Sally & Ian's Wedding Story
How Did You Meet?
We first met five years ago, separated by the solent. For a year we took it in turns to visit each other every weekend. We hit it off right away and in just over a year, Sally joined Ian in Bournemouth with her son, Jack.
The Proposal
We had been together for around 4 and a half years. On a weekend alone together, we went on a seemingly spontaneous walk, starting at Lulworth Cove and following the coast to Mupe Bay. A fairly challenging walk with one of us not being great with heights and the fear of the dog wanting to potentially jump into the sea from the cliffs, but the views were spectacular. On the way back, Ian proposed.
Why Did You Choose The Montagu Arms For Your Special Day?
Ian’s dog, Skyler is very much part of the family. We knew we wanted an intimate ceremony with just family and a couple of close friends, and of course the dog! We knew we liked the New Forest but had never actually visited Beaulieu. When The Montagu Arms popped up on an online search we right away knew we had to visit. It was the second venue we visited and we knew right away we needed to look no further. We fell in love with the building and the grounds, both commenting that it was very “Poirot”, but the staff really made it. When we visited with Jack, he was treated like an absolute gentleman and nothing was too much trouble, including the sudden addition of our puppy, Alfie, who also joined us on the day.
The Flowers
We did not give too much thought into a colour scheme, it really just came together on it’s own. Sally’s shoes had pink flowers on, Ian had pink in his suit (not planned, it just turned out that way) and Jack was adamant he wanted a blue bow tie. After searching for inspiration, we found a colour combination we liked and really left it down to Jo, of Jo Hicks Flowers and we couldn’t have been more pleased. The flower bouquet is now being preserved by The Flower Preservation Studio.
The Food
The food was incredible. So much so, Jack even opted to join us with the adult menu rather than sausage and chips! For the starter we went for the Salmon and Cod Fishcakes, main we upgraded to the Roast Fillet of Beef and desert was the Caramelised Lemon Tarlet with Blackcurrant Sorbet. We had a number of vegan guests who were also catered for no problem. The food was presented beautifully, the staff were extremely attentive and everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meals.
The Wedding Cake
We gave Specialiaty Cakes, Dorset, pretty much free reign with the cake. We liked the art deco style (back to Poirot!) and wanted it to be more of a celebration of becoming a family, so we all had a theme to incorporate into it – Sally chose David Bowie, Ian chose Ranger’s Football Club and Jack chose a computer game called Among Us.
We can't fault anything at all on our day, or indeed the planning leading up to it. We enjoyed a wonderful two night stay, the dogs were not left out of anything and enjoyed their treat baskets which were waiting for them along with beds when we arrived and Jack felt included in everything, the staff certainly helped with keeping him entertained! We are very much looking forward to many anniversary stays at The Montagu Arms in the years to come and of course a few afternoon teas!
