Schedule
Friday, August 30th
5-7PM – Drinks Reception at Goodwood House
Arriving early? Join us in for a drink and canapés in the front hall of nearby Goodwood House to kickstart the wedding celebrations. Goodwood boasts an extensive art collection including paintings by Canaletto, Van Dyck, and Stubbs, along with an impressive assemblage of French furniture and early Sèvres porcelain. Alex worked with the art curator, Rosemary Baird, during her school ‘work experience’ placement so is particularly delighted to have the opportunity to revisit these beautiful surrounds. We are planning on having a guided tour of the collection, please let us know on the RSVP form if this would be of interest.
Saturday, August 31st
The Wedding will be held in the beautiful 11th century Boxgrove Priory. If you arrive early we suggest having a little walk around the village, taking in a leisurely lunch or cup of tea at the The Anglesey Arms, or you might be able to eavesdrop on the choir rehearsal, and join them for tea and a biscuit afterwards in the St. Blaise Centre. Toilets can also be found there, across the parking lot from the priory.
2.50PM – Doors Close
Please arrive and take your seats shortly before the service begins, to make sure that we can start on time. Don’t worry if you are late! You will be able to enter after the procession.
3PM – Service Begins
c. 4:15PM – Service Ends
Please join us for some Pimm’s and other refreshments in the Priory ruins which adjoin the surviving priory building. In the case of inclement weather we shall stay within the priory building.
6PM – Gather for Dinner
Invited guests are asked to gather in the garden of the vicarage where we will have some drinks, speeches, and entertainment before dinner.
6:45PM – Guests are encouraged to take their seats in the marquee for dinner.
7PM – Dinner
Dinner will be followed by a party with dancing, cheese and wine, dessert, children’s tent, and other entertainment.
2AM Fin. – We’ll be going to bed!
We aim to have a taxi on standby from 10pm to transport people to nearby accommodation (no more than 5 miles) but if you are staying further away, you will unfortunately have to arrange your own transportation in advance. We would suggest using Barnham station taxis or booking through the Uber App.
Sunday, September 1st
2-4PM – Tea at the Bishop’s Palace
Staying in the area a little longer? Please join us for tea and some baked goods in the Sherborne Room of the Bishop’s Palace in Chichester anytime between 2:00 and 4:00 PM. The Palace dates back to at least the 12th century and the Sherborne room still has its original ceiling, pictured below!
Dress Code
Jackets and ties, dresses that bring you joy, or cultural equivalent. Have fun!
Liberty prints/hats and fascinators/bright colours/interesting shapes and textures encouraged. You are welcome to change for dinner if you’d like to – Neil and Alex will!
Please be aware when choosing footwear that the paths around the priory are either gravel or grass, and the events afterwards will largely be taking place on grass.
The majority of the wedding party’s outfits have been sourced through circular fashion outlets to try and reduce the environmental impact of our wedding. We would encourage you to not only embrace the joy that a fun and fabulous outfit can bring but also, if you would like, to consider doing the same. We have made excellent use of eBay, Vestiaire Collective, The RealReal, Vinted, Depop, and similar sites, but a good thrift/charity shop can be hard to beat!
If you have little call for formal wear in your day-to-day life, but fancy finding something fun to wear over the wedding weekend, eBay is an excellent source for pre-loved men’s formal wear. It is best to search for specific brands (such as Aquascutum), general searches turn up an overwhelming number of options. Vestiaire Collective is fantastic for special ladies’ wear at a fraction of the normal cost.
Gifts
We would of course be very grateful if you would like to give us a gift, but we’re not expecting it! We realise that this is a genuinely local wedding for very few people, and that the effort and expense of travelling is not insignificant.
If you would like to get us something, but aren’t sure what we would like, here are a few ideas (but do feel free to use your imagination as well!)
- A favourite book (we can never have too many – let us know why you like it on the inside cover!)
- A small contribution to our honeymoon fund
- A small donation to either the Canadian Math Society, Cardiac Risk in the Young, or the MS Society (Canada)
Plus ones and Children
You are very welcome to bring your partner! Please just fill out the RSVP form accordingly.
Children are also very welcome to attend, and we know that several young children definitely will be attending the wedding. We’re not intending to seat children separately from their parents, but there will be some children’s activities during the reception after dinner (such as colouring in). For the service, keep in mind that it will last a little over an hour and be quite loud with music at times. It’s entirely up to you if you’d like to bring little ones, but please fill out the RSVP accordingly!