Christmas wedding at Old Down Manor, Bristol

Caroline and Rob had a Disney themed Christmas wedding at Old Down Manor in Bristol. It’s a place full of memories for Caroline as she used to go there as a child to visit the animals, go on the adventure playground (and push her sister into the mud). It’s a fabulous place for us Bristol wedding photographers. The staff are lovely and the views across the Severn are amazing

Rob proposed in the most romantic way – After a Friday night takeaway in front of the TV. They were just about to go travelling around South America so he wanted to get it done in case Caroline said no. After asking her Father for permission it was just a case of waiting for the perfect moment. Of course she said yes so here we were. Old Down Manor was the perfect venue for a December wedding as there was plenty of room if the weather was bad and there was a high indoor balcony for the group shot. The theme – which I remember Rob saying fulfilled his dream – was Disney with a cold winter colour palette – silver, pale blue and pale pink. The groom and ushers wore grey silk tails with a pale blue ruche and pale pink rose corsage.

Caroline ended up buying the first dress she tried on after trying out 30 others. It was a Kate Middleton-esque dress by Mori Lee – fitted with lace sleeves. Caroline says “I had a proper Carrie Bradshaw moment with the shoes. I ended up with a pair of Manolo Blahnik’s that I absolutely fell in love with and they were super comfortable (I’m going to dye them blue now so I can wear them with jeans (that’s how I justified them to myself!)”

The beautiful flowers by Becci Hobbs fit the theme with pale pinks, blues, silvers and pine cones. The cake was made by one of the guests. It was three tiers with each tier being a different cake. The stationery which included pumpkin carriage seals was also provided by one of the guests – Sophie.

During the reception there was a video montage of photos of their guests through the years. In the evening they had a Christmas choir and pianist. Everyone was singing along with Rob and Caroline duetting “..but thankfully the choir kept on singing with us, drowning out our less-than-choir-standard voices.”

We asked what their highlights were –

“The whole day was amazing. Rob’s highlight (apart from his first sight of Caroline) was giving his groom’s speech. He really enjoyed being able to have a moment where no-one was talking except him. Caroline’s highlight was listening to Rob’s speech, as he was so witty.” Guess who wrote the last sentence. “The whole day was perfect. Seeing all our friends and family in one place. Getting ready with my Bridesmaids, wearing an amazing dress and feeling fabulous. Having an epic party and of course legally binding Rob to me. He can’t escape now!”

Their advice for other couples planning their wedding day?

For the groom – “Marry a girl who loves planning and be prepared to take an interest in flower arrangements.”
For the bride – “The groom isn’t interested in flower arrangements. He’s only pretending because he loves you so much.”

The DJ – Celebration Roadshow – kept everyone on the dance floor while we slipped away before our carriage turned into a pumpkin.

 “Kevin and Carol were fantastic and put us both at ease. We did a pre-wedding shoot with Kevin which, on top of the great photos made us much more comfortable in front of the camera. They were both very friendly and allowed us to portray the real us.”

See more winter weddings