Mat and Rebecca Dale's Perfect Wedding
& Perfect Wedding Entertainment!
Mat and Rebecca Dale's wedding took place at Patshull Hall in Staffordshire. Rebecca reveals all about what made their big day special in their exclusive wedding blog here at Alive Network.
Alex Lloyd Williams
2 Classical Guitarists Staffordshire
Alex Lloyd Williams is a professional guitarist with over 30 years' experience. Performing a repertoire of Baroque, Latin-American & Spanish Romantic music but also available to perform special requests, Alex is a classic addition to any event!Price from £229Beatles Live
The Beatles Live re-live the excitement of the days when Beatlemania was at it's height and the world went wild for the Fab Four.....!Price from £1,568
The entertainment certainly created the impact we wanted. Beatles Live are up there with the ceremony for my highlights of the day. Alex Lloyd Williams, the classical guitarist, made the ceremony moving and special, and we couldn't have got that from a CD
We got married at Patshull Hall, an 18th century private country house on the border of Staffordshire and Shropshire. It was the only wedding venue that ticked all the boxes for us. It had a cosy yet grand feel with plenty of accommodation for us, and the family. We stayed for the whole weekend, which was lovely. We had 80 guests in the day, increased to 120 in the evening.
Our wedding ceremony was at 1.30 pm, with my Dad and three bridesmaids walking me down the aisle. A friend, and excellent professional guitarist, Alex Lloyd Williams played “Here, There and Everywhere” by The Beatles as we entered the room, and played The Godfather theme tune as Mat and I signed the register. The Godfather theme tune reminds Mat of his Gran who couldn’t be with us, and it bought a tear to his eye. We had “Sigur Ros” – Hoppipolla played from CD as we exited the room together as husband and wife. Alex Lloyd Williams then played outdoors during our drinks reception. It was magical!
We didn't have a theme but we knew what we liked and the look of the wedding unfolded with every decision we made. We wanted it to be fun and relaxed, yet romantic. My husband and I are musicians and we play at weddings all year round, so we had too many ideas at first. It was a long process deciding what we wanted, but in the end it was perfect, and very us!
The stationery for our wedding reception was designed and made by our very talented drummer, and usher, Wes Fife (graphic designer extraordinaire!) Our cat, Bovril, featured on the table numbers. Wes designed the lettering on the table plan from tulips, which fitted with the flower arrangements. It gave a personal and sophisticated edge to the wedding breakfast.
The favours were personalised Wonky chocolate bars with prizes for golden ticket winners. The room looked amazing and the guests stamped their feet and cheered so loud when we entered the room, which one of my friends caught on her iPhone. It's a lovely memory and one of the many highlights.
For the evening’s entertainment, we booked Beatles Live who were beyond fabulous!! Everybody was on the dance floor from start to finish, there was a great party atmosphere, and we loved it!
We are musicians ourselves so live music was a key factor for us. On our wedding day we wanted to be listening to different material to what we perform ourselves, so it felt like a real treat. The entertainment certainly created the impact we wanted. Beatles Live are up there with the ceremony for my highlights of the day. Alex Lloyd Williams, the classical guitarist, made the ceremony moving and special, and we couldn't have got that from a CD.
One of my favourite moments of the day was seeing Mat for the first time - that was top! My flowers arriving in the morning was amazing, it made everything feel real and they were nicer than I could have possibly imagined. Walking through the grounds of Patshull Hall at dusk with my new husband, on our own, before the evening party. Dancing in a big circle and singing at the top of our lungs with my family, band mates, and best friends. “Hey Jude” is imprinted in my memory forever.
What pearls of wisdom or words of advice would you extend to future brides who are planning their perfect wedding?
Don't sweat the small stuff. Take time to absorb every moment. (I didn't - I was too manic!). Remember the purpose of why you are getting married in the first place, and all the other stuff pales in comparison. Never scrimp on the band, or the photographer! They are the things you'll remember forever!
Beatles Live were beyond fabulous!! Everybody was on the dance floor from start to finish, there was a great party atmosphere, and we loved it!
Alex Lloyd Williams
2 Classical Guitarists Staffordshire
Alex Lloyd Williams is a professional guitarist with over 30 years' experience. Performing a repertoire of Baroque, Latin-American & Spanish Romantic music but also available to perform special requests, Alex is a classic addition to any event!Price from £229Beatles Live
The Beatles Live re-live the excitement of the days when Beatlemania was at it's height and the world went wild for the Fab Four.....!Price from £1,568