"Wedding Dresses through the Decades" review

Over a weekend blessed with blue skies and sunshine, our Church was host to over 300 visitors who came to witness our “Wedding Dresses through the Decades” display. On approaching the church, a beribboned classic car loaned by volunteers from the County Classics Motor Museum on Saturday and a red MGB by Jaqui Besley on the Sunday, set the mood.  Upon entering the west door, gasps of delight could be heard as the impressive display of 22 wedding dresses from 1940 through to present day came into view. They were, indeed, a spectacle; raised on platforms, their beauty enhanced by the church architecture and the diffused glow from the sun through the stained-glass windows, happiness, warmth and nostalgia in the air was palpable.

Each dress was identified by its own name plaque and a photograph taken on the wedding day. Visitors were invited on a journey, following a specially prepared brochure containing a memory from the day, recalled by our blushing brides and their grooms.

The granite pillars of the church were adorned with wall hangings containing individual paper roses, hand-crafted out of vintage book pages by members of the congregation and community. These were mirrored by the pew ends, where vintage hearts also captured the theme of love. Marriage registers dating back to 1710 were available to look through and many were able to see their own entry, having married in the church.

Pausing for a cup of tea and choosing from a selection of delicious cakes, provided by church and community alike, many people stayed for a couple of hours or so and viewed the exhibition more than once – there was so much to look at.

It was widely agreed that the whole weekend was an unqualified success; it raised the sum of £1500 through donations alone and generated a stream of overwhelmingly positive comments about the vision and delivery of the project.  We reflect with pride and are hugely thankful and encouraged that we were able to welcome so many new friends into our space and, most importantly, that church and community came together – working side by side to deliver this vision together. This is the way forward …

As always West Monkton Open Gardens is a wonderful colourful event and it certainly was again this year.

So many cakes to choose from and trust me they were all delicious, not a fan of coffee and walnut but there was none left so I am sure it was as well. 

Oh, and the gardens they were just stunning in so many different ways.

Rolling lawns, secluded pathways, secluded spots and tranquil ponds for us all to wonder along, admire and envy. An abundance of colours, smells and wildlife nestled amongst the widest shades of foliage. 

Standout architectural plants and ideas for your garden everywhere you looked as well as the views and backdrops complementing our Open Garden volunteer’s hard work.

Bringing the Open Gardens event slightly earlier this year allowed us to see everyone’s beautiful blooming roses, all manor of varieties on display across the gardens. A little less time for our volunteers to fit in all their hard work but ride on lawn mowers look more of a pleasure than a chore and for those of you who met ‘Patrick’ it is a relaxing experience watching the grass get mowed automatically. 

So not all back breaking work then.

As always our volunteers did an amazing job, serving gallons of tea and cakes by the plate load, donated plants and flowers to buy, along with homemade jams.

Through the kind generosity and hard work of Max & Vicki, Mark & Mary, Colin & Kate, Clive & Louise and Peter who opened their gardens, along with cake makers, plants and jam donations over £1300 was raised from tickets and donations which is amazing. Thank you to everyone who helped and those who came along to support this years event.

So why not open your garden next year? It would be great to have even more gardens participate and don't be daunted by the hard work, its really just therapy, the overgrown patch you have not got around to sorting is your re-wilding area, you are more than half way there. 

I'm opening mine up next year and have a two chance approach when it comes to plants. Flourish or compost heap. We hope to hear from you.

Wiveliscombe Town Band did us proud at our Brass on the Grass event. 

Taylor Swift to The Beatles, with movie tunes from Marry Poppins and Jurassic Park amongst more traditional pieces. 

The band members entertained us for over an hour and with guests tucking into their picnic and Pimms there was a wonderful atmosphere in the churchyard that afternoon,

with the high note being over £550 was donated. 

Thank you to the wonderful Wiveliscombe Town Band, Sally and her team, Jim for hosting and everyone who came and supported the event.

Video of event on our Facebook page.

Encore?   

West Monkton Church and The Churchyard have proved again what a great place to stage an event. Stunning surroundings for all manner of musical genres.

If there is a particular event, theme or just a good old fashion sing song, let us know and we will look into it.

The sun came out just as planned for the village BBQ as people arrived  early to grab a spot in the churchyard.

With a welcome glass of Pimms to get things going whilst the cooking commenced, villagers mingled, chatted and played skittles.

With head chefs Gary and Mike cooking up tasty burgers and sausages everyone dug in for a afternoon feast.

Thank you to everyone who came along and made it another success for the 2nd year and more importantly you got to know more of your fellow villagers.

Special thanks to Gary & Mike who did an amazing job cooking for so many people along with our greeters, servers and helpers with the event and Rev Jim for the sunshine.

Look forward to seeing you again next year!