Holly & Mike’s Real Life Wedding

Christmas Day 2017 saw Holly & Mike at home opening their Christmas Stockings. At the bottom of Holly’s Christmas stocking was a photo of a Christmas bauble, with a label that said “find me on the Christmas tree”. When Holly found the bauble, it was making a rattling sound, and she saw that it was one that you can open. She turned around and saw Mike on one knee and he told her to open the bauble. Inside was the most beautiful ring and, as she looked back up at Mike, he said those very special words….”Will You Marry Me?”

They both wanted to get an idea of the style of wedding that they wanted to make sure that we were on the same page from the beginning. One evening between Christmas and New Year, they got their tablets out, had a glass of wine and some yummy Christmas leftovers and started scrolling through Pinterest to create a board with their dream wedding ideas. It made the planning process and sourcing suppliers so much easier because they both had an idea of how they wanted their special day to look and feel. They both really wanted a wedding venue that was exclusive for the whole day, somewhere for just them and their guests to enjoy their special day.


Holly and her Mum have a history with St Audries Park as her Mum played a key part in renovating the property and turning it into a wedding venue. Holly spent some time working for Country House Weddings when she was younger which meant she spent time at St Audries Park.

Decorations – they didn’t have a particular theme for their wedding day. They just kept things fairly simple. Lanterns and candles leading to the orangery and the aisle of the Orangery was lined with lanterns and lavender topiary trees. The garden games were next to the croquet lawn and it was lovely to see the little ones running around and enjoying themselves after the ceremony.

Cake – they both loved the simplicity of a naked wedding cake and once they tried the amazing cakes by Anna, they knew that they didn’t need anything else apart from the cake, “It was THAT good!”

Holly explains how they chose their photographer: “We didn’t want to spend the majority of our wedding day posing for photos, so a photographer that would capture those special, unplanned moments was essential for us. We wanted to make sure we could spend quality time with our family and friends, and really savor our first few hours as husband & wife, but we wanted fabulous photos as a memento of the day. That’s where Clare came in and fitted our requirements perfectly. We spent hour’s googling photographers, but as soon as we came across Clare at Loveseen Photography, we knew she had the style that we were looking for. For her, she said it was essential to capture the natural moments, not posed ones, which was exactly what we were looking for! As soon as we met with her and chatted with her, we knew we would both feel happy and comfortable having her as part of our special day. Clare was definitely one of the best decisions we made!”

Holly had no idea what type of wedding dress she wanted, so when she went to All About Eve in Newport and picked a few different styles to try on, including the “massive princess dress that you dream about as a child.” She knew the first few dresses that she tried on weren’t quite right, including the massive princess dress which she could barely move in. As soon as dress number 5 was tried on, she felt like a million dollars and knew it was THE dress she wanted to wear on her wedding day. It was mostly fitted style, flowing out at the bottom, champagne silk with a lace overlay and subtle sequins which caught the light when she moved. It had tiny off-the-shoulder capped sleeves and a button detail on the back of the dress.

The dress was complimented with a simple white veil which Holly wore for the ceremony and a few photos and then that came off before the wedding breakfast.

Bridesmaids – there were 3 in total (Holly’s best friend, cousin, and Mike’s sister). They all wore floor length dresses in the same colour, but the styles were different as was their hair and makeup. They all looked absolutely beautiful, but all felt happy and comfortable because they were wearing styles they had chosen for themselves, rather than being in a dress that had been chosen and  dictated to them.

Mike wanted to wear something that he felt comfortable in, that he felt was his style and not just a wedding suit because it was his wedding day. Mike definitely chose his own outfits and was the same as what his groomsmen wore. Mike and the Groomsmen decided on stone coloured trousers, a crisp white shirt, navy check tweed waist coat and navy jacket, with brown leather shoes. For the ceremony, Mike wore a turquoise tie and the groomsmen wore navy ties. All the boys looked really smart and Mike had lots of compliments from the guests about his outfit and how it differed from the norm.


The ceremony was short and sweet, exactly how they wanted it. Holly’s Dad gave her away and Holly was so excited to see Mike once inside the Orangery that she practically ran down the aisle. The ceremony was simple – no readings, no additional music, just their vows and the “I Do’s.”

Welcome Drinks consisted of the famous St Audries Park Country House Garden Cocktail and a selection of Canapes and these were enjoyed by everyone!

Holly & Mike mingled both inside the venue and outside in the grounds, whilst having a few photos taken and enjoying time with their nearest and dearest.

For the Wedding Breakfast the Top Table was situated in the middle of the Banqueting Hall so Holly and Mike felt close to everyone. The speeches took place before the wedding breakfast so that the guys could get them “out of the way and then enjoy their meal”. Speeches were traditional with Holly’s Dad, Mike and the best man saying a few words. The speeches had a bit of everything; emotion, a few tears, joy, laughter and most importantly love. As soon as the speeches were finished, a delicious wedding breakfast was served, which featured Mike’s favourite dish, Pork Belly.

Their first dance song was ‘You are the best thing’ by Ray LaMontagne. When Mike and Holly first dated, they listened to his album ‘Trouble’ a lot and listening to the album always brings back happy memories.

“If we could do it all again, we’d…”
“Do everything exactly the same! Everything happens for a reason and our Wedding Day was the best day of our lives so far. We wouldn’t change it for the world!”

Mike and Holly’s Suppliers:

Wedding Attire – All About Eve, Newport

Wedding Cake – Anna Cake Couture

Photographer – Clare Adams at Loveseen Photography

Wedding Favours – Penderyn Distillery

If you have any questions relating to having your wedding at St Audries Park, please don't hesitate to call Sally via the contact details below:

Sally

T: 01984 633 633
E: info@audries-park.co.uk

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