The Countdown Is On ...
The Ceremony & Venue
We shall be saying our vows in the wonderful surroundings of the arbor at Alnwick Garden, weather permitting. The arbor is to the left of the grand fountain as you approach it, passing through the pavilion.
If the weather is inclement, then we shall be saying our vows in the pavilion itself, which is also where the wedding breakfast and reception will take place.
The garden is open to the public during the ceremony and part of the wedding reception, but once it closes, our friends and family will have exclusive access to the grounds.
The ceremony is a civil ceremony, followed by a short blessing by Rev. Brett Vallis, who along with his family are close friends of ours
Why We Love Alnwick
Lyndsey has always loved Alnwick due to her love of books (she's a big fan of Barter Books) and has many happy memories of visiting the gardens with Jasmine.
Our first Christmas together, she made Andy an 'Experience Christmas' advent calendar (he wasn't as big a fan of Christmas as she is!) and planned Andy's first adventure to Alnwick.
During that first trip together, we made sure Andy was fed at Barter Books so he couldn't complain he was hungry while we visited the garden to experience the Christmas lights trail and then dined in the Treehouse.
Andy was hooked, so of course, when it came to choosing a wedding venue, Alnwick was always going to be on the list!
Planning To Join Us
Hotels & Accomodation
We are stAYING at the Cookie Jar hotel In alnwick and have a block of rooms reserved. If you want to join us there, call them on +44 (0)1665 510 465 or email them via. [email protected] Simply MENTION IT IS FOR THE FOX JACKSON WEDDING BOOKED FOR 2ND AND 3RD OCTOBER.
There is all sorts of OTHER LOVELY ACCOMODATION options IN THE AREA but one's we've visited are:
EVEANNALEISURE.CO.UK - A Loverly b&b just near the gardens (and Barter books!) which we've stayed in before and a location where andy strongly recommends the breakfast.
The Hogs Head Inn - a chain pub next to the a1 service station that is reasonably priced and looks like it does a lovely sunday dinner. we've called in here for coffee a few times and it seems like a nice place.
market tavern - Another lovely pub style hotel (you can tell there's a theme here!) where we have had a cracking sunday dinner in the past. We really loved how friendly the whole team were when we went.
The White Swan - We've briefly passed through here but plan to visit again as they have the dining room the titanic's sister boat which looks like a lot of fun for a meal.
Can Children Come?
we've decided to make our wedding day an adults-only affair. This isn't a decision we've made lightly, but it allows us to plan a day that's a bit more tailored to an adult audience and hopefully allows our nearest and dearest a mini break to recharge.
If you simply can't leave the kids behind, then let us know and we will work something out.
The Invite Is Just Addressed To Me, Can I Bring A Plus One?
As the venue can only cater to a certain number of guests, we've had to be strict with our guest list and so, have focused on inviting those who have been an important part of our lives rather than additional plus ones..
We hope this doesn't cause any inconvenience and we can't wait to celebrate this special day with you. We will make sure you are sat with like minded friends, and have plenty of entertainment planned to help you meet new friends you weren't expecting to discover too.
Booking A Taxi In Advance For The Evening
If you let us know when you RSVP where you are stopping, we will try and book taxi's for everyone who is heading to the same hotel to make things a bit easier.
alternatively we've popped a list of taxi's below that Alnwick Gardens Recommends.
The Night Before
Feast With
Friends
If you are traveling up the night before our wedding and staying locally, please let us know if you would like to join us for a feast with friends the evening before our wedding.
We decided to host a buffet (feast!) the night before the wedding at our hotel, The Cookie Jar, in Alnwick. With all of our friends gathering early, we figured, why not get some extra time to catch up!
When you RSVP, let us know if you want to join us because we'd love to spend some extra time with you.
On The Big Day When It Finally Arrives
Parking
The venue is happy to allow overnight parking in the main carpark, but asks that guests return to the gardens to remove their vehicles as soon as is reasonable the next day.
As you approach the Gardens from the town centre you turn left into the main Carpark.
Security are often present, please let them know you are a wedding guest and they will ensure you are directed to parking that is only a few metres away form the Pavilion itself.
The Menu
When you RSVP, let us know if you have any special dietary requirements or allergies.
While we'd love to say that we have the menu all planned, we don't.
But we do have a booking to go taste test the options in July, as you can imagine Andy is VERY excited about this part of wedding planning.
Timing wise, we will roughly be eating the wedding breakfast between 4.30/ 5pm for a start time with the evening meal being served at around 9pm.
we know the service at 2 - 2.30pm that it means you will probably be wanting an early lunch and wanted to let you know so you can plan accordingly. lyndsey always says its like having a toddler again having to remember to plan food 'stops' for andy so we could hardly leave this info out of our wedding plan.
Dress Code
Please join us in cocktail or smart attire.
Our ceremony is set to be outdoors, weather permitting, followed by an indoor ceilidh. feel free to pick shoes that dance as well as they dazzle!
Get Your Dancing Shoes On For The Ceildh
Bring a change of shoes or just wear comfy ones because, our evening entertainment is a ceildh.
Don't worry if you can't dance, they will tell us all how to do the steps so we can have fun and learn together.
And if you think you can escape by wearing the wrong shoes, we see you... and have packed flipflops so no excuses.
If you wish to give us a gift
More than anything, we want your presence at our wedding, but if you would like to give us a gift, then please gift us memories by adding to our honey moon experience.
We've got two homes and an office (and attic!) full of things and as you might have gathered we are both really good at filling our lives with projects and 'things' so a break away and filling it with memories is really the best gift of all.
we'd say we have our honey moon all planned out but you know us... we are too busy to get A chance to plan so we are going to pop everything down in the honeymoon section below to keep ourselves accountable for putting ourselves at the top of our to-do list. both OF us are really bad at prioritising ourselves.
Honeymoon Plans
TBC!
We've booked flights to London and Back, but not for our final destination.
it could be iceland or canada or the usa, we just haven't decided.
