Marc and Rachel Littlefair's Perfect Wedding

Where did your wedding take place, why did you choose that venue, and how big was your wedding party?

Our wedding took place at The Swan at Streatley, in Berkshire. There were several reasons why we chose The Swan, the hotel is right by the river so it is a lovely setting, and more unusually we could get married on their Victorian barge. We were lucky enough to have eaten in their restaurant before so we knew their food was delicious!



The wedding party was made up of 40 family members and close friends for the ceremony and wedding breakfast, with 60 more joining us for a larger celebration in the evening.



Did you have a theme for your wedding, and what sort of look and feel did you want to create?

We wanted a laid back wedding so went for a simple look with a green and white colour scheme, and a dress code of sharp suits and fabulous frocks.



Please tell us about the running order and format of your day, including details of any live music or entertainment.

The day started at 12.15 pm with music provided by a brass quintet to entertain our guests, until the ceremony at 12.30 pm.



The wedding ceremony itself took about half an hour, although it only seemed like a couple of minutes had passed before we stepped off the barge as husband and wife.



The next hour was spent sipping champagne and eating canapés whilst the brass quintet played and our photographer, Richard Melhuish, snapped away. Then we went into Cygnetures restaurant for our wedding breakfast.



The wedding breakfast lasted for almost three hours, filled with delicious food, a touching and funny speech from the father of the bride, and finished off with coffee and cake.


 
After this our guests were invited to play some garden games or take the opportunity to be skippered down the river on one of the hotel’s launches. There were some tense moments whilst we played Jenga, as it really did look like the laws of physics were being broken a few times!



At 7.00 pm our evening guests arrived, and it wasn't long until the band Live Lounge played our first dance.



The female vocalists in Live Lounge have such amazing voices that some of the guests said they couldn't bring themselves to dance and ruin the song! They really were amazing and the lead singer sounded far better than many artists that are in the charts.



How big an impact did live entertainment have on your wedding day and would you recommend it to others?

The live entertainment we had really helped to make our day more special. I don't think anything can beat live music, and would thoroughly recommend it to everyone.
 


What were your favourite moments of the day?

There were so many it is hard to narrow it down! I would say the look on Marc's face when I entered the barge, the moment we were pronounced married by the registrar, when I got to hold a French horn in my wedding dress (I'm a French horn player so it meant a lot!), and being announced as “Mr and Mrs” for the first time.



What pearls of wisdom or words of advice would you extend to future brides/grooms who are planning their perfect wedding?

Firstly, make sure to take time to enjoy the day, it goes so quickly! Secondly, good live music isn't as expensive as you think. I had almost resigned myself to an iPod and speakers but then found Live Lounge who exceeded our expectations, and cost less than you would think.