Play.Eat.Laugh.Sleep..Pickwell: M and M's Wedding

Tuesday 4 October 2011

M and M's Wedding

What a weekend to have a wedding. Who would have thought we would have a heat wave at the beginning of October? Well, it really was a gorgeous wedding and not just because of the weather. Mathew and Marianne have such wonderful friends who rallied around to help make it such a brilliant weekend.

The flowers were by Derryn at Twigs Florist, Barnstaple. These fantastic urns really set off the entrance to the ballroom.

These beautiful arrangements were the central feature of the tables. With the eucolyptus they smelt wonderful.

The bridesmaids and their husbands spent all of Thursday making these delicious cupcakes as the wedding cake and tiny cupcakes for the wedding favours. Each cake had an M and M to decorate the top, cute. The boys in particular showed quite a flare for icing and even became quite possessive over the task!

The boys play a morning game of cricket in the sunshine on the tennis court to calm the nerves.

Also to calm the nerves the ushers requested a pint of Doom bar for the groom. One of the lovely ushers took this photo of Richard spiking the keg. I was holding the towel to guard the wall from beer spray, however it leapt over the towel and drenched me in Doom bar, giving me the faint aroma of a street drinker, mmmm nice!! Oh how he laughed!!

I loved the groom’s button hole, well done Derryn.

mmm, delicious canapés.

Not forgetting the 'gluten free' guest who had her own specially prepared canapés, she was ever so pleased.

Dinner is served; I loved the look of the vegetarian starter.

The bridal bouquet in a vase on the sideboard made a stunning statement in the hall.

It was a truly magnificent day celebrating love, friendship, food and family. The evening was topped off with delicious bacon rolls, cooked in the candle lit courtyard by Lee (Chef) on the BBQ. Who can resist the smell of sizzling bacon......Mouth watering! Then they danced the night away to their great band, the lead singer of which was Marianne's very talented friend from university.

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Our Story

Many people have asked what the story is, how did the Bakers and Elliotts come to be at Pickwell?

Are you sitting comfortably?

Tracey and Susannah became friends at 6th form college. Steve and Tracey lived in the same village in Sussex. Steve's dad was the vicar and Tracey's dad was Steve's scout leader. Even more wierd, Susannah's dad (also a church minister) and Steve's dad were friends, but Steve and Sus never met.

One summer Tracey took Susannah along to a youth summer camp. Steve was one of the leaders (read : heightened attraction) and a little later Steve and Sus got together. During their 6 on/off years they met Richard, a blue eyed boy from Guildford.

At a club night run by Steve, somehow through the dark and crowded room, Tracey and Richard bumped into eachother (if you have seen the shapes they pull on the dancefloor you would know how easily this happened)..

In the year 2000 they all got married. Tracey and Susannah were eachother's bridesmaids. They have remained firm friends ever since.

When Steve and Susannah came across Pickwell Manor, they knew they couldn't manage such a project on their own. They asked the Elliotts if they would give up their house, their jobs and their community to come and live and work with them and own the project together. They knew there weren't many people they could ask to do such a thing knowing they would still love each other by the end. So they all left everything in Sussex and came to Devon.

They moved on the same day in August 2008. It has been a crazy, wonderful, scary, emotional and beautiful experience so far. All of them would say they feel very ALIVE!

Since they moved they have run 51 successful and wonderful weddings (with more to come), many, many holidays, built or totally refurbished 6 apartments from scratch, updated carpets, painted white throughout, put in quite a few kitchens and bathrooms (including 2 baths on concrete plinths), changed much of the furniture, converted a laundry and have started to convert the chapel. Every year they also have a bonfire gathering in October, an Easter Eggstravaganza fundraising event, and anything else that is not-for-profit that they can fit in. Tracey has completed a dissertation and gone back to nursing for 2 days a week, Steve has started up a new company in London, Richard has mastered a lot of the running of the house as well as training as a coach, specialising in stress management, Sus has taken on the interiors and Tracey and Susannah have learnt weddings in at the deep end! All with 4 young Pickwellians by their sides.

"Our passion is for making life count. Our values lie in
friendship, celebration, valuing others, and social justice. We see Pickwell as a reflection of these things but also a place for rest, recouperation, laughter and conversation. We want to support charities and social enterprises to fufil their dreams and make a difference."

"We love Devon, we love the community here, we love seeing our children grow with nature and discovering the great outdoors. We have to pinch ourselves sometimes when we think about our life here, it is amazing".