Post Three: Namaste and the glam ceremony room

The sky is bright blue today and squirrels were coming up to me to say hello on my way to work this morning. It was like a scene from Bambi, as if they were saying good morning and could see the smile on my face, knowing today was going to be a good day. I cycled past 5 horses as they grazed the brightest green grass I’ve ever seen. It’s a year today for our big day and I’m praying the weather will be like this.

We achieved so much after work last night, it really was unbelievable. We travelled to Sopley Mill, a Grade 2 listed building, through windy country roads and stunning views to a small village near Ringwood. The mill had stunning surroundings with a tiny bridge over the fast flowing stream, over to a lovely grassed area with views of the historic, working mill and the surrounding fields. It came complete with chickens, a goat and huge dogs.

As we walked up to the ceremony room, we were struck by the smell of wet dog and unattractive, 80’s style carpets. The ceilings were so low Terry struggled with his 6 foot frame to walk through the rooms. The large space was filled with tables and chairs, set out like a school disco, complete again with your typical wooden 5 metre by 5 metre dancing area. We weren’t allowed a band and everyone had to be out by 11.30pm. Very unattractive oranges and pale pinks were used as décor and nothing inspired us about this space apart from the price, £350. In terms of wedding venues, £350 is a steal compared the thousands upon thousands the hotels charge.

As we drove out on the gravel path, we were all giggling at the horrific smells and décor and knew that that was not the venue for us or my wedding dress.

So we put that behind us and travelled into Fordingbridge, the village where I spent a lot of time growing up with my Nan and Grandad. On the corner, near the village police station stood the Raj of India. Not the actual King of India, as the name suggests, but a potential caterers for the reception. Last week we went to meet two caterers in Southampton with quotes of over £800 plus so we had an idea of what prices we were to expect, meaning any lower was a bonus! After ‘sampling’ (rather demolishing) all of their delights, gobbling them all up and feeling really cheeky about the freebies they gave us, we sat down with the owner, nervously jotting down the meal choices. We are vegetarians and strict ones at that, so we had already decided to do a full vegetarian menu, much to the disgust of my brother who said he would have a KFC before he arrived! So, we opted for a Naga (Banglesdesh dish, that will surely blow your head off with the chillies), a Jalfezi (slightly less hot and absolutely delicious), a Masala Daal (gorgeous mix of spices and lentils), a Dipiaza (for the onion lovers), and the very average, but much loved Korma. A mixture for everyone, along with all your typical delights of Naan bread, popodums, Bhajis and Rice. Finding a local Indian restaurant meant we could have Naan so made our day, any further away and it would have made the Naan a disaster of soggy bread.

So, after giving us tons of freebies, he totally the price to a lovely round figure of £600. That’s £8 a head, a 12th of what it costs at an average English wedding. Delicious, I thought and we booked.

We drove back into Southampton and thought it would be nice to pull up outside the potential venue of the Tudor Merchant’s Hall. The Tudor Merchant’s Hall is adjacent to the old historic walls of Southampton and was once the place where Henry V marched his army under the gate in 1415. The hall is a 15th century timber framed building with lots of character and charm. The pavement outside is cobbled and is circular so the entrance by car would be perfect. The hire of the hall for 2 hours (very short time frame, this includes setting up your decorations) was £355 plus the hire of the registrar. This price was not too bad and the venue was stunning, I could just imagine the ceremony there.

This was until we visited the newly refurbished, 600 year old Mecure Dolphin Hotel. A Grade 2 listed building, complete with another old walled arch and impeccable, modern interior. Browns and limes greens were sprinkled around the rooms, with church candles used for ambience. We were all thinking to ourselves that this was totally out of the budget. Unaware of the actual price, we followed Charlotte the wedding co-ordinator to the Jane Austin Suite on the first floor of the building. The suite was once the dance hall for Jane Austin and Florence Nightingale. A newly refurbished large room, with wallpapered walls and huge bay windows and chandeliers, impressed us all. The colour scheme was very glamorous blues and silvers and the massive fireplaces were browns and silver touches. Even the chairs were a contemporary silver.

Excited, yet prepared for the huge price tag, we sat down in the bar for the results. Charlotte, in her very lovely French accent, explained that the hire of the room was £350 for the whole day…hmmm we thought, had she missed a 0 of the end of that figure. She then went on to say that we could have the bridal suite for the whole morning for £50..yet again where is the other 0 in that equation. Giggling to ourselves, we asked if we could just hire the Jane Austin Suite for the morning and in true Jen and Terry form would this affect the price. Yet again, prepared for a no, she came back with a £200 quote. High of happiness, we shook hands with Charlotte and slowly made our way to the car, happy as Larry with our bargain wedding glamorous ceremony hall.

So last night, we managed to arrange the caterers for £600, the ceremony hall for £200 and the bridal suite for the morning for £50. A total of £850. Wow, I’m kind of impressed with our work.