Silver Pear Weddings

21/05/2024

Ends and Beginnings...

After more than 20 years (~how~ long?!) and 500+ weddings, it is - for me - time to explore a fresh new challenge!

Hosting ceremonies for wedding couples in search of something special and unique will continue to be a part of the diverse and busy world of the Friars Court estate - definitely search them out if you're not following already.

For me, personally, it's a total change of both scene and direction: swapping the Cotswolds for the (equally picturesque) Tanat Valley (a gateway to Snowdonia); swapping Friars Court for a minute cottage, converted stables and semi-derelict barn, and swapping weddings for (eventually) self-catering holiday accommodation.

These pages will stay as a record of all those special celebrations we've hosted; I suppose it's a library resource, too. If you're interested/ nosey/ curious enough to see what I'll be doing (which, of course, you will be because, frankly, who doesn't enjoy following a house renovation?) then please do head to your preferred platform (we're on both Facebook and Instagram) and search out Green Fach as we've finally made our debut post!

It has been a privilege to have played a small part in the lives of so many wedding couples.

22/09/2023

Perhaps the unscheduled downpour an hour beforehand helped, but the clouds cleared and the sun came out just as today's bride was poised to start her entrance walk... the weather stayed with us just long enough to complete the ceremony and group photos...

Control over the weather is a little bit beyond our capabilities, but we'll do our best to help achieve an outdoor ceremony if we can - hence today's switch to dryer gravel over wet grass which paid off beautifully...

And there ends our 2023 ...

22/09/2023

Later today, we'll be setting up and hosting the final ceremony of our 2023 season with, shall we say, a somewhat 'mixed' weather forecast. Yesterday's walk-through encompassed a change of outdoor location and 5 possible routes for the bride to make her entrance, so I think we covered every eventuality!

No such issue with this wedding earlier in September - our biggest concern wasn't rain but ensuring everyone would be shaded and cool - what we got was close to perfection.

Flowers by photographs by with flute and harp music from Silver String Duo (a previous bride). The glamorous Rolls (via AD Vintage Car Hire) whisked the couple off to dinner

17/05/2023

Welcome to the Moat Ponds - now with added (un-named) pergola! This is one of our freshly-ratified ceremony locations which we're hoping will host its first ceremony at the end of May - assuming it isn't raining and the plant life hasn't grown into a 6' jungle blocking the view.

Space for seating on the bank opposite the pergola isn't huge, so it's a location better-suited to the smaller guest list... and, of course, those romantic post-ceremony "couple" photos 📸

06/05/2023

Watching the from the comfort of our armchairs, accompanied by cinnamon buns from ... and quietly wondering just _how many_ rehearsals...

15/04/2023

Wedding flowers and a new phone.

And a dilemma.

It's only taken 6, maybe, 7 years to upgrade my phone so, obviously, that means playing with the camera to see what it can do...

Whether it's the new phone or a propitious planetary alignment, I finally achieved linking the Silver Pear Instagram and pages - there have been countless frustrating and frustrated attempts bringing the two together (one was created long before the other).

And here's the dilemma...

Streamlined, small-scale Silver Pear is, mostly, going to be focused on civil ceremonies now but *how* many photos of empty chairs grouped in the same locations would anyone really, ~really~ want to see?

That's, kind-of, a rhetorical question by the way...

Plan had been to mothball this page and migrate wedding content to expand the Friars Court page... but now I can (finally) cross-platform should I keep this page going...?

Answers on postcards, please...


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08/02/2023

It's always worth listening to wedding couples: "fresh eyes seeing things differently" and all that...

With the rules on where a civil ceremony may take place now (thankfully) relaxed, couples can now choose their own location... well, up to a point - each location still has to be ratified by the registrars. So, as several of this year's couples have chosen brand new locations, that's exactly what I am doing. Some are obvious, some a little less and some don't look their best at this time of year. It's all about helping a couple realise their 'vision'.

By the end of it, we'll have a grand total of nine outdoor locations!

24/12/2022

With apologies for the abrupt ending with a blink-and-you-miss-it caption: videos only allowed to be a minute long!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Friars Court

🎄🎉🎁🍾🥂🎁🎉🎄

31/10/2022

Wedding-related and a lot of fun... bringing together some remarkably talented (very) local suppliers for a vibrant and colourful Hallowe'en-themed photoshoot. Just about everyone involved has a base at Friars Court or has worked at Friars Court wedding or is getting married at Friars Court!

Wedding dresses by Susie Grist Couture
Floral work by Margarita of Allaboutflowers Florist
Face & body painting by Erica of
Twig Chandelier by Yours Truly

Linens provided by Sadlers

With a credits to Silvi (Studio Schaumloeffel) and Merlin and Svetlana who braved the chill and posted patiently like consummate professionals.

18/05/2022

The weather's a lottery really, all one can do is hope and plan for the worst. It's always one of the main causes of anxiety for a wedding - especially if an outdoor wedding is The Big Thing - but the same applies to other events too.

The day before this Ruby Wedding Anniversary reception was gloriously sunny: "I do hope our guests get to enjoy your lovely grounds tomorrow ..." Well, Dear Reader, they managed a few photos at the front of the house in a short break in the rain. But... the weather might have rendered exploring the grounds a washout (though the garden will have really appreciated the rain) but, judging by the gales of chatter and laughter, all the guests had wonderful food and a wonderful time reminiscing. As I often remind couples - any event is really about the people.

15/05/2022

When a self-professed 'minimalist' bride somewhat surprises herself (and you) by suddenly coming over all vibrant pink and you, as her just-booked stylist, encourage her to release and indulge her inner 'maximalist...

Thought was that if very early May proved to be dank and grey we'd have glorious vibrant colour inside. As it turned out, we had glorious sunshine _and_ glorious colour right through to the wedding cake and a guaranteed outside ceremony.

The 'big reveal' when a bride and groom first see the final decor is always a bit of an anxious moment (especially so when the groom pulls a 'not sure' face at the mere mention of Shocking Pink) but handled well (he said, modestly) colour is nothing to be scared of and a wedding should be about self-expression...

So a wonderful way to start our season 💐

16/03/2022

A timely coincidence...

Editing photos for inclusion on a wedding venue listing website is a bit like ironing: a tedious job you put off (for as long as possible) especially if there's something that could be considered valid Task Avoidance. Paused the editing because it was sunny so, therefore, an ideal time to devote some thought to re-designing an area of the garden and then we have yesterday's announcement that the relaxed rules on outdoor weddings is to become permanent - a change I know will be welcomed by SO many couples - so just as well as I'd planned to include these photos in our listing...

31/12/2021

On the eve of the turning of the year may we wish everyone a happy and healthy (and, perhaps, rather more 'normal') 2022.

18/11/2021

An improvement in the weather allowed a seating layout change for today's wedding ceremony so the bride could make her entrance from the garden attended by (camera-shy) Best Dog, Ghost who carried the rings. We'd like a Frenchie too... 🐕

17/11/2021

Weddings can bring some slightly curious requests - dogs as part of the wedding party, ceremony music surprise substitution - but never a request not to clear the fallen leaves... but with "Nature's Carpet" (as it's been described by a friend of the business) looking as lovely as this... it's easy to understand the photographer's request (and be amused by the bemused looks from the gardeners and groundsman)...

11/10/2021

One (now-redundant) ridge canopy of fairy lights; three (or is it four?) years of dust & grub; two large buckets of hot, soapy water; two sunny afternoons = 60 strands of 25 lights all cleaned and shiny and ready to be re-installed in the Garden Room!

A certain degree of guesswork is going to be involved in putting the lights back up and we are wondering how the bright the results will be but... what's not to like about lots of fairy lights?! 😍

Soundwave Audio

01/09/2021

So when the forecast says 95% chance of rain you set up the wet weather back-up plan & improvise... plants from a garden centre actually just intended for the couple's garden supplementing roses destined for the Rose Arbour.

Still, the sun was kind enough to appear for the photos...


Kristen Kate Photography

14/08/2021

Aah... the fickle English climate: all set & ready for a morning ceremony, cloudy but that's better for photos and then...
.. cloud leads to drizzle leads to that "almost-rain" which soaks right in & won't be ignored. Absolutely paid off having ushers primed for a last-minute move (and the guests who joined in).

Congratulations to R & D on their Big Day and on achieving "nought to wedding" in about 6 weeks.

I wonder whether we've just had the first (and possibly last?) appearance of 'Barbie Girl' as a prominent feature on a wedding ceremony playlist...

03/08/2021

When plans are elaborate and the ceremony is outside but the weather's decided to take a turn for the highly unpredictable that's when you find out how selfless and truly dedicated suppliers can be when doing what they do...

🏆& 🏅all-round to Rooted in Rosemary The Little Wedding Warehouse Emily Collett Photography Matt bee - Cotswold wedding guitarist & Jukebox Guitar for stoic "getting on with it grit" in the face of a very wet adversary... 🌧🌧

19/07/2021

Kneeling pads ready for the bride and groom who'll use them when they present tiny cups of tea to their immediate family at a traditional Chinese tea ceremony before celebrating their civil ceremony...
.. and sometimes taking a photo points out that a table cloth needs a bit of attention...

07/07/2021

Second attempt at posting an offering from Silver Pear Wobblyscope Films (no clue what happened first time around).

A quick-ish walk-through of a wedding breakfast reception set out in the Garden Room then out to the Maude Pergola under the blossom-covered laburnum (my very-least favourite colour ever but...) all set up for a hand-fasting ceremony. A quiet and cloudy moment on a perfect, sunny June day just before the cake (spot the empty stand) and everyone else arrived...

With the fountain in the background, I am going to say that it has to be one of the most romantic and picturesque locations for a ceremony... now the amended rules means it can finally host a legal ceremonies... I already know of one bride who'll be thrilled...

04/07/2021

04/07/2021

Technology and I don't have the closest relationship... after several frustrating and unsuccessful attempts to link the Silver Pear Weddings Instagram and Facebook accounts I've given it up as a task better suited to A Young Person. That and remembering all the passwords 🤦‍♂️

So I post something on Instagram and forget about keeping up with Facebook too... which is just what happened with this recent wedding ceremony...

Our very first wedding this year but also one of the last too as far as the Stone Barn is concerned... we're only a few weeks away from hosting our final event in the barn before it's presented to full-time tenants.

Still under the "30 people and inside" Covid-19 rules, we tried a new variation on previous layouts - as the bride was keen to make a feature of the fairy light canopy in the barn roof - which worked beautifully with smaller numbers. Cocktails served in the Garden Room to accompany photos before they all trooped off to continue celebrating at The Clanfield Tavern

Our congratulations to the (fairly) new Mr & Mrs D-D.

23/06/2021

Can a bridge have iconic status? Maybe we should add a clause to our terms and conditions that couples have to have at least one photo taken on it...

Lovely composition and lighting in this picture by Shoot the Day Wedding Photography from a wedding at the beginning of the month

Wow what a venue! Friars Court was a new one for me and it certainly didn’t disappoint! Congrats to Gemma and Aaron - such a great day! 📷



www.shoottheday.co.uk

21/06/2021

With the weather taking a turn for the dismal but news about weddings turning increasingly positive seems like a good opportunity for sharing this photo of a (bit of) a recent bride and (a lot more of) her vibrant, cheerful bouquet. There'll be photos of another wedding coming soon too... in between the final prep of our holiday cottage for all (?!) those couples looking for a micro destination wedding...

1,864 Followers, 525 Following, 323 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from The Flower Factory ()

30/05/2021

09/05/2021

It's good to see an increase in the popularity of celebrant-led weddings... I met Emily last weekend in readiness for the micro destination wedding she'll be conducting this coming September. Without the restrictions imposed by the registrars there's SO much choice!

First attempt at sharing an Instagram post sooooo... let's hope it worked! 😧

26/03/2021

Our newest (ad)venture: a holiday cottage right on the banks of the Thames just minutes from Friars Court. In the future this could be a glorious spot around which to build a micro destination wedding but for the moment we're busy working on the redecoration and furnishing...

We'll be documenting progress on social media so for the interested (or the just plain nosey!) search Radcot Bridge Cottage on both Facebook and Instagram and give us an enthusiastic follow 😊 we're just creating the pages now...

31/12/2020

Sunshine and decorations: an antidote to a year that will have been challenging or difficult for many and just plain awful for some.

While Mrs Hughes keeps an eye on the tree, we'll take the opportunity to wish everyone a happy New Year's Eve... with hopes that we will be able to help all our postponed couples celebrate as fully as possible in 2021 🥂

08/12/2020

It is a gardening post but... a wedding related one so appearing here rather than the Friars Court page.

Emma and I arranged that today we would tackle The Garland rose on the Rose Arbour, grooms out there will know just how cramped the entrance has been with thick and thorny branches. It is cramped no longer. Might not look much different but in 2 hours we've cleared and clipped and trained and tied so the entrance has groom-friendly headroom and, 🤞🏻, we'll have a good spread of foliage and flowers for next summer's ceremony couples! 🌹🌹