Last month, I was honoured to conduct the wedding of a wonderful couple in the most incredible setting. The Swiss Garden in the Shuttleworth Estate is one of three venues within the Estate itself which can be used to host weddings: the other venues are Shuttleworth House, a beautiful stately home built in the Jacobean-style with truly stunning rooms to host ceremonies, and the unique Shuttleworth Collection Hangar, which could be used for stylish weddings with a touch of vintage glamour.

Entering a World of Fantasy

The Swiss Garden was thought to be the honeymoon choice of Colonel Frank Shuttleworth and his young bride, Dorothy, and it is easy to see why! The Garden truly has a romantic feel, through the beautiful landscaping and obvious care of the lawns and foliage. Within the Swiss Garden, sat in the middle as its crowning jewel, lies the Swiss Cottage – a Grade II listed building that truly transported me to another world. A sweeping path leads up to the Cottage, with rows of daffodils on either side: on this couple’s day, it was almost as if they were dancing in the wind to celebrate the day with them! It wouldn’t have been out of the blue to see characters from the works of J. R. R. Tolkien in this fairy-tale setting, and once inside the Cottage the transformation seemed complete. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see Bilbo Baggins and the other Hobbits, but that didn’t matter as we took our places.