'A room full of love'

Village Farm Marquees • Jul 27, 2017

We share Nikki and Bill Waddington's magical nuptials

Get the tissues ready!

Make sure you’re sitting comfortably.

Because here we have Part 2 of the fairy tale wedding of Bill Waddington and his beautiful lady Nikki Greenwood (now Mrs Waddington, of course).

And this was such a lovely, emotional occasion that our Village Farm Marquees team are almost moved to tears re-living it with Nikki for this piece.

We were event planners on this occasion, as well as providing the marquee, and so we had the privilege of sharing – almost – every special moment with this lovely couple.

Of course, we’re delighted to report that all the practicalities went off without a hitch. Phew!

But the best thing of all was how those intricate little details – many of which only we would see – came together magically and created a unique and highly personal weekend full of love and laughter – building memories that will last Nikki, Bill, and their many loved ones, a lifetime.

“I don’t know what else to say, other than that everything was just perfect, all that we could have wished for,” said Nikki.

“The team of people who helped us to organise it were amazing – from our DJ to our caterers, musicians, florist, videographer, photographer, make-up artist and hairdresser, to the event team who made sure everything and everyone was where they should be – and when. Above all, it felt like organising a great big party with good friends.”

Even the weather played ball (for once), and the couple enjoyed perfect sunshine throughout their weekend of celebrations, with the rain only starting to fall at midnight on the Sunday night. Another little miracle to round things off nicely.

You may remember that we previewed this momentous occasion in May, sharing Nikki and Bill’s incredibly romantic ‘back story’, as well as a hint of their unusual plans for their wedding. At that point, they were keen not to spoil the surprise by giving too much away, but now all can be revealed!

Bill is a criminal lawyer and director at Williamson’s law firm in Hull, while Nikki now teaches Zumba and ‘Clubbercise’ fitness classes.

The couple have known each other for 25 years but were frequently separated due to geography and their different career paths. Nikki was a professional dancer on cruise ships until she turned 30, which took her all over the world. Having finally got around to tying the knot, they decided to mark the occasion with a whole weekend of festivities, on 8 and 9 July.

Zermatt in Switzerland is a place they have both grown to love over the years, as a backdrop to special holidays and somewhere they’ve returned to year after year, often reuniting them after time apart. It is also where Bill asked Nikki to marry him last year.

So theming their wedding around their favourite mountain getaway seemed an obvious choice.

Their dance floor featured a bespoke ski chalet theme, complete with mock roaring fireplace, chesterfield sofas, fur throws and skis, unveiled as a surprise ‘reveal’ as the night time party got under way. Their evening buffet – as well as including Swiss cheeses and other delicacies – was served on antique skis, and even their four-tiered cake featured Nikki and Bill figurines whizzing down a ski slope.

And this unique theme wasn’t the only example of this lovely couple’s flair and sense of fun during the weekend. They also had comedy drunken singing waiters entertaining guests at their wedding breakfast, a very personal blend of classical jazz music and a Gipsy Kings tribute act – not to mention impromptu comedy from family members.

Nikki’s best friend Louise Brown and her husband Chris sang two poignant songs as Nikki and Bill signed the register – ‘End of Time’ from the musical Moulin Rouge, and ‘The Prayer’, most famous from a duet between Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli. And Bill’s nieces and their husbands treated everyone to a comedy impression of Nikki and Bill – one dressed as an old man with a wheelbarrow and the other one dancing around clad in colourful lycra – to the tune of the Beatles’ ‘When I’m 64’.

“It was just magical,” added Nikki.

“Above all, it felt like we were surrounded by a room full of love. Like us, so many of the people we care about had waited so long to see us get married, there was a real sense of celebration which made it an extra-special day.”

The couple got married at All Saints Church in Hessle, East Yorkshire, followed by a wedding breakfast, evening party and, the following day, a newly-weds party in a marquee in the garden of their Hessle home.

Their wedding and wedding breakfast were chic and classical, with ivory table dressings and drapes, highlighted with rose gold sequins for a little sparkle, and topped off with classical English blooms. Their food, provided by leading East Yorkshire caterers Ceruttis, was a Zermatt-inspired grilled asparagus with griddled prawn starter, followed by lamb with dauphinoise potatoes and a medley of vegetables, and raspberry crème brulee for pudding, served with a Skorppio vodka and lemon sorbet drink.

In the evening, they had a Swiss-inspired cheese and fondue buffet, served on a ski-themed display. To drink, there was a selection of red, white and rose wine. Their newly-weds party featured a continental-style buffet featuring hot beef, salmon and Swiss sausage.

But Nikki said she and Bill were so busy enjoying their time with friends and family, they didn’t really get chance to sample the delicious fayre!

“The morning of the wedding was probably the calmest of my life,” explained Nikki.

“I had my make-up done at 8.30am, then my hair at 9am, while my mum and dad pottered around and made bacon sarnies for everyone. My bridesmaids and I were actually dressed and ready half an hour early and enjoyed a glass of buck’s fizz while we waited for the cars to arrive – it was all just so lovely and relaxed.

“The wedding ceremony was great and all the little touches made it very special – from my Zumba ladies coming along to wave to me as I entered the church, to the beautiful music of our jazz quartet during the photos, and the very emotional serenade from my best friend during the register signing (which resulted in us both hugging each other in fits of tears!).

“Bill and I made a big entrance to our wedding breakfast in French style, dancing around the tables with all our guests waving their napkins to welcome us in, all to the music of the Gipsy Kings. The atmosphere was wonderful and stayed that way throughout the whole two days.

“We had really poignant moments, including my dad’s emotional speech, offset by moments of absolute comedy.

“When our ‘drunken waiters’ appeared, my brother turned to me and whispered in a concerned voice ‘look at that fella staggering all over the place’. I had to say ‘don’t worry, it’s all part of the plan!’.”

In the same vein, the couple’s first dance was to ‘I will’ by The Beatles, comically followed by ‘Apache Indian’ by Will Smith and ‘Can’t Touch This’ by MC Hammer. “Everyone knows that Bill can’t dance whereas, given my previous career, I can, which made this selection of songs particularly funny,” added Nikki.

And the whole, dreamy, event ended at midnight on the Sunday with the couple’s closest friends and family sitting, drinking, on the garden decking, wrapped in fur throws from the ski lodge and watching a sudden cloudburst of rain from the comfort of their cosy spot.

“I couldn’t have even imagined everything going so perfectly,” continued Nikki. “I can’t wait to get our video back so that we can re-live the occasion and see all those special snippets put together.”

Nikki and Bill had such a wonderful time that they have asked us to pay special tribute to everyone who contributed to making their wedding such a wonderful, special occasion:


  • Ceruttis – catering
  • Bamboleo Band – Gipsy Kings tribute band
  • Jamie Bulloch – make-up
  • Suzanne Barnett – hair
  • Jonny Hepbir Jazz Quartet – jazz ensemble
  • Colin Cook – DJ and wedding presenter
  • Louise Pepper – flowers
  • Cherry Williams – event dressing
  • The Event Music Company – who sang and entertained everyone by pretending to be waitresses and guests
  • Marry Me Films, Forever Memories – wedding video
  • Insight Photography – photography (with Andrew Crozier).
  • East Riding Vintage – cars
  • The Convenience Company – portable toilet suppliers
  • Black Event Furniture – as the name suggests
  • Weddings by Julie – event planning support.

…And of course, Village Farm Marquees – overall event planning and marquee!

You can read the first part of Nikki and Bill’s lovely story here .

Here at Village Farm we don’t just build marquees, we can take care of your entire event planning to help you remain as calm as Nikki about the whole thing. Recommending suppliers we know will deliver great things, making sure everything happens when it is supposed to and troubleshooting any niggles are all part of the service.

For a free, no obligation initial chat about your wedding vision, call us on (01262) 468160 or email us.

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