Hayling Island couple enjoy ‘whirlwind’ winter wedding at St Mary's Church

Ellie and Steven – better known as ‘Loz’ – Lawrence were married this month on December 3, having the winter wedding they had always hoped for.

The couple, from Hayling Island, were married at St Mary’s Church with a reception to follow in the Tournerbury Woods Estate marquee which they say despite the cold time of year, was festive and cosy, with both locales decorated with Fir trees, candles and Christmas lights.

Ellie and Loz were engaged two years ago, and while they didn’t want a long engagement, they had their hearts set on a winter wedding.

‘It was lovely at Tournerbury, all the colours of the leaves and it was all frosty,’ says Ellie.

‘Our philosophy was we wanted something different, we knew it could be absolutely freezing or raining but we would be prepared for it,’ she adds. ‘All the guests had fur coats, and I wore ankle boots. It was one less thing to stress about because we already knew it was going to be cold!’

‘We started decorating the day before and I could tell it was going to be good,’ adds Loz.

‘It wasn't until the wedding day that they put the heating on in the tent and I was like ‘ahh’, all I was worried about was people being cold!’

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They were joined by 70 of their close friends and family at the 2pm service including nearly three-year-old son Asa who stood with the couple as they recited their vows and was, by all accounts, the star of the show.

‘He sort of made the wedding,’ says Loz. ‘I was fine up until the morning, then when I got him ready, I started getting upset thinking ‘ah look at him’ and then all I was thinking was ‘don’t cry in front of everyone!’

‘I held my nerves when they walked down and as soon as we started he ran over and cuddled my leg. He was cuddling us and holding our hands throughout the whole thing, it calmed my nerves,’ he adds.

‘Asa was like the entertainment, it took that formal edge of which was nice and he took the pressure off us,’ adds Ellie.

‘By about six o clock he’d stripped his suit off and was running around in his pants, he thought it was great,’ she laughs.

Living just a five minute walk away from both of their wedding venues, one thing the pair both agreed on was that staying close to home was important, having lived on the Island their whole lives, surrounded by their family.

‘We’ve lived here pretty much all our lives, it felt like the right thing to do,’ says Loz. ‘We live directly in the middle of the church and the venue, it was lovely.’

‘We wanted to be able to get married somewhere that we could see on a regular basis,’ adds Ellie.

‘At Christmas we can go to the church, it was important to have those memories around us,’ she says.

They also felt it was important to support local businesses on the Island, staying overnight at Newtown House Hotel, on Manor Road, and ordering cakes from Sam’s Bakehouse, as well as using a DJ who was a family friend.

Having just returned from a getaway with Asa to Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds, the pair, who met at the West Town Inn on Station Road six years ago, say their festive nuptials lived up to their expectations ‘and more’.

‘It was a bit of a whirlwind, you have to take a step back and take it all in otherwise the day does just fly by,’ says Ellie.

She adds: ‘The church was the most daunting bit, once we got that bit over with we just got to concentrate on the party and the food in the evening!’

‘I wasn't sure what to expect but it was brilliant,’ says Loz. ‘From the day I met her I knew I wanted to be with her, it’s just worked out great.’