Amanda & Paulo's wedding
Where & When?
Saturday 25 July at...
Roseland Farm
Roseland Lane
Shirebrook
NG20 8EH
(Legally, we get married at Richmond Town Hall, North Yorkshire on Saturday 18 July but we are doing the full 'wedding' here at the farm a week later.)
Order of Events
This is the official timetable. We are cautiously optimistic that we will stick to it. Ish...
2.30pm: Guests arrive and offered a glass or two of fizz in the Courtyard
3.00pm: Wedding Service, Speeches
3.30pm to 4.30pm: Photos, guests plied with drinks & canapes. There will be some games in the garden for children and adults including a (supervised!) air rifle range
5.00pm: Official bar opening time, evening guests arrive (the players among you will recognise this as an opportunity for more free fizz...)
6.00pm: Hog roast begins
7.00pm: Cutting of the cake & first dance
7.30pm: Ceilidh in the chicken barn. Not worked out what we'll do with the chickens yet but that's a problem for another day. (There's a joke in here somewhere about doing the funky chicken.)
8.00pm: Hog roast ends (unless guests have consumed the pig already which, knowing you lot, is a distinct possibility.)
10.00pm: the Ceilidh ends
10.00pm until... last person standing.
The bar will still be open and assuming Paulo hasn't managed to drink 144 pints all by himself there will be real ale on tap for those that way inclined (Caz at the Horse & Groom aka 'Top Pub' is arranging a firkin of Black Sheep and the same of Harvest Pale, Paulo's all-time favourite session beers).
Being the lightweight he is, the real risk at this point is Paulo sneaking off to bed unannounced (his Oxford friends can vouch for this tendency) or being found asleep in a chair somewhere having "powered down". As for Amanda, watch out for whatever the hell she might be doing by this point (genuinely no idea, could go in so many different directions; if she suggests it's time for "blue drinkies" or "green drinkies" now is the time to run away.)
BBQ beef, venison or left-over (if any) hog roast pork cobs / butties will be available.
Food, Drink & Other Logistics
Food
The main food - the hog roast - begins at 6pm. There will be canapes doing the rounds from 3.30pm so you may want to have a light lunch before you come (Alan Marsh: if you're reading this - yes, we know this concept is alien to you).
For vegetarians, picky children (no judgement!) or people who don't / can't eat pork, we will have pizzas available.
Parking / Taxis
We will section off one of our fields for parking so you are welcome to drive to the farm.
If you'd prefer to get a taxi, we have found Uber works best. Avoid Veezu (feel free to ask us about the 'amusing' Friday evening spent rescuing a Veezu driver who got stuck in a muddy track in the middle of the woods taking one of Paulo's therapy clients home via a sat nav 'short cut' rather than go back up the lane the way he came like any normal person...)
Staying Over
Guests are very welcome to doss at the farm in tents, campers or al fresco / in a barn (you know who you are...).
If you're looking for accommodation near NG20 8EH, here are a few options:
Independent
- Boon Hills Farm (B&B) [10 mins]
- Stanfree Farm Glamping and Camping [15 mins]
- The Pebley Inn (Pub with rooms), Barlborough [20 - 25 mins]
- Casa Hotel (modern, Chesterfield) [25 mins]
- Thoresby Hall (Warner Hotels) [20 mins]
- Forest Lodge Hotel, Edwinstowe [20 - 25 mins]
- Holly Lodge Country Guest House, Blidworth [30 mins]
Chain / cheap but reliable
- ibis Chesterfield North (Barlborough) [20 - 25 mins]
- Premier Inn Chesterfield North [25 mins]
- Premier Inn Chesterfield Centre [25 mins]
- Center Parcs Sherwood Forest [30 - 35 mins]
Dogs
With 9 dogs of our own, Roseland Farm is very pro-dog and we have lots of friends with dogs. So it would be remiss not to extend them an invite. But not everyone likes dogs (a concept Amanda struggles to compute) so please don't bring your dog if its likely to get over-excited or bite our guests or scare the children. Either way, please have dogs on leads. If necessary, we will have secure stables where they can be left safely. All but two of our dogs will be safely stowed away (Jeannie and Purdey are very good at front of house duties).
To help us plan, please complete this form and let us know your food, parking, canine & accommodation preferences.
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Wedding List
We have been blessed with advancing old age and previous marriages so, over the years, have acquired more than enough kettles and other necessary (and unnecessary) household items... So our Wedding List is a bit different.
We have got to know one of the world's finest wildlife artists, a lovely guy called Martin Ridley, on our trips up to the Highlands over the past few years (his studio is in Pitlochry). Martin has produced an original oil painting of two red deer stags having a dust up during the rut. It is called 'Evenly Matched'. When he showed it to us, we both absolutely fell in love with it and we have agreed to buy it (oops...). If you would like to buy us something, we would be very grateful for a contribution to this painting (via our Wedding List Bank Account below).
Anyone who makes a contribution will be invited to a drinks party at the Farm where we will offically 'unveil' the painting after Paulo has brought it back from Scotland in October.
Wedding List Bank Account:
Bank: HSBC
Name: Paulo Karat
Sort Code: 40-38-11
Account Number: 21555847