F & S’s Wedding – The Dairy

It’s a crisp April morning with a promise of dry skies. I’m going to The Dairy, a wedding venue within Waddesdon Manor near Aylesbury. Waddesdon Manor was built by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild between 1874 and 1885 to display his collection of arts and to entertain the fashionable world. Opened to the public in 1959, Waddesdon Manor is managed by the Rothschild Foundation, a family charitable trust, on behalf of the National Trust, which took over ownership in 1957. It’s home to the Rothschild paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts collections.

Today, I’m assisting Ruth Williams, director and head designer of Eventaholics.  Alongside assistants Symone and Sherene, we’ll be prepping with Chiavari chairs on the Terrace for the wedding ceremony by the lake. The view from the Terrace is stunning, made even more so by Victoria and her team from Ivy Amelia Florals, who are complicated at creating a meadow of pastel flowers encasing and entwining one of the two Pavilions.

With the chairs in place, Sherene and I set up the tables for the wedding breakfast. The couple has chosen exceptional crockery and cutlery from Duchess & Butler. Victoria tops each table with bud vases, candelabras with baby blue candles, and votive candle holders. It looks special—I cannot imagine this bride not being wowed by her ‘First Look’. 

The bride and her wedding party are having photos taken at “The Wedding Cake”.  The ‘Cake’ is a 12-metre-tall ceramic sculptural pavilion in the form of a three-tiered cake from celebrated Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos. It is worth the trip to The Dairy if you dream of a fairytale wedding folly. Where better than holding it in front of “The Wedding Cake”? It’s everything a frothy, pastel wedding needs.

The Dairy is in Mach 10 mode, with Zeal Photography, Ben Ankobiah videographer, Robbie Roberts pianist, DJ Scarta, and Jumping Jockey bar staff starting their set-up. The competing cacophony of sounds builds to a crescendo to signal the beginning of the wedding ceremony.  

The Groom and Groomsmen are in the Winter Garden, and the Bridal party awaits their call. The pianist starts the wedding march. The Groom confidently makes his way to the Pavilion for the wedding blessing. The bridesmaids follow behind, and the bride, all chic in an off-the-shoulder, fitted ivory dress with a cathedral veil with detail, calmly makes her way down the Terrace to meet her future Husband.  

As the wedding party, showered with cream petals, makes its way to the South Hall for canapes and cocktails and the Bride and Groom retire to a private room for their Civil Ceremony, we start the turnaround by setting up the chairs from the Terrace in the West Hall for the wedding breakfast.  

What a wonderful wedding for two such beautiful people! I’ll definitely recommend The Dairy to my future couples. Thank you, Ruthie, for the opportunity to work alongside you; it’s been a ball.