Mark & Georgina’s Wedding at Thicket Priory

Mark and Georgina’s Thicket Priory wedding embodies everything we love in an October wedding: a simple yet stunning long-sleeved bridal gown, seasonal florals in a rich and vibrant colour palette, a yummy ‘cheese’ cake, and super fun sparkler and champagne pop photos when the sun goes down. Not to mention their adorable fur baby, Logan, who came along for the ride—and stole many hearts in the proceedings (mine included!).

I’m handing over to groom Mark to tell their story today. He highlights that despite the undeniable wow-factor venue (Thicket Priory is such a beaut!), it was the exceptional team who made their day(s) truly extraordinary and I couldn’t agree more. Congrats, Team Thicket, for hosting yet another totally dreamy wedding!

Mark says…

From the moment the magnificent Grade II listed Victorian building came into view when we first drove down the grand approach, we knew that Thicket Priory was the dream venue for our wedding day. After the initial jaw-dropping moment from seeing the beautiful venue and grounds for the first time, things only got better upon meeting Anna who instantly put us at ease. We knew at this point we couldn’t wish to be in better hands. Throughout the whole experience, Anna and her team were impeccably organised, professional, and had a damn good laugh as well, which made the entire experience so enjoyable. Weddings are meant to be one of the most stressful experiences of your life, and Anna and her team ensured our experience was anything but. Despite Thicket’s obvious wow factor, the people working here make the experience truly special.

Dotty Bridal was used for G’s dress, Ted Baker for her bridesmaids, Edit Suits for my suit, and Moss Bros for the groomsmen and fathers of the bride and groom. My main thoughts were just around autumnal colours and all our wedding party feeling comfortable. We just wanted a nice and relaxed vibe and told our guests to wear whatever they were comfortable with. If someone had turned up in trackies or active wear, it would’ve been applauded.

The colour scheme came from our love of autumn and wintery vibes. However, we trusted all of our suppliers completely, and we gave them (especially Bethan, the florist, who absolutely smashed it) full artistic reign, so we can’t take much credit for anything other than our love for South Park on the table decorations, which turned out surprisingly well in the end.

Our florist was Bethan from Bureau Botany. After our initial consultation with her, we were so confident in her that we just allowed her free reign on the flowers and the arrangement; we just helped to pick the colours. Bethan was amazing, and her work ended up wowing everyone; she even did some foraging on the way to the venue to add to the arrangement. She also did all the candles and captured the mood we were after.

Our cake was a four-tiered cheesecake from Field & Fawcett. I can never remember eating traditional wedding cake, so we wanted to do something different. And who doesn’t love cheese and crackers? The cake was tiered with a Cornish Yarg, Delice de Bourgogne, Colston Bassett and Chaource; all were absolutely sublime and went down a treat with the guests.

Purple Chilli were used for our catering and came in last minute to save the day. We didn’t get much time to work with them but we always felt like we were in fantastic hands with Sarah and her team. The food and service on the day were exemplary; everything was delicious and beautifully presented. I think every one of our guests was blown away with the standard of the food at the wedding breakfast and the evening food, the latter was a great success, and I clocked numerous people running around with about three bags worth of our McDonalds-themed burgers. The front-of-house staff on the day was absolutely delightful; everyone was always smiling and happily interacting with us and our guests.

Ash, Monkeymole, seemed like a laid-back and chilled guy, so we clicked straight away. G and I are a pair of awkward beans and dreadful in front of the camera, so we wanted someone who would bring some fun to the photography and not make it a mundane part of the day. Ash was great, he captured every moment without us even realising he was there whilst bringing a great vibe throughout the whole day. From the stunning portraits to the candid shots of Grandma Rita busting a move on the dance floor, Ashley nailed it all.

We also used a videographer, Lou, from Rather Lovely Films, whom Ash recommended as they regularly work together. The chemistry between the two was great, making them an absolutely perfect match in capturing the photos and videos together. Lou made us feel at ease and captured all the special moments with grace and artistry, and the teaser video looked like something out of a Hollywood movie. Lou and Ash added so much laughter to the day; it was an absolute pleasure to work with them and share it with them.

Best part of the day

Besides getting to marry our soulmates in such a magical venue, countless memories will last a lifetime for us and our guests. The team at Thicket were very adaptable to any idea and request we had for our big day and would move heaven and earth to make our dream day a reality. We even shared the day with our fur baby, Logan, and we couldn’t have imagined our wedding day without him. The team also provided lots of ideas and inspiration for our wedding day, the friends of Thicket is a great starting place on the website, and without it, we wouldn’t have discovered the likes of Chloe from India Rose Strings, who were absolutely incredible on the day and received no end of compliments from our guests.

One of our best memories was simply sitting back and enjoying how smoothly the day ran after all the effort put into planning. It gave us immense pleasure just to look around the room and see all our guests completely at ease in the magnificent surroundings and having a blast. The fact that guests can stay on-site with you at Thicket is a great touch and another big reason why we chose the venue.

There were countless more memories, such as having the wedding bells ring after the ceremony when we were doing our confetti run and the intimacy of being able to use the small Jefferson room for our legal ceremony before our celebrant ceremony in the Morning Room, which were all special in their own right and helped to make memories that will last a lifetime.

From one couple to another…

The personalised service you get at Thicket is second to none. The team at Thicket makes the service feel heartfelt and personal—so much so that we now class them as friends.

Unlike other weddings we’ve attended, the day after the big day, we were still unbelievably well attended to and felt like the number one priority. Once our guests had checked out, we weren’t rushed out of the venue and were allowed all the time we wanted to walk around, soak in the grounds, and even unwind with the Thicket team with a celebratory beer. There’s no churning out of weddings, making the whole experience feel more intimate and that extra bit special.

What an honour and a true privilege to have been allowed to use Thicket for the biggest day of our lives! We are unbelievably jealous of all the couples who have weddings at Thicket to look forward to. For anyone still looking for a venue, don’t hesitate to choose Thicket; it will surpass all your expectations.