How They Met

Despite working at the same hospital, doctors Clare Cooke and Major (Retd) Will Fellingham’s paths had never crossed. “Rather tragically, our first encounter was at a cheesy nightclub called Envy in Surrey,” remembers Clare. “It was the leaving party for mutual friends and Will tried to catch my eye all night. When I was leaving he ran over to make sure it wasn’t my leaving party. After I reassured him I’d be at work the next day, he whispered “you’re gorgeous” in my ear then dashed back off to dance.

”When we bumped into each other a few days later, he blushed crimson!” Clare recalls. “Will seemed like a real gentleman, so when he asked me out for dinner I agreed. By the end of the night we’d just clicked.”

The Proposal

In December 2006, Will and Clare emigrated to begin a new life together. They have lived in both New Zealand and Australia together. “Will proposed at the beautiful Mission Estate vinery in New Zealand,” says Clare. “He picked Valentine’s Day because I’m a complete cynic.

”After a languorous lunch, Will casually gave me a box to open. I did so to find a platinum diamond ring but didn’t know if it was an engagement ring or an early birthday gift as mine is the next day. He thought it was obvious and just looked at me expectantly, I explained that the done thing was to descend on one knee and ask. So he took the box back and made his intentions perfectly clear! It was even more special because Will’s father had given him the ring the year before, just weeks before he died very suddenly following a short illness. I felt incredibly proud to know that Will’s father had been sure about me.”

The Wedding Dress

Clare adored her strapless, asymmetric, mermaid-style Maggie Sottero dress. “It was made of duchess satin with delicate ruching across the bodice and lightly embellished with crystals,” says Clare. “I chose it because Will had mentioned he’d like my dress to show off my derrière!

The Bridal Party

Clare and Will wanted their wedding to reflect timeless elegance, so the groom wore a traditional Moss Bros top hat and tails. Will saw active service as an army doctor, including tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, so it was important to Clare that he wore the medals he had risked his life to achieve. The two groomsmen were still serving doctors in the army and wore their formal “number ones”, complete with ceremonial swords.

Clare’s three bridesmaids chose the style and colour of their gowns from the scheme of autumnal leaf colours. All of the dresses were from \r\nDessy, including the maid of honour’s Alfred Sung maternity dress.

The Wedding Ceremony

Clare and Will were married on a crisp late autumn day at the Engine House of Lillibrooke Manor, Berkshire.

“Will’s brother-in-law bagpiped me in to ‘Amazing Grace’,” says Clare. “We chose all our own music and wrote our own vows, and we exited to the tune of the ‘Medal Ceremony’ from Star Wars, the first four bars of which sound exactly like the traditional wedding march, before becoming the ‘da, da, da’ tune everyone is familiar with. Everyone descended into fits of laughter!”

The Wedding Venue

“The reception was held right next door in the Great Barn at Lillibrooke,” explains Clare. ”It had everything, and was one of few places in the Home Counties that allowed us to supply our own alcohol without charging corkage. The barn was so wonderfully warm and earthy, with lots of exposed brick and a high-vaulted wooden ceiling.”

The Wedding Flowers

The venue’s ceremony room was decorated to an autumnal theme, taking the rich, russet colours of leaves as inspiration. Thousands of silk leaves from Save On Crafts were scattered across the floor. Eucalyptus and kangaroo paw flowers were a nod to the couple’s current home, Australia.

“In the barn, the tables each had a central mirror from Rainbow Florist Supplies on which an open kilner jar full of meadow flowers were placed,” explains Clare. “These featured white, cream and dusty pink roses and lisianthus all arranged by our wonderful florist Jackie Crowther (01273 857 581).”

The Wedding Breakfast

“The food was all done by Martin Sherry at Complete Catering. We wanted our menu to be really adventurous and reflect our travels, so invented a starter from scratch, incorporating kangaroo prosciutto,” says Clare. “It was served with a delicious pear and rocket salad drizzled with lemon vinaigrette. The main course was an Australian fillet steak, served pink, with a ragout of braised beef cheek and red wine jus, accompanied by horseradish mash and roasted ginger carrots. The dessert was our childhood favourite, crème brûlée.”

The Wedding Theme

”We had been living away from the UK for over a year and wanted to have a wedding that was entirely ‘Will and Clare’, so we made absolutely everything ourselves. We attended an invite-making course through Starfish Lane in Australia and painstakingly made 120 invites and all the other stationary using heavy cream paper embellished with lace and grosgrain ribbon,” explains Clare.

“We had lots of photos of our recent travels and instead of a guest book we had a photo in a frame with a large border that people signed,” she continues. “The tables were named after places we have visited in Australia and New Zealand, with pictures to show our loved ones. Favours included Chinese fortune sticks from Cox & Cox, and the placecards were handmade using materials from Cox & Cox.”

The Wedding Cake

“We bucked the trend and had a wonderful wedding cheese with the help of The Teddington Cheese, who organized a tasting and gave us pointers in terms of balancing flavours. They even helped us source a cheese from the tiny Welsh village where Will’s mum grew up,” remembers Clare. “The stacked rounds were topped with a porcelain ‘joy’ sign from Posh Graffiti. We cut it with the groomsmen’s military swords for dramatic effect before it was served as a fourth course.”

The Wedding Reception

“We had grand plans to choreograph something for the first dance, but ran out of time,” says Clare. Instead we made up a spirited hand jive to Game of Love by Wayne Fontana. It was a nod to Will’s absent father who loved to jive.

“My sister is the lead singer in a band called The Big Red, who played two brilliant sets – people were dancing on the tables! The evening ended at the venue at 11:30 with Born Slippy by Underworld. Everyone, including us, was staying in a hotel practically next door so we decamped there and kept the bar open until breakfast! Will and I retired to our first night as a married couple at 4am.”

The Bride\'s Top Tips

“The littlest details may be lost on everyone but you, so don’t get upset about small things that don’t go to plan,” advises Clare. “Early on, allocate your budget and stick to it: learn to use Excel. Accept offers of help from others graciously; you will need them no matter how organised you are. Involve your fiancé by giving him jobs he’ll enjoy.

”Bear in mind, too, that after a party people always talk about the food, booze, music and guests. So don’t scrimp on these in favour of more short-lived, trivial things like wedding cars or out of season flowers. Try and find a venue that lets you provide all your own drinks,” she goes on. “Also, we stayed in the bridal suite at the Holiday Inn. It meant we got to continue the party with all our guests, breakfast with them the next day and hear lovely stories about what fun they’d had!”