ABBEY HOUSE GARDENS WEDDING IN MALMESBURY, WILTSHIRE
A relaxed DIY wedding held at the Abbey House Gardens in Malmesbury, followed by a reception at the Malmesbury Town Hall.
Abbey House Gardens is just the most perfect spot for a wedding, and here’s why;
- You can have up to 170 guests
- They have SO many different rooms, and can literally cater for a wedding as tiny as 10 and as big as 170!
- Everyone can stay in Malmesbury and walk to the venue – how great is that?
- There are so many different spots to entertain your guests and have your ceremony – from gardens to historic rooms.
- The garden is 5.5 acres – perfect for kids and family to run around!
- Lisa & Christy chose to have their ceremony at the Belvedere room, which worked so well for their ceremony especially since it was a bit chilly outside!
- You can also use the Library and The Panelled Room – which we used for some of Lisa & Christy’s photos.
MALMESBURY WEDDING VENUE
Lisa and Christy, friends of ours, got engaged on a relaxed Saturday when Christy passed some hot sauce over to Lisa with a ring around the lid. They knew they didn’t want a long engagement, but wanted a big, easy, fun wedding with their family and friends. And above all Christy insisted that the main meal be homemade lasagna!
Their whole wedding took place across a couple blocks of Malmesbury, Wiltshire where Lisa grew up and came together with everyone playing a part. Lisa’s mum picked the dried country flowers they used for their table decorations, a friend flew in to officiate, and countless freezers were home to trays of frozen lasagna.
Christy and Lisa snuck a kiss while she put the finishing touches to the playlists, just before she got into her Oxfam second hand dress and did her own make up. Keeping things simple meant that her time getting ready was calm, quiet and exactly as she wanted it to be.
For the ceremony at the Abbey House Gardens, Lisa got all the kids to walk down the aisle first, followed by her and her brother. Getting legally married the day before, they were able to have a friend officiate, say their own vows and have their own readings done. It also meant they got to squeeze in a joke about their height difference just before their first kiss!
As they walked out of the ceremony, they snuck another kiss and instead of doing a receiving line (when everyone hugs, kisses and congratulates you), they decided to get behind the bar and serve everyone champagne! This subtle act of service was such a lovely way for them to get to greet everyone attending.
MALMESBURY TOWN HALL WEDDING
On their way to the reception, lighted by sparklers and followed by guests, they crossed the one block to Malmesbury Town Hall to have their reception. Greeting all their guests again, they told people to sit wherever took their fancy – no seating charts and no head table. The hall had been decorated by all their friends and family the night before with Lisa’s DIY fabric bunting and a ‘Till Death Do Us Party’ banner draped across the arches.
After everyone had their fair share of lasagne (with hot sauce available, of course), dancing began with a limbo pole – hands down one of the best additions to a dance floor I’ve seen! After sneaking outside for a breather and a night time shot – we left them dancing & away while we walked the few metres to our accommodation grateful to have spent the day capturing and celebrating our friends.
