Hollywood wedding for Newcastle couple at Matfen Hall Hotel

Jul 7 2009 by Brian Daniel, The Journal

A NORTH couple have tied the knot in a Hollywood-themed wedding, at a hotel’s first completely outdoor marriage.

Laura Richardson, from Low Westwood in Newcastle, and fiance Neal Bickford were married in the grounds of Matfen Hall Hotel in Northumberland.

The happy couple were not put off by the afternoon rain with Laura escorted through the Matfen rose garden to a specially created pergola, where the ceremony took place, under an umbrella.

The pair were also serenaded by a brass band, members of which huddled under a tree to stay out of the rain.

The 103 guests, many dressed in tuxedos in keeping with the Hollywood theme, kept dry on Friday afternoon under a canopy.

Guests were later entertained by a magician, drank Pimms and danced to Louis Armstrong’s La vie en rose.

Laura said: “It was watching all those Hollywood movies especially American Pie that inspired the theme for the wedding. I wanted to create a similar romantic scene for my own wedding, therefore it had to be held out of doors.”

Matfen had previously staged outdoor weddings but the declaratory words had to be said indoors at premises licensed for the purpose. Laura and Neal were however able to have the full ceremony outdoors as the pergola meets the legal requirements to have the declarations said under a roof.