Rebecca and Patrick’s Heartwarming October Wedding

It’s an honour to be at the heart of one of the most special days in a couple’s life. Weddings celebrate the lifelong commitment two people make to one another, and with the amount of flexibility our venue offers, the possibilities to add personal touches tailored to your dream wedding are limitless.

Rebecca and Patrick made their wedding day as personal as possible, sharing their love story with their guests, including playful nods to their first date and their shared love of escape rooms—where Patrick proposed. Here’s their heartwarming wedding story…

Choosing a wedding venue is no easy feat. And while it’s often thought that a couple chooses the venue, sometimes the venue chooses them. Rebecca shared, “From the moment we arrived at Southdowns, it had an indescribable vibe to it. From walking in to cheery hellos, and being treated like individuals rather than just another couple in a wedding factory, every interaction we had was positive, and by the time we had finished walking around, we just knew that it was the place we were going to get married! We spoke to Natalie before we left to secure our date and went away with a real feeling of elation.”

We Loved Every Second

Wedding planning is often seen as stressful, but at Southdowns Manor, we aim to prove otherwise. Rebecca and Patrick shared, “It was truly the most perfect day—everything went so smoothly, and that was down to Lucy and the team at Southdowns Manor.”

“We couldn’t fault anything and had the most amazing, stress-free time while planning and on the day. The cake knife was such a special extra, as was the card and all of the little bits in our room. It really was absolutely magical, and we loved every second of our special day!”

The Theme

We love seeing how our couples make their big day personal to their unique love story. Rebecca and Patrick had brilliant ideas to showcase meaningful wedding elements: “We were getting married in autumn and wanted a unique feel that really reflected us and our love story. We love escape rooms, and Patrick proposed in one, so we wanted to include an element of that within our wedding favours, as well as sharing elements of our relationship with our friends and family. We chose our favourite songs as a couple, which allowed us to share more about our relationship, and made sure to include mini golf as that was our first date!”

The Styling

Rebecca looked stunning in a mermaid-style gown with delicate lace and tulle detailing. Her bridesmaids’ teal dresses beautifully complimented the elegant styling of the day.

Patrick wore a smart teal three-piece suit, standing out from his groomsmen and the other men in the wedding party. The teal tones contrasted beautifully with the golden and orange hues of the autumnal foliage surrounding our grounds.

When it came to florals, Rebecca shared, “We had natural flowers with roses, bunny tails, eucalyptus, and a variety of other flowers that complemented our teal theme. They were stunning, and Sally, our florist, knew exactly what we wanted, even when we didn’t quite know ourselves!”

The personal finishing touches extended to the couple’s cake: “We had a three-tier ombré cake that matched our teal colour scheme, and even had our cat in pride of place on it. We chose three flavours; red velvet, chocolate, and vanilla, and everyone commented on how delicious it was! Trula, our cake maker, really made our vision come alive!”

Photography and Videography

Rebecca and Patrick put a great deal of thought into selecting the perfect photographer: “We met Dan Akerman at the open day, and he was the first photographer we met and spoke to. We didn’t really know what we wanted, but nothing too staged or formal. He made us feel so at ease and comfortable with him and his style, and the way he uses light in his photos, that we wanted to book him on the spot! We didn’t want to rush our decision though and went and met with a few other photographers, who were all lovely but didn’t fit our style and make us feel as at ease as Dan did. So we booked him, and as they say, the rest is history. He was amazing, and we are over the moon with our photos, and our photo album is on its way to us!”

The couple also hired a videographer to capture even more memories of their big day. “We met Tony from D&T Videography on our first visit to Southdowns, and at the time we were on the fence about filming. We watched a wedding that had been shot the previous year, and it had an amazing moment when the bride’s dad saw her for the first time, and we just knew we had to have that moment!” said Rebecca.

She added, “Just like everything else about our day, the final videos did not disappoint, and we can now relive our amazing day over and over. We would not hesitate to hire them as they made us feel so at ease throughout the day and managed to capture everything we wanted and more!”

Standout Moments

Reflecting on their wedding day, Rebecca and Patrick shared, “We honestly couldn’t pick as the day was just so full of happiness; however, the moment we first saw each other at the beginning of the ceremony was really something special, as well as officially becoming husband and wife.”

Exceeding Expectations

When asked what advice they would give to other couples looking to tie the knot at Southdowns Manor, they said, “Do it! We just knew that Southdowns Manor was the venue for us, and it lived

up to our expectations and beyond! The approved suppliers were all incredible, and the fact they know the venue and staff makes everything run so smoothly.”

Three cheers for Mr. and Mrs. Coppins!