Melinda and Matt’s November Wedding
13th March 2025
As a wedding coordinator, there is something very special about hearing a wedding couple’s story about their special day. Back in November, I had the pleasure of helping Matt and Melinda celebrate their wedding day at Layer Marney Tower. From the beautiful ceremony in the Corsellis Room, to the fun party in the Barn, their special day was full of happy memories.
I’m so excited to share the story of their Layer Marney Tower wedding including some gorgeous photos by The Bostons. I hope you enjoy reading about their day as much as I enjoyed being a part of it.
Karen Brand – Wedding Coordinator
When did the proposal take place and how did it happen?
On 1st June 2023, Matt recreated our very first date with a picnic on Primrose Hill and the proposal took place on one of the rowing boars in the middle of The Serpentine in Hyde Park. We had plenty of passers-by recording and a few “congratulations” shouted at us from across the water. It was both private and public at the same time!
Did you have an ideal venue in mind before you began your search? How did you research your venue?
Not really, we were quite logistical with our process and saw the venue as a basis for the wedding plan. We quickly came to fall in love with Layer Marney Tower early on in our online research and the picture could then grow quite quickly as to how Layer Marney could provide the backdrop for the wedding of our dreams.
How many venues did you visit and why did you choose Layer Marney Tower?
We visited one other venue before seeing Layer Marney Tower. We knew we wanted an intimate setting for our wedding, and Layer Marney offered that. The second we pulled into Layer Marney Tower, we knew this was the place for our wedding.
How far in advance did you book your wedding day?
Within hours of viewing the venue our minds had set to work imagining how the day would play out, which parts of the building to use and where we would share the happy moments with friends and family. We had the venue happily all booked just over a year before our wedding day.
Did you have a theme?
Yes, we were aiming for an Autumnal feel. Our wedding was beautifully timed with trees all turning yellow and orange. We were lucky to have plenty of autumnal leaves around the venue, and the colour of the buildings gave it all such a warm and elegant feel. Our photos managed to capture how it felt perfectly. Our colour scheme was a dark green and gold, which allowed us to keep things simple and fitting with the natural aspect of the venue.
How did you choose which suppliers you used?
We were lucky that Layer Marney had a lot of preferred suppliers for all of our ideas. We knew early on we wanted our bonfire night wedding to go out with a bang and the venue knew just the people to make that happen. Both the florist and string quartet added such a lovely touch to our ceremony, again familiar with the venue to help make the special moments even more memorable.
Have you enlisted help from family and friends with the planning, or was it mainly the bride and groom that made arrangements?
We are quite a passionate and stubborn couple so went straight into this process knowing what we wanted. Even when we weren’t sure, it only took a 10 minute conversation for us to decide what we wanted! Our family and friends were most certainly there for any tie-breakers where we needed a slight opinion to push u in one direction.
What were the highlights of your day or particularly memorable moments?
(Melinda) The highlight of my day was seeing Matt for the first time at the ceremony. I was just so excited all morning to see him and walking in was absolutely perfect.
(Matt) For me the highlight was walking out of the ceremony room a married man; there were a lot of nerves beforehand and a lot of build up to the big day. So to be able to hold my wife’s hand and practically skip out of that room a married man – all of the nerves completely gone – was a hugely happy moment for me.
Do you have any advice for Brides and Grooms just starting their wedding planning?
Set budgets, not just to rein in your spending, but also to allow you to see what you could maybe do cheaper so you can spend more on something you really want. We both had key things we wanted, and with our budget we could see what maybe had to be tweaked a little to make it all possible.
Thank you to the following suppliers who made Matt and Melinda’s wedding day so perfect:
Catering by Bouquet Garni
Live music by Arioso String Quartet
Wedding cake by Claire’s Cakes
Evening DJ DJ Buzby
Flowers by Amega Fleur
Photography and Videography by The Bostons
Photobooth by The Photobay
Fireworks by Dynamic Fireworks
Wedding dress from Essex Bridal Outlet
Groom’s suit from Anthony’s Formalwear
