Matt and El’s romantic, relaxed and rather entertaining wedding ceremony was held at Mount Edgcumbe House on Friday 22 July 2022…
…. And it was a celebration of a beautiful relationship based firmly on a shared love of swing dance, art and design, 60s music, board games and sci-fi films!
Matt and El – just thinking about their big day makes us smile. Our ‘getting to know you’ chats featured a lot of laughter – we had great fun uncovering the story of how these guys met, and all the adventures they’d enjoyed together; even during the Covid lockdowns, they’d created some very creative and impressive ways to entertain themselves! And so it was wonderfully easy, and enjoyable, to write for them, this was a ceremony which flowed beautifully and had many memorable moments to share and happy times to reflect on. On receiving their first draft, Matt and El told us,”We love it! And we love that it made us laugh out loud!” The celebration was held at Mount Edgcumbe House, one of the most beautiful venues we’ve visited, set in historic stunning grounds overlooking the waters of Plymouth Sound. Matt and El chose the majestic Great Hall for their ceremony, meaning that El, accompanied by dad Mick, bridesmaids Teri and Jade, and bridesman Loyd, could make a dramatic entrance down the steps of the grand staircase, to a piano version of 'As the World Falls Down' by David Bowie – a song from one of the couple’s favourite films.
Nervous Matt was somewhat calmed at the sight of beautiful El, who looked incredible and serene in her Grecian style wedding dress. They both quickly relaxed into the ceremony, which commenced with a wedding ring ritual, in which the wedding rings were passed among the guests in order for them to bless them with all their positive thoughts and good wishes. We will admit to keeping our fingers crossed that after passing among nearly 70 people, the rings would be returned to the best man in time for placing them on Matt and El’s fingers - which fortunately they were! Guests then enjoyed listening to the story of Matt and El’s first meeting at a swing dance class, and an impressive first date during which Matt went in with the Yawn-And-Put-Your-Arm-Over-The-Shoulder-Manoeuver – which many of the guests could relate to, but were surprised that Matt managed to pull this off so well!
The additional highlights included memories of an (unintentionally) hilarious marriage proposal and Matt and El each reading a limerick style poem which they had written for their other half, with unforgettable opening verses including “My El, you are incredibly sweet,
Waking up next to you is a treat,
I love your big eyes,
And your magnificent thighs,
You always make me feel so complete!”
And..
“My Matt you are sweet and so calming Your inquisitive eyes are disarming
I fell for your dancing
Your magnificent prancing
You are truly my gorgeous Prince Charming!”
Move over Shakespeare, we do like an original reading – and it’s even better when the bride and groom have written one for each other, so brownie points all round here!
Thoughtful promises were made to each other (admittedly, with a couple of hiccups and associated giggles) and rings were exchanged; before long, the guests were spilling out into the stunning sunshine to shower Matt and El with confetti. A fabulous reception was enjoyed in the Victorian orangery and the guests were finally treated to some swing dancing from Matt and El – which was filmed and forwarded on to us to enjoy!
The newly weds kindly provided this review:
Lisa was friendly and professional from the outset. It felt like talking to a great friend and she was very good at gently prompting us to do our parts too. She took all our suggestions on board and the day itself was smooth sailing. Lisa wrote a funny, touching and moving ceremony and was patient and humorous when we messed up our lines! We would definitely recommend Lisa to anyone looking to plan their wedding :)
Thank you Mr and Mrs Tomas – we loved you guys! It was a delight to work with in the lead-up, and the ceremony itself was so fun and joyful, definitely one of our favourites of the year – thanks so much for asking us. Now don’t forget- keeeeeeep dancing!!!
All photography by Summit Imagery.