Blackwell Grange has been a family home for generations, loved by its owners and steeped in history. Offering an exclusive-use barn wedding venue in a tranquil Cotswolds location, with elegant, contemporary interior design and exceptional attention to detail, Blackwell Grange is a stunningly special place.
The happy couple: Amy Stride, 30, a finance director, and Matthew Stride, 32, a customer support specialist for sports data collection, who are from Sutton Coldfield.
Wedding date: Saturday 9 April 2022
Wedding theme: Simple and classic
Ceremony and reception venue: Blackwell Grange
Photographer: Noel Hibbert of Cotswold Pictures
Videographer: Zeus Films
Flowers: Dawn Keitley
Dress: Wedding Belles of Four Oaks
Groom's outfit: Moss Bros
Catering: Blackwell Grange
Cake: Boutique Baking Company
Rings: Ernest Jones
Entertainment: Harpist Jessica Louise Sutton and DJ Major Entertainment
Favours: Boutique Baking Company
We met online on 16 May 2019.
Matthew, on the doorstep of our first home, on the day we moved in.
Less than eight months!
After searching for a while, we instantly fell in love with Blackwell Grange and knew it was the perfect fit for us.
We wanted to keep everything very simple, as the venue is already so beautiful.
Very much a DIY affair, or as Matthew likes to call it ‘ADA – Amy Did it All’.
‘Only Time’ by Enya.
For our starters, we had Caesar salad with parmesan and herb crusted chicken; our vegan friends had summer vegetable carpaccio with lemon and basil vinaigrette, topped with toasted pine kernels.
Meat eaters had a main of grilled bavette steak, dauphinoise potatoes and a green bean and tenderstem salad with mustard dressing. Vegans enjoyed grilled baby courgettes, fennel purée and fine beans with toasted almonds and shaved fennel salad.
For dessert, we had vanilla and mango cheesecake with sugared popcorn, with a coconut version for vegan diners.
Our four-tiered cake had different flavours to please everyone. They included chocolate mud cake, salted caramel, lemon cake and vanilla sponge.
‘I Get To Love You’ by Ruelle.
After the ceremony, we had a couple of minutes alone in the back of the barn to allow us to take a moment to take everything in; it was very special.
Yes, not one hiccup.
Not to stress about the small things (the team at Blackwell Grange will take care of them). Ultimately, all that matters is that you’re getting married.
Luckily, we were very organised and both just wanted to be married. The best piece of advice we were given beforehand was to spend as much time together on the day as it goes by so quickly!
We did our honeymoon before the wedding, as it was booked before we were engaged. We went to Orlando in Florida for two weeks. We enjoyed one week at Walt Disney World and one week at Universal Studios.
By Emma Luther
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Wednesday 11 May 2022