While having a Toastmaster might seem quite grand for a barn wedding setting, our guest blogger, Tim Podesta explains how much extra help and support a professional wedding Toastmaster can offer.
Lillibrooke is located in the Royal county of Berkshire, so it has excellent transport links to London. It’s hard to believe you can find this gem of a rustic wedding venue so close to the capital. Lillibrooke offer’s versatile and beautiful spaces that couples can transform with their own décor. To explore this venue from the comfort of your home, click here to take a guided tour!
I’m looking back to the first event I helped with at the rustic wedding venue, Lillibrooke Manor. I met the lovely couple some weeks in advance of the wedding for a detailed planning meeting at their home. They were keen to be able to enjoy the day as much as possible and have a record of events they could keep for ever – so they had hired a photographer and a videographer who I then reached out to introduce myself and make contact.
A key part of the Toastmaster role is to work collaboratively with all the suppliers and the wedding venue. The award winning Heritage Venues team are responsible for the smooth running of every event at the Lillibrooke Manor and I hope in doing my role I am helpful to them and the other suppliers as well so they can do their job.
In any wedding there are moments where the calm facilitation skill of the Toastmaster can make all the difference. This wedding was no exception and one of those moments sticks in my mind. The arrival of the bride and bridegroom from the church in their vintage Rolls.
There are two entrances to this rustic wedding venue, one that leads to the Manor House, which forms a fantastic backdrop for pictures – and the other that leads to the Great Barn.
The vintage Rolls bringing the bride and bridegroom from the church was due to arrive at the Great Barn – which was looking stunning in readiness for the wedding breakfast. It was planned the bride and bridegroom would arrive in front of the Great Barn to be welcomed by me and the Heritage Venues team with two champagne flutes. The couple would then be shown the Great Barn in its splendour before any of the guests were invited to take their places The preview of the wedding breakfast set-up is always a special moment for the bride and bridegroom.
The arrival in the Rolls was to be filmed and photographed and the photographer and videographer were set up to record the moment. We had noticed the car was on its way and coming up the long drive to the complex of buildings. Then we saw that the Rolls had come in the wrong entrance – the arrival moment would be missed if they get out of the car by the Manor House.
This is where as Toastmaster I came into action. There is an attractive archway in the wall between the entrances – see the attached picture. I strode purposefully through the arch and approached the Rolls as it was pulling up – I greeted the driver and couple and I opened the door – I kindly invited them to return to the main drive and use the other entrance where they were to be received at the Great Barn. So with no fuss the bride and bridegroom swept past the Manor House and around to The Great Barn and the moment of their arrival was captured perfectly on film. From my point of view, every wedding should have a toastmaster to make sure that everything goes without a hitch and it is as stress free as possible for the bride and bridegroom.
