Rockin 'n' Rollin

A beautiful Easter weekend added a special touch to Alex and Sophie's Spring wedding

Images courtesy of Emily Hancock Photography

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Early days…

Part of Alex's job is booking comedians who appear at The Comedy Store in London, while Sophie works as a comedy agent. They spoke numerous times on the phone for a couple of years before they actually met in person.

The proposal…

Alex proposed marriage to Sophie on New Year's Eve 2006 at the Malmaison hotel in Leeds. "It was a surprise in some ways, but I also knew he was going to ask me. I just didn't know when. He got down on his knees in the restaurant in front of everybody, so it was all a bit of a shock. We didn't finish our dinner but left the restaurant in high spirits drinking our complimentary glasses of Champagne," Sophie recalls. Alex bought her a Dinny Hall ring in white gold with a yellow-green Ora Verde stone surrounded by diamonds.

Hen and stag parties…

As a surprise, Sophie's friends booked a 'chocolate box' cottage in a little village in Kent and spent the weekend cooking and eating amazing food, drinking Champagne and going for long country walks.

Alex went to Madrid with 10 of his friends and watched a Real Madrid vs Villareal football match, ate plenty of tapas and drank Spanish beer.

The venues…

A stunning countryside venue within close proximity to Sophie's parent's house and a reputation for good food was top on the couple's list. Lainston House, a stunning countryside hotel with good food and only an eight-minute drive from Sophie's parents fitted all the criteria.

"We went for a tasting session before we chose our menu and stayed in the main house which had beautiful rooms. We also wanted a venue where our guests could stay overnight so that everyone could have a nice, long Easter weekend as well," explains Sophie. The ceremony was held in the Dawley Barn in the hotel grounds, Champagne and canapés in the hotel and then dinner and dancing back in the barn. They booked Lainston House 10 months in advance.

The dress…

Sophie's dress was made by Candy Anthony, a designer who specialises in '50s-style dresses. The knee-length ivory silk dress came with a voluminous petticoat to give the dress a proper vintage look. Sophie wore a silk yellow sash across the waist and tied it into a massive bow on the back. She decided not to wear any jewellery except for her engagement ring and had yellow freesias woven into her hair.

The transport…

Sophie arrived at the venue in a 1930's black and yellow Rolls-Royce, which was booked by her dad as a surprise.

The decorative touches…

To coincide with Easter, the venue was decorated with spring flowers - daffodils, narcissi and plenty of pussy willow. Sophie?s sister had collected ivy from the hedges and these were woven and wrapped around the barn's ceiling beams. The flowers all matched Sophie's sash and the gentlemen's ties. They also had tiny foil eggs of different colours scattered on the tables along with candles and bunches of daffodils. The table centrepieces were full of tall branches of pussy willow and narcissus.

Instead of favours, Sophie and Alex donated a sum to the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity and placed their daffodil pin badges on each table for their guests to wear. The wedding cake was a scrumptious three-tier chocolate and lemon sponge covered in dark chocolate and decorated with daffodils, narcissus and freesias.

The best bits…

Despite the fact that they had two types of weather, the day was perfect for Sophie and Alex. "It went from a perfect spring day with sunshine and blue skies to snow, adding to the excitement of the day."

The honeymoon…

Sophie and Alex spent five days in Taormina, Sicily. They wanted to go somehere they'd never been before and where they could enjoy some long coastal walks. Sicily seemed like a good idea.

"The food was fantastic and it was an amazing experience walking up to the top of Mount Etna, which is still an active volcano," says Emily. They stayed at the Villa Carlota, a beautiful boutique hotel where they had their own private tower suite on two levels, with views of the Mediterranean.

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