Wedding bliss for St Leonards couple at medieval-themed ceremony

A couple from St Leonards tied the knot in full medieval garb on Saturday (August 27).
By The Newsroom
Published 2nd Sep 2016, 10:15 BST
Updated 7th Jun 2018, 23:38 BST

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The happy couple at their weddingThe happy couple at their wedding
The happy couple at their wedding

Rather than opting for a traditional church ceremony or going to the register office, Martin White, 53, and Sally Yuen, 45, who live in Sedlescombe Road North, decided to have their wedding at this year’s Medieval Festival at Herstmonceux Castle, against a backdrop of jousting, battle seiges and medieval music.

The pair started seeing each other in August 2014 and got engaged in Moscow, Russia in May last year while on holiday. It was there that Martin, who works for UK Power Networks, decided to pop the question.

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He said: “I proposed to Sally at St Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square on May 10 last year and she said yes.

“We came back to the UK with no venue in mind for our wedding. We’d already bought tickets for the banquet only at last year’s Medieval Festival.

“When we went to the event last August we thought it would be the ideal place to have our wedding, so we made some enquiries. We wanted something so unique.

“It’s such a romantic place to get married against the backdrop of Herstmonceux Castle and it inspired us to have a medieval wedding.”

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The ceremony, attended by 18 guests dressed in medieval costume, was held in the 15th century castle’s Elizabethan Room. There was a banquet for guests and the couple, as well as surprise flowers laid on by festival organisers.

Martin said: “With a lot of help from the organisers of the festival, the castle and the registrars from Eastbourne, our day was so special.

“There was a seige re-enactment taking place outside the castle during the ceremony and this added a medieval flavour to our wedding. The whole thing was just fabulous and people helped us all along the way.

“Jonathan Giesler organised the banquet and Julie Ryan and Lucy Dawe organised the flowers.”

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Related topics:St LeonardsMoscowRussia