02/08/2026
The wedding of Alison Caroline Lemon-Parsons and Tom felt lifted straight from the pages of a beloved novel yesterday, every detail celebrated a shared love of stories and new adventures. Their celebration was always set to be one of the highlights of our year as we fully embraced their “fancy but geeky” weekend. Fancy it certainly was and our team of self confessed geeks admired every single detail amidst their confidence to make their day one that truly reflected not only their love for one another but for family, friends and all things nerdy 🥰
Whilst little Albert sported the most gorgeous lovingly handcrafted dragons wings and tail atop his cute green attire it was mum and dad he wanted to be with so was rocked in his father’s arms as their ceremony began. After-all a sleeping dragon may be dormant, an inactive power that is immense and potentially dangerous, it remains full of potential and should not be provoked or disturbed.
Beneath a canopy of ancient trees, the bride made her entrance into a ceremony space bursting with colour. Alison was breathtaking in an off-the-shoulder gown of deep ruby satin, its full skirt sweeping gracefully along the woodland path with every step. A vibrant flower crown, bursting with crimson, gold, orange and violet blooms, created by Zoë Bidwell Bespoke Flowers crowned loose curls that framed the most stylish Disney Princess fishtail plait with no classic bun in sight 😘. With a touch of “gothic glam” added by Louisa Sarah Hair & Makeup Artist. Our bride with bright jewel tones, the most enviable wedding shoes and radiant smile looked a worthy woodland queen.
As she approached the aisle, escorted by her very proud Father in his pale blue suit to match her husband and groomsmen, the contrast of the rich ruby dress against the lush green woodland created a strikingly romantic scene. Rustic barrels supported an arch of Rustic & Bootiful books making their ceremony unequivocally their own. Adorned with colourful flowers by The Floral Trojan it completed the setting, while dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves above, bathing the ceremony in a soft, enchanted glow.
Caroline from The Ceremony People was the perfect choice of Celebrant to set the scene for our tale. With A Brief History Of Time we began in the Doomsday Book of 1085 where the settlement of Southwood was recorded. She warmly welcomed travellers from Kent, the Midlands, London and of course our beautiful county to Southwood Hall, to our post-medieval great house with the thatched Grade II listed Coronation Barn nestled in its grounds that has played host to many celebrations throughout its history. As every place was announced the participation of our guests began with each of them deservedly receiving a loud cheer from guests seated on bright colourful cushions scattered across our rustic tree stump benches.
So many details of the day came together in the most complete way; beloved Title ‘The Time Travellers Wife’ may have been stacked in its cake form by Mooreish Cakes inside the barn whilst Tom delivered an animated recital of Scientific Romance by Tim Pratt “If I had a Time Machine, I’d go back to the days of your youth to see how you became someone I love so much today, and then I’d return to the moment we first met just so I could see my own face when I saw your face for the first time”. With ‘Cupid’s Tears’ stacked above his head the delivery was emotional and loving in perfect equilibrium.
Not be to outdone Alison demonstrated her own commitment, with a known hate of maths she had calculated proof of just how much she adores Tom having known him for 4,213,440 minutes and hoping that they stay seriously silly and wickedly kind together. May his weirdness be the norm and the coolest thing about him remain his warmth.
Every ceremony needs lightness to balance the emotions within, yesterday’s came via a hysterical rendition (with actions) of ‘Falling in Love is like Owning A Dog by Helena Milsom’ and the cutest sharing of Edward Monkton’s ‘A Lovely Love Story’ with two lovely dinosaurs falling in love.
Framed by a spectacular circular arch crafted from well-loved books and adorned with flowers in rich jewel tones our couple tied the knot. The titles of those hard-backed editions could not have been more fitting - ‘No Greater Love’, ‘Look Within Your Heart’, ‘The Friendship Book’ and ‘Jewels’ as if it knew the colour scheme and gowns of our lovely bridesmaids. ‘How Was It For You?’ A title that need not have been included as it was truly adored by all.
Emerging into the summer sun from the shade of the woodland whilst ‘Concerning Hobbits’ played set the scene for our tale to continue readily captured by Helen from Pinky Promise Photography and filmed by David Flynn Films. Painstakingly collected petals from the garden had been dried by mum and dad to provide handful after handful of love to be thrown as confetti in a tunnel stretching from the woodland glade to the gate to another realm as the bridal party made their way to our secret garden where drinks were waiting and canapes were served.
In every fairytale of love there is a palace waiting to be explored and this story was no different. Guests making their way to the terrace were pleased to find a gin palace with bottles of tasty treats hidden in the fortress walls - Boe Passion gin, Aval Dor Cornish rhubarb and ginger alongside Plymouth and Roku were waiting to be tasted, a plethora of mixers and garnishes waiting to fill their glasses.
The barn had been dressed by KWF in an explosion of colour, transformed into something that felt less like a wedding venue and more like the Great Hall after a collaboration between Hogwarts, the Shire, and an overenthusiastic Time Lord filling their brief perfectly; a barn not merely decorated, but enchanted.
Rather than polished perfection, the décor embraced joyful chaos. Every splash of colour felt like a bookmark tucked into a much-loved novel or the vibrant palette of a comic-book panel. It was whimsical without being childish, nostalgic without being dated, and unmistakably personal—a celebration that declared imagination to be the guest of honour. It was the sort of room where one half expected the speeches to end with, “May the Force be with you,” the cake to be guarded by a dragon (which of course it was) and the dancing would only begin first after someone rolled a natural twenty.
Above the ancient oak beams, a constellation of paper lanterns floated like enchanted orbs, each one a different jewel-like hue—emerald, sapphire, amethyst, ruby, and gold—as though someone had gathered the lights of a dozen fantasy realms and suspended them beneath the rafters. Interwoven fairy lights stretched between the timbers like delicate star charts, tracing invisible constellations worthy of an astronomer from Discworld or a navigator aboard the Heart of Gold.
The warm brick walls and soaring timber frame became the pages of an unwritten epic, while the woven pendant lights shimmered like captured dragon eggs, casting a soft golden glow over the celebration below. Their banquet table encouraged fellowship in the truest fantasy sense—a place where hobbits, wizards, superheroes, Jedi, gamers, and muggles alike might happily share stories, feasts, and questionable dice rolls.
Eagerly anticipated Lego centrepieces took pride of place on our solid oak tables - everyone so unique and depicting their many loves including DND, Jurassic Park, Marvel, Up, Pokémon, Star Wars, Lord of The Rings and of course Beauty and The Beast. A Lego table was there for guests to utilise the masses of bricks to build their own creations (if only we had had enough time to really build our barn 😘) but the star attraction was the most wonderful seating plan. Hours of love and toil had seen our bride craft individual figurines for each guest - no detail overlooked, Helen our lovely photographer for the day even so incredibly included. A backdrop of photos of which each had a personal handwritten message from our couple completed the mammoth task.
The background playlist to their day was so familiar yet not in an obvious way, cleverly chosen acoustic music used in video games, Belle Disney tunes (of course) and scores from across all genres but the most befitting ‘You can call me Al’ provided a wonderful entrance for Alison & Tom to be welcomed to their wedding breakfast where a mezze of tasty treats were waiting on raise oak boards. Marry Me chicken the tasty main course was followed by a trio of delectable desserts.
With Prosecco poured and coffee cups filled it was time to settle for more stories to be shared as our very proud Mother of the Bride Caroline led the way. A mother so proud to see Alison looking so beautiful and radiant and now married to Tom (so handsome it really didnt need mentioning). The applause cheers and support throughout was so lovely to see. Her parents are so happy she found her Mr Wright. Unsurprisingly we learnt that Alison was born late and as a little girl always had a book in her hand. Mum’s wisdom shared the journey of marriage as more than just love wishing that they always have warm words on a cold evening.
Tom began by posing a question to their gathered guests “why does a groom share so many lovely words about his wife only to be obliterated by his best man next?”. However their wedding day is likely to be the only time Alison will ever let him speak on her behalf and so he was ready to make the most of it acknowledging that although it was lovely to see everyone it wouldn’t have been so daunting to speak if more had pulled out 🤣. He shared that he hasn’t always been the calm, debonair, athletic, ruggedly handsome, modest man he presented as yesterday and for that he thanked his parents. He couldn’t have asked for better examples of marriage and adulting for which he is so grateful.
The endless quest to make the day so perfect was down to Alison - every guest noticed every touch (except the pe***ng) and it was so appreciated. He reflected back to a murder mystery dinner date they shared on the Thames; the boat was rocking and the food was spilling and at that point thought it had all gone wrong but as he looked across the table, Alison was beaming with the biggest smile on her face and he thought - I can go on adventures with her and I can be happy for the rest of my life.
Tom had researched wedding etiquette and was aware that no one should look more handsome than the groom so he formally thanked his groomsmen for obliging! He then turned his attention to Joe, his best man and best friend that has been for years. As much as Tom loves him he has noticed he is developing a worrying compulsion for lying so when he steps forward please just humour him.
Joe was quick to rise to his feet and take on the challenge of doing his worst to his dear friend and failing dismally to dispel the nerd allegations or his own as he shared his newly found favourite pastime…pe***ng! Both men are self confessed nerds and his stories had an uncannily believable thread. Playing Big Bang theory (that’s right Gary) with their Magic the Gathering goblins, dragons and god forbid magical elves on a Spoons night out.
Stories of mythical lands were shared where Joe likes to fish, Tom likes to dig (he loves his enormous mystical holes) and Alison likes picking random things up and collecting things, until she moves at a snails pace weighed down by her treasures. Meanwhile everything is out there to kill you, goblins, zombies and terrifying mutant chickens! Alison quite easily finds herself in trouble while out on her gathering expeditions, easy to kill as she moves so slowly but as soon as over the headset he hears that a zombie is after her Tom always is out of his hole in an instant shovel in hand sprinting to save her ready to batter any zombies that dare threaten his lady in distress! All is well that ends well and a toast to Tom and Alison was the perfect way to conclude.
As the sinking sun beckoned the inflatable obstacle course was ready to pose challenges for those now wanting to burn off energy and create an appetite for the pizzas and S’mores while The Norfolk Wedding Nanny was ready to welcome little ones into her tent for stories and play. Capturing merriment and caricatures Barkers Photo Fun were ready with accessories and silliness well into the evening.
Heading inside guests were gathered around the most amazing DND inspired cake with dragons climbing over a stack of books bound to match its gorgeous stand. Eclectic mix of genres and titles so loved - Dear Zoo (the ultimate classic that every parent must love), The Book Thief (we are very confident that Alison merely collects them on her journey through life, the sheer weight maybe slowing her down now and again), Guards Guards (who needs guards when your husband will always jump out of the hole that he is digging to save you from any aggressive Zombies) and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Each novel a different flavour just waiting to be cut.
Earlier their ceremonial arch included titles so apt - ‘Second Wind’ by Dick Francis and Melvyn Bragg’s ‘A Time to Dance’ so now with everyone together on the dancefloor Stereo Jack struck up their first set leading the party into the early hours. We now see why there had been so many references to Tom’s dancing prowess throughout the day but he certainly has enviable boundless energy and enthusiasm as he bounded, bounced and skipped circuits of the dance floor until every guest had retired.
When a first dance is not your thing a spontaneous last dance most certainly is as with the barn to themselves our couple shared an enviable and romantic ending. It certainly was a celebration that perfectly blended fairytale romance with literary charm — a wedding where every page turned led to a happily ever after.
We hope we ‘Answered Prayers’ and hope you never stop adventuring with one another. Thank you for sharing your special weekend with us all at Southwood Hall, we so appreciate your kindness so a huge thank you from us all (and yes team there are chocolates in your lockers!)
