life
GARDENING
Alan Titchmarsh
Don't forget to read Alan's regular column in the Sunday Express - S
Magazine every Sunday.
Knot Gardens
Whether you're splashing out on a stately
home or celebrating in your own back yard,
don't forget the essential wedding accessory,
says Alan.
Photo by Niall McDiarmid
A
s the father of two
eligible daughters,
I naturally view
wedding s with a certain
trepidation. Well, a chap can't
get away with stumping up for
40 minutes at the local church
followed by a finger buffet for
a few close friends nowadays.
Oh dear me no.
Now that all sorts of exotic
and unusual venues have
opened up for weddings,
today's couples are
increasingly opting to tie the
knot in stylish settings that
will leave their friends gasping
in awe -and provide glamorous
backgrounds to decorate
the family photo albums for
eternity. You can wed on a
tropical beach, in a huge
range of stately homes, private
country houses and follies,
on film sets, in museums, on
ships, in quarries, at zoos, or
70
at Gretna Green. Just trawl
the wedding venue sites on the
internet for ideas, or consult
your friendly wedding planner.
You'll be amazed what's
available.
But wherever you pick to
get hitched, the one thing you
need for the perfect day, to my
mind, is a decent garden.
At summer weddings, the
garden is valuable overflow
space where guests can wander
round chatting as well as
enjoying the surroundings;
it is the ideal place for
taking wedding photos and
fly-on-the-wall videos, and
after the formal indoor
proceedings it's good to escape
to a marquee outside for
anything from a champagne
buffet to a sit-down meal with
dancing to follow.
Depending on your
geographical location and
budget, wedding facilities at
a stately home with a famous
garden can be yours -at a
price. Fancy following in Liz
Hurley's footsteps? Sudeley
Castle in Gloucestershire
must be one of the most
fairytale locations, with that
most romantic of features
-a rose garden that will be
at its peak in June, the most
popular month for weddings.
But there's plenty else to see:
a Victorian kitchen garden,
white gardens, knot gardens,
a secret garden -all in a truly
romantic atmosphere. For a
real wedding-cake location,
how about Waddesdon Manor
in Buckinghamshire? It is
a glamorous, Frenchified
chateau with confectionery
style architecture and
elaborate grounds to match.
A great feature is the carefully
recreated Victorian carpet
bedding scheme which lies
close to the house and peaks in
Island Life - www.isleofwight.net