The best day of our lives: The wedding of Alan and Sandra Barrington

The wedding of Alan and Sandra Barrington at Pennsylvania Castle, Isle of Portalnd, Dorset

Photography: Asta and Andy Wicks

The groom: The day was wonderful, absolutely amazing. Most of our guests said it was the best wedding they had ever been to. The castle was absolutely beautiful, and Jo the castle manager and the team worked very hard indeed.

I was worried about the weather, but we were fantastically lucky in that the day turned out to be hot and sunny with very little wind. Better than most of the summer actually!

The best moment for me was when Sandra appeared walking across the terrace on the way to the gazebo. She looked absolutely stunning and beautiful.

There were two funny moments that spring to mind. The first was when Sandra’s nephew Tiago who is only seven was meant to pass the rings. Colin, the best man, put Sandra’s ring on the cushion and when Tiago turned around to pass it to me, he did it a little fast and the ring fell onto the floor. He did the same with my ring, so there we were, scrabbling around on the floor trying to pick the rings up again.

The bride: The day of our wedding was the most amazing day of my life. It’s a shame it went by so quickly! The fact we spent a night there was just so wonderful. It felt like our own castle for a day! It is a day I will remember for the rest of my life.

Jo and Geoff our toastmaster made sure everything went so smoothly so we didn’t have to worry about anything. For me and the bridesmaids, being able to get ourselves ready on the morning of the wedding in the bridal suite was really fun.

A funny moment was when I almost fell before walking down the aisle but my father grabbed me just in time! It was also hilarious when Tiago the ring bearer, dropped the rings twice and we had to hunt around for them.

The best moment of all was when I was feeling incredibly tense, preparing myself to walk down the aisle, and I saw Alan standing there waiting for me with his beautiful smile just looking at me. It was just amazing!

THE DETAILS

Photography: Asta and Andy Wicks, astabarrington.co.uk, andrewicks.co.uk

Venue: Pennsylvania Castle, Portland, Dorset, 01305 820659, thepenn.co.uk

Dress: Cymbeline, Paris, cymbeline.com

Groom: Suit by Ted Baker from Savoy Taylors Guild, Portsmouth, 023 9275 4103, savoytaylorsguild.co.uk

Stationery: All homemade

Catering: Nomad Food, Flowers & Functions, Wareham, Dorset, 01929 551978, nomadfood.co.uk

Cake: Hennis Sweet Treats, Weymouth, Dorset, 01305 319930, hennissweettreats.com

Rings: Allum and Sidaway, Dorchester, 01305 257900, dorchester@allumandsidaway.co.uk

To see more of Alan and Sandra’s wedding photographs see our online gallery or the 2013 issue of Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire BRIDE