Real Weddings – Melanie & Chris

After a magical, movie-worthy engagement, Melanie and Chris chose to celebrate their wedding at Hampshire wedding venue Careys Manor Hotel & SenSpa. We caught up with the couple to see how their special day went...

How did you meet?

We met at summer school whilst at Bournemouth University in July 2006. Chris actually ignored me for two hours when I sat next to him. It wasn’t until the lecturer told us to turn and introduce ourselves to each other, that he turned said “Hi” and then grinned and said “Oh! Hello!”

Despite doing two completely different courses, we remained good friends, and eventually one of us was brave enough to tell the other our feelings were more than just friends.

How did Chris propose? 

We had been together for 10 years before Chris proposed and I had almost given up on the idea of it happening. Chris announced that I needed to cancel an agency shift I’d booked because he was taking me away on a surprise holiday. The destination was also a secret and two days before we departed Chris revealed that we were going to New York! On our final night, Chris had organised for us to go ice skating at the Wollman ice rink in Central Park which was extra special as I had been a figure skater for 15 years.

After we skated around a few times the other people started to clear the ice and I kept saying to Chris that we should leave too but he said we still had a few moments, so we kept skating and chatting and then he asked me to follow him. We skated to the middle of the rink and it was there that Chris got down on one knee and popped the question. Unbeknownst to me, everyone cleared the ice as they knew Chris was going to propose and I had completely forgotten that they were there until they all cheered! It was so magical! My Dad had taken me to skate at the Wollman ice rink when I was a little girl and I had always dreamed of getting engaged there but never told anyone!

Finding Hampshire wedding venue Careys Manor Hotel

After a rather unsuccessful day looking at New Forest venues, my dad suggested we visit Careys Manor Hotel for a drink and to see if there was availability. We loved the venue, it was beautiful but relaxed and the reception team was so welcoming and helpful. We heard from the events team that our preferred date was available and we put it on hold straight away! Chris and I then came back for our show round just a few days later. We loved the flexibility of Careys Manor, attention to detail was great and we were able to make the day personal to us. We returned for a wedding showcase and were more in love! What we really liked about Careys Manor was that there were areas for us all to be together, without being in separate places. And that those who couldn’t dance were still able to watch. The outside areas were pretty and private too, and the rooms just flowed!