Real Wedding at The Royal Hotel

The Ring-A-Roses Wedding

Though they had no theme as such, pink roses made a recurring appearance at Charlie and Francesca’s wedding, who got together after their mutual friends dabbled in some weekend matchmaking.



This relaxed family wedding was planned to suit children as the couple had their niece and two young children as the flower-girls and pageboy. The couple decided it would be more personal to design their own wedding stationery; it also meant that the couple were able to splash out on a top photographer, which Francesca highlights as a main priority, reasoning, “when you put so much time and energy into the planning of one day you want to be able to look back on that day and remember every part of it.”



Francesca was relieved she left enough time to get into her gown, with the countless fiddly buttons to tackle, not to mention getting the three children groomed and polished. While the males had a single pale pink rose for buttonholes, Francesca held a bouquet of pink and cream avalanche roses.
The ceremony was held at St Mary’s Church in Appledore; the church choir offered their voices and it ended with traditional wedding bells.



The Royal Hotel in Bideford was the setting for the wedding reception, and the wedding breakfast came in the form of a jazzed up Sunday family roast, with roast silverside of beef accompanied by minted new potatoes, peas flamande and cauliflower mornay. In order to suit a wide range of people and ages, the three tier wedding cake was split into chocolate, plain sponge and fruitcake – all covered in roses.



The wedding entertainment added to the family-feel, with Francesca’s cousins Kate and Sophie taking to the mic to perform Des’ree’s ‘Kissing You’ for the couple’s first dance. Charlie’s sister also contributed to the emotive atmosphere, singing in church during the signing of the register. 



Clearly an emotional day for all ages, when asked why she was crying after the couple had finished their vows, three-year-old flower-girl Evalyn replied, “I just love happy endings!” It was no ending for the happy couple, however, who had oodles more to look forward to on their honeymoon in Kenya, which included a four-day safari and a snorkeling trip to Wasini Island.


The venue
The Royal Hotel, Bideford
01237 472005 www.brend-hotels.co.uk/TheRoyal

The dress
Marisa from College Green Bridal, Bristol
0117 3169132 www.collegegreenbridal.co.uk

The flowers
Blooms of Bideford
01237 472339 www.gonetsite.co.uk/blooms

Photography
Lucy Shergold
01237 420828 www.lucyshergoldphotography.co.uk

Copyright WED Magazine 2010