the estate, which can be a little tricky for some people. From the meal the night before the wedding through the wedding breakfast all of our guests and ourselves had nothing but the highest praise for the food. Although we knew the quality of the produce from many previous stays at the hotel, the way it was presented and the exceptional flavour combinations gave lots to surprise all of our guests.  Having made a decision to drive as much use of produce from the estate as possible (even down to the Tinwood sparkling wine) Mike and his team at Goodwood House and the team at the Goodwood Hotel surpassed all expectations.

“Hannah, David, Enda, Julia, Guiseppe, Isobel and countless other staff throughout the estate made the planning and delivery of the day so easy to bring together. We had a number of different concepts for each area of the wedding which on the surface might look jumbled or incoherent. All of the Goodwood teams were so patient and listened to how the different ideas fitted together and then were able to implement and ensure that the day was exactly what we wanted. The teams were also instrumental in helping us to keep the venue a secret from all our guests for the entire three and half years from the original booking to the actual day, which is quite a feat.  Not one guest knew where they were going, having arrived at the hotel for collection by the vintage bus, and throughout the whole day were still kept guessing as to what would happen next.

“There were so many moments in the day that it becomes almost impossible to just pick one. From the vintage bus picking up our guests at the hotel, the music and warm spiced apple drinks greeting them on arrival, through the gradual reveal of each room in the House, the brilliant and fascinating tours of the state rooms by Isobel, the precision and elegance of the service from David, Enda and the whole team and their willing participation in all the slightly left-of-field ideas we had, made the day one that we and our guests will never forget.”

Sculptures: Pangea Sculptures
Flowers/Installations: Abigail Overton of Albert and Arthur
Photography: Camilla Arnhold Photography
Cake: Phil and Christine Jensen of Peboryon
Music/DJ: Nathan and Nick from Toast
Suits: DAKS
Rings: Savvy and Sand