Our Wedding Story by Natalie & Matt
Our Wedding Story by Natalie & Matt at That Amazing Place.
Here at That Amazing Place we love sharing the romance of the very special wedding’s that are held here. Today we talk to Natalie and Matt about the memories we helped them create at our exclusive country wedding venue.
Natalie and Matt have been a couple for eight and a half years having met at University.
Natalie says “We met on a night out at Canterbury Christ Church University, where we were both studying. I had ordered a ‘Glitterbomb’ drink because it had such a cool name, but it was revolting so I randomly struck up a conversation with Matt about it and asked him to try the drink.” We’re very pleased that Natalie ordered that bad cocktail and their relationship went on to blossom!
The Venue
They didn’t have any set ideas about the style of their wedding venue. Natalie had viewed several different locations together, but nothing felt quite right until Natalie’s mum discovered That Amazing Place. Unfortunately, Matt couldn’t make the initial visit, so Natalie went with both parents and all three of them fell in love with it. Luckily, when Matt was able to visit he felt the same way. The big pull for this couple was the lake, beautiful grounds and the size of the manor house which was perfect for the number of guests. They also both loved the modern and luxurious decor in the rooms; as Natalie puts it “the quirky but glamorous bedrooms”. Natalie and her friends also really loved the bridal cottage, which provided a gorgeous space in which to dress and prepare for the nuptials.
Natalie also said “As well as the look and actual feel of the venue, Angie and Paul also helped to make the decision. Paul made us feel so welcome and Angie was fantastic at talking us through everything and we could tell she would be brilliant.”
© Sabrina Stockwell photography
Theme and entertainment
Neither Natalie or Matt had strong ideas for a theme, they just really wanted their wedding venue to be modern and chic. They found the décor at That Amazing Place to be very fitting with its simple elegance requiring very little additional decoration.
© Sabrina Stockwell photography
During the ceremony and drinks reception, our happy couple opted for background music from a pianist from Piano DJ. Natalie said “the pianist was hugely talented and was able to play requests on the spot! It created a beautiful atmosphere.” For the evening entertainment they booked a DJ, from the same supplier, who really got the party started and ensured everyone joined in with the dancing.
When our newlyweds first met, they discovered a shared interest in Mario games and were able to incorporate this into the wedding with a table plan of a mini Mario World with the tables named after characters. They also both loved watching their guests’ reactions to the caricatures they had prepared of every guest having secretly sourced pictures of everyone. MK Caricatures did an amazing job and Natalie and Matt had the ingenious idea of using these drawings as both place names and wedding favours.
© Sabrina Stockwell photography
© Sabrina Stockwell photography
Catering
The catering option was an easy decision for Natalie and Matt as Premier Crew offer both an evening hog roast and a carvery option for the wedding breakfast “We are known amongst our friends and family for loving a Sunday roast dinner. We thought it was a fantastic option because whilst we obviously wanted to choose the food based on what we like, we also wanted the guests to enjoy it and who doesn’t like a roast dinner?”
There was so much choice for dessert, that they optioned for the trio of desserts. Both Natalie and Matt found Sarah from Premier extremely helpful for assisting with the right food options. In particular, Sarah advised to serve canapés during the photographs as opposed to starters due to the generous portions of the carvery option. Natalie said “I can’t emphasize enough how delicious all the food at our wedding was, we received so many compliments from guests. The staff were also amazing, so friendly and looked happy to be there.”
In addition to the dessert option, Natalie and Matt also hired an ice cream cart to provide unlimited ice cream to guests in the evening. In a nod to Natalie’s grandma, who she was very close to until her death, one of the flavours was Ferrero Rocher, “She always had stacks of Ferrero Rochers and would let me eat as many as I wanted when I was at her house” said Natalie.
Flowers
Natalie met her chosen florist when visiting a different venue and was so impressed with her passion for floral design, that she knew immediately that Dawn Jennings Floral Designer was the florist she wanted for her wedding.
The bridal bouquet was a neat posy shaped hand-tied design comprising white brovardia, mid pink aqua and champagne roses, a white double lisianthus flower and grey/green eucalyptus leaves running though the bouquet.
© Sabrina Stockwell photography
The bridesmaids and flower girls bouquets were of the same design but just smaller versions. The groomsmen had champagne roses as button holes and both mothers had lisianthus flowers as corsages. The table decorations consisted of three clear glass cylinder vases with single stem roses and petals scattered around the edge of the mirror bases. These arrangements looked really elegant against the backdrop of That Amazing Place.
© Sabrina Stockwell photography
© Sabrina Stockwell photography
Dress
Natalie opted to source her wedding dress from Clifford Burr in Bishop Stortford, having had a great experience when shopping with her best friend for her wedding the previous year. “The staff there were so helpful and I liked how they organised the dresses by style rather than designer.” Natalie’s dress was by Sottero and Midgley with sparkling diamante detail on the bodice and a sophisticated train.
© Sabrina Stockwell photography
Special Moments
In a day filled with perfect moments that exceeded all expectations, the bride and groom found it difficult to pinpoint just one special moment.
Matt said if he had to pinpoint one moment, it was when he first set eyes on his exquisite bride that day. He said “My bottom lip was twitching when I saw her walking down the aisle but I managed to pull it together by the time she reached me. I was stunned by how beautiful she was and had plenty of people telling me I was punching well above my weight throughout the day!”
© Sabrina Stockwell photography
Natalie said that her special memory was when her Dad turned up in the bridal cottage, saw how she looked and was overwhelmed by emotion. Sabrina, the photographer, managed to capture this and it will serve as a lasting reminder of that moment.
© Sabrina Stockwell photography
Another stand out memory for Natalie was of the speeches. Despite Matt being incredibly nervous, he overcame his nerves and actually enjoyed the experience. Natalie’s father and the two best men also did an excellent job. Natalie said “One of the best men was also acting as Master of Ceremonies and introduced my dad as if he were the commentator at a boxing match which led to everyone chanting Dad’s name. He had to wait for everyone to stop before he could start speaking”.
© Sabrina Stockwell photography
The funniest memories include Natalie’s panic that no one was eating the hog roast. Luckily Angie was on hand to reassure her that it hadn’t actually been served yet! Here at That Amazing Place having Angie on hand to ensure the day runs like clockwork is a big plus for our couples. Natalie said “Everyone is so welcoming, emails are answered immediately, we felt we could trust and go with their advice and we were all proved right!”
© Sabrina Stockwell photography
Congratulations Natalie and Matt
We are so pleased to have been able to help Natalie and Matt create their perfect day at our stunning country venue. We wish this lovely couple lots of luck and happiness in their life together. We hope they will return to let us all know how they are getting on and celebrate future family occasions here.
© Sabrina Stockwell photography
© Sabrina Stockwell photography
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