Jo and Neil’s magical wedding

Neil and Jo worked together for three years and became good friends long before they started dating. Two years later they took a holiday to magical Seefeld in Austria to celebrate their anniversary. Every day they passed a jeweller’s shop in the hotel lobby and admired the rings in the window. During a romantic carriage ride around the lake, Neil asked Jo to marry him and, afterwards, they went straight to the little jeweller to buy a ring.

They wanted a venue that was not too far for friends and family to travel, so they visited one of West Tower’s monthly open evenings. As soon as they walked through the door, they knew it was the winter wonderland wedding venue for them.

“We loved that West Tower is an old manor house full of character but also so light and bright. The real selling point for us was that we would have the whole place to ourselves for the full day.” – Jo

Style of the day

With their wedding so close to Christmas, they knew they had to embrace a festive theme. They created the most magical setting with enchanted trees, a floral arch and lanterns, turning West Tower into a true winter wonderland.

Keeping to the theme, they gave personalised wooden tree decorations and bottle stoppers in hessian sacks as favours. For the children, they hung Christmas stockings behind their chairs to keep them entertained throughout the day.

From the very beginning, Jo dreamt of wearing a Justin Alexander gown on her wedding day. She visited many shops and tried on many dresses, but none compared to the very first one. In the end, she chose the first dress she had tried in the very first boutique.

She wore drop earrings and a delicate hair vine, while her rose gold sparkly Jimmy Choo shoes, a gift from her mum, were far more comfortable than she expected.

The wedding

Jo was delighted when she found a pianist on Instagram, as live piano music was something she had always wanted for her walk down the aisle. His white baby grand piano in front of the Christmas tree was perfect for their West Tower winter wonderland wedding. Kissing You by Des’ree played as she walked into the Ballroom with her dad.

Welcome drinks and canapés were served in the Cellar Bar while the Ballroom was quickly transformed for their wedding breakfast. They chose to have speeches before the meal so Neil and his brother, who was best man, could relax and enjoy their food once the nerves had gone.

Later, as everyone gathered around the dancefloor, Jo and Neil were given a fabulous introduction to start the evening. They chose Frankie Valli’s Can’t Take My Eyes Off You as their first dance and the chorus was a big hit, with guests singing along and instantly putting the couple at ease.

Light bites of pizza, fish and chips and sausage barms were served alongside festive treats, including gingerbread men made by West Tower’s pastry chef. Their sweet cart was a big hit all night.

“It couldn’t have been more magical, we both wish we could do it all over again. West Tower go above and beyond and I can’t recommend them enough to anyone.” – Jo

Suppliers

• Dress Puure Bride
• Menswear Burton & Tie Room
• Venue dressing Flower Design Events, Brides Little Helper
• Cake Vanilla Nova Cake Boutique
• Photographer Emma Bilsborough Photography
• Entertainment Craig Smith Music, Steve Mitchell DJ

If Neil and Jo’s West Tower winter wonderland wedding has inspired you, we would love to welcome you for a viewing or to one of our open events.