Jeremy and Kate Richens' Perfect Wedding & Perfect Wedding Entertainment!

If you are getting married on a very tight budget, scrimp a bit on the venue, scrimp a bit on the dress, and scrimp a bit on the food. Just don't cut corners on the drink or the entertainment!

Our wedding took place at Eastington Hall, an elegant Georgian mansion set amongst acres of landscaped riverside gardens in the Cotwolds, Gloucestershire. 

We chose Eastington Hall because we wanted a venue that we could hire out in its entirety, and accommodate our entire wedding party for the whole weekend. 

We also wanted to be able to dress the venue ourselves, and be able to choose our own suppliers.  We had 84 guests in total, with 72 of those staying in the house with us for the weekend.

The theme of our wedding was designed to fit the look and feel of a Georgian mansion, with a contemporary, non-fussy edge. 

We had a very contemporary/casual theme, emphasised by Kate’s wedding dress by Jenny Packham. The groom and groomsmen all wore simple black suits, white shirts and black ties. 

We also introduced cues like having 33rpm vinyl records as table plans to reflect our love of music, which everyone signed afterwards. 

We had a table on which every one of our married guests had their wedding picture featured, and we had recovery packs in each of the bedrooms.  We held a pub quiz on the night before the wedding so everyone could get acquainted, and a full English breakfast and newspapers on Sunday so everyone could say goodbye.

The wedding day itself started with breakfast for the house guests, followed by a finger buffet at 12.00 noon for house guests and arriving day guests. 

The wedding ceremony took place at 2.30 pm in the mansion's ceremony room, followed by photographs on the terrace and in the gardens.

The wedding breakfast was held in the ballroom.  After the wedding breakfast and speeches, guests had drinks in the bar and day rooms while the ballroom was converted for the evening reception. 

Happy Hour, the band we booked through Alive Network entertainment agency, played two sets in the evening.  Our first dance was to “Fade Into You” by Mazzy Star, played through Happy Hour’s PA system.  As the song finished the band came in with their version of “Mr Brightside” by the Killers, which is ‘our song’ and everyone invaded the dance floor!

The rest of the day was backed by music over the mansion’s own music system, and this included the wedding ceremony.  The playlist themes were put together by us.

Live entertainment was a massive part of our day, and one of the most stand-out memories.  It was our single biggest budget line after the dress!  We are both huge music fans and go to lots of gigs, so it was important that music was reflected correctly in our wedding.

The stand-out favourite moments of the day for us were the band, the food, and the mansion itself.  My wife is an events consultant and organiser, so it wasn’t a huge surprise that the day would run like clockwork, but we were thankful it did!!  Ultimately, being together and sharing our special day with friends and family was what was important to us.

What pearls of wisdom or words of advice would you extend to future brides who are planning their perfect wedding?

Do as much as you can yourself, so you don't get ripped off by hotels and venues who charge ridiculous amounts for hosting your wedding.  It can be daunting and it's definitely more hassle, but it's worth it as your money will go further and you'll get your own unique wedding, rather than an identikit one.

Also, if you are getting married on a very tight budget, scrimp a bit on the venue, scrimp a bit on the dress, and scrimp a bit on the food.  Just don't cut corners on the drink or the entertainment!

Live entertainment was a massive part of our day, and one of the most stand-out memories. It was our single biggest budget line after the dress! We are both huge music fans and go to lots of gigs, so it was important that music was reflected correctly in our wedding.