Bowood Wedding Inspiration Day

Weddings were the last thing on my mind the first time I visited Bowood in Wiltshire a few years ago. A friend had suggested it as a good meeting point between her home in Oxford and mine in Somerset and it was the perfect day out for our children, with its fantastic adventure playground complete with pirate galleon and (gulp) aerial walkways.
I managed only a quick dash around the beautiful eighteenth century house, home to the Marquis and Marquise of Landsdowne, and as I sailed too speedily past the collections of painting and porcelain and through the Adam Orangery, I made a mental note to visit again with more time, as the Capability Brown gardens and rhododendron walks remained unexplored.

I was slightly surprised when I heard about Bowood’s wedding inspiration day; I hadn’t realised that within its estate lies Bowood Hotel and Spa as well as Bowood Golf and Country Club, an extension of which is the Kerry Conferencing and Banqueting Suite where the wedding open day was held.

I arrived in this lovely countryside setting on a frosty, sunny Sunday morning, and set about drawing the last minute preparations for the open day as, bit by bit, I met the exhibitors.

The first table in the room was laden with the most exquisite cakes, cupcakes and biscuit wedding favours by JellyCake. These works of art make me scrabble about for the thesaurus, as, one of my favourite things though it may be, the word ‘cake’ doesn’t begin to do justice to the detailed confections on display. Some were simple and elegant, others approached the baroque with cascading sugarcraft roses and there were themed cakes which seemed to hint at the sense of humour of their creator. Again, the word ‘baker’ doesn’t begin to describe the talents of the exuberant Trudy Mitchell.
It’s always a joy to talk to people who are passionate about their work and there was no shortage of them at the open day.

Red, white and blue was the theme of the display by Drummond and Coyle who work together to create stunning table settings for any occasion from dinner parties to wedding and corporate events. Diana Drummond and Mari Coyle are every bit as elegant as their stylish designs and have a wealth of knowledge  and experience in decoration.

I was completely smitten with the next display; partly because, as I mentioned in my last post, I’m always delighted to have interesting hats to draw at weddings, and the stunning designs from Joan Pressley Hats ticked all the boxes – but also because of Joan and her daughter, Kathryn; two of the loveliest, warmest people you could hope to meet. I have promised myself to make a pilgrimage to their well established Devizes shop with my sketchbook, as I know it will be a feast for the eyes.

We were treated to samples of the extensive hat range as part of the bridal catwalk show. The variety of headwear was extraordinary and I longed for the models to slow down their pace so that I could capture the wonderful shapes and colours. I’d love to have the occasion and opportunity to wear such amazing headgear – I don’t get much more adventurous than a beret in winter and a straw hat in summer, but these creations were truly magnificent!

The catwalk show was presented by award winning wedding planner, Julie Tooby of Hillbrooke Weddings.

There was a choice of wedding gowns to suit all styles of Brides, many of them inspired by ‘THE dress’ with pretty lace overlays.

I think my favourite was the vintage tea dress which had a great fifties feel to it and looked the easiest to wear and dance in.

All the flowers on display at the venue were by Chrissie Wiltshire who is no stranger to Bowood, having decorated the Hotel and Spa with flowers and foliage from the Bowood Estate. Chrissie didn’t stop working throughout the day, putting together pretty bouquets and even delicately threading petals onto fine wire to put the finishing touches to the Bridal hair styles.

These were carefully woven into the models’ elegantly dressed hair by Cornelius of Double Dutch.

Cornelius is a hairdresser and make-up artist from the Netherlands, and as well as styling the Bridal hair, in a quiet moment he gave Chrissie an elegant ‘up-do’.

It was great to meet these wedding industry professionals, and the day flew by far too quickly.

The house and gardens re-open at the end of March and I look forward to a more leisurely visit the next time I find myself at Bowood.

sgodsill