Carey and Nick got married at South Farm on the border of Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire on Easter Monday. It was snowing in the morning and we were worried about the weather. Luckily it was sunny in the afternoon - still it was quite cold.

I love this quirky litlle venue that Carey and Nick chose for their wedding, its old farmhouse, the rusting steam engine, animal enclosure and peacocks.

For shoe funs - sorry I didn’t photograph them this time as the coverage started with Nick getting ready:

Ready:

The rings

Guests arriving:

Carey and her dad after a chat with the registrar:

The ceremony:

Outside gypsy vans in the courtyard:

It was so cold outside that we decided to stay in for the bride and groom’s session.

Carey’s bouquet decorated with ferns:

On the way back to the guests:

Wedding breakfast room is set:

Wedding cake that continued the theme set by Carey’s bouquet and Nick’s buttonhole:

Wedding breakfast:

Jessica (the only baby attending) smiling:

I bought a Living North 2008 wedding supplement last week which listed lots of wedding venues in the North East, mostly Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and Durham County.

As one does, I kept pestering John by showing him various pictures - “Can we go there on Sunday? Can we have a look? Please, please, please…” Finally, after three days of strategic seige, he agreed.

Most castles are closed until spring but the ad for the Alnwick Garden caught our eye. We googled it - unlike the Alnwick Castle the garden is open all year around. Apparently you can have your wedding ceremony in the Pavillion and a drink reception overlooking the Grande Cascade on the Pavillion terrace. You can dance under the stars and have your photos taken in the gardens. We decided to check it out and set out at 2pm so that we can catch a bit of the golden hour on arrival.

A view as we entered the walled garden through the Pavillion:

The Grand Cascade:

Detail:

One of the water features symmentrically framing the cascade:

If you are a lover of roses don’t visit this place when it’s cold - you’ll only see the labelled stalks. But we were told that in the winter you would have a better chance to appreciate the exposed structures of the Garden and we were not disappointed:

Entrance to the Ornamental Garden:

The Venetian gates above are 500 yers old and were bought as antiques by the 4th duke of Northumberland.

Although most of the plants were still asleep we were greeted by a wonderful aroma of herbs from the miniature hedges:

Some plants were already in bloom:

The most spectacular features of this garden in winter are the crabtree branches intricately trained around wooden structures. Little apples looked like cherries:

The Garden was closing at 4pm so we had to make our way out and went to see the famous Treehouse bathing in the low winter sun. It’s one of the largest treehouses in the world and you can hire it for your wedding reception/breakfast. I think it can fit in up to 90 people.

A view up from the walkway:

Walking on a rocking rope bridge was fun:

Here’s John balancing on the rope bridge:

On the way back we stopped at one of the viewing platforms overlooking the grounds of the adjacent Alnwick Castle (it will re-open on 20 March):

It was a really-really lovely Sunday afternoon! I’d better start working on John for our next mystery North East trip…