Holly & Chris
Real weddings
Holly & Chris celebrated an 'Exclusively Yours' wedding at New Forest wedding venue the Montagu Arms Hotel.
Surrounded by friends and family, they exchanged vows in the beautiful Oakwood room, licenced for civil ceremonies, before enjoying a wedding reception with drinks and canapés in the hotel's glorious Hampshire gardens.
All captured by Hampshire wedding photographer Josh Holgate .
Why did you choose the Montagu Arms Hotel as your wedding venue?
It was a multitude of factors, including the beautiful setting in which the hotel is located, the well-presented interior of the hotel, the friendliness of the staff and the fact that we could have the entire hotel to ourselves. We loved the hotel and we were not disappointed.
What food did you choose?
We started off with the leek and potato velouté, followed by the fillet steak and then the apple & cinnamon crumble. We were not disappointed and the portion sizes were very generous too. The guests really loved the food - it was a real highlight of the day.
The décor - what was the styling and theme of the day?
We chose the hotel because we loved the style and décor which the hotel has day-to-day. As such, we chose to only add flowers to the fireplace as we wanted to keep the traditional feel of the hotel and we didn't feel that any additional decoration was necessary.
Who was your florist and what did you choose?
We had Jo Hicks who is included within the price of the wedding package for table flowers, but we also chose her to do our bouquets, button holes and an additional floral piece for the fireplace. She was incredible and we would highly recommend. We came to Jo with a vision for what we wanted and she turned it into reality, advising on what combinations would look best from her previous experience.
Tell us about your wedding dress and big day fashion - include accessories, shoes, hair and makeup, bridesmaids, groom.
My wedding dress came from Anya Bridal Boutique in Droxford, my shoes were my bit of blue and are Loeffler Randalls. Hair for the bridal party was done by Jenny at Proud of My Locks and make up was done by Beth (@makeupbybethm). Both were incredible and made such a different to the vibe on the wedding morning whilst getting ready.
The groom and best man's suits were bought from Astares Menswear in Havant.
Tell us a bit about the photographer and your cake
Our photos were taken by the lovely Emma and edited by Josh Holgate , we wanted really relaxed photography that just captured the day as it unfolded, rather than lots of staged group shots. We also had Becky from Thompson Wedding Films as our videographer for the day and she was just amazing, capturing lots of moments we didn't get to see. For cake, we went for 7 cheesecakes which were just delicious and baked by Vanessa Richards at Couture Cake Designs.
Do you have any words of wisdom to share?
Soak in every moment and just enjoy it; the day goes by so quickly and you'll wish you could relive it!
Try to take 10 minutes in the middle of the day just for the two of you. This can be as part of your photoshoot, but it is a good chance to just get excited together about what you have just done.
If you are looking for a hotel wedding venue in the New Forest, choose The Montagu Arms Hotel for a wedding day completely bespoke to you. Call 01590 612324 or contact Wedding Team online. From intimate wedding packages to exclusive hire weddings, our hotel in Beaulieu has something to offer every husband and bride-to-be.