The Marriage of Helen Bernardi and Frank Rothwell - 17th June 2000
The dragons so
prevalent at the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, where the marriage took place provided the main
theme - Dragons, together with Flower Fairies!
The bride's dress was of purple satin, embroidered with dragons. Her head-dress and her bouquet were of purple and white flowers. Even her shoes bore dragons. The six bridesmaids all wore purple skirts and white tops. The adults were two friends of the bride, Lara Gibbons and Tracy Ross. The four small bridesmaids were Laura Betchley (niece of the bride), Jemima Gibson-Wyer (niece of the groom), Kaya and Jodie Ross, (God-daughters of the bride). They wore circlets of flowers head-dresses and wings and carried rag dolls also dressed as flower fairies. The groom and best man, Paul Surita wore purple shirts, black trousers and black leather waistcoats.
The bride is the younger daughter of John and Stella Bernardi of Littlehampton, West Sussex. The groom is the elder son of Bob and Maggie Rothwell of Alciston, East Sussex.
The Registrar officiated at the civil ceremony but the ceremony of the rings was conducted by the bride's father, who is a priest.
The couple's
emergence from the Music Room, where photographs were taken, was greeted
with an array of bubbles blown by the bridesmaids and other guests. More photographs were
taken in the Pavilion gardens.
The reception at the Mei Xin Hins Restaurant in Burgess Hill followed the theme with a Chinese meal, this also being the Chinese year of the Dragon.
The day concluded with a party at the Brewers Arms in Burgess Hill for a wider circle of family and friends. The cake was of chocolate and decorated with dragons. 'Pocket Dragons' dressed as bride and groom adorned the top.
It was deemed to be a magical mid-summer marriage and was blessed with the most perfect weather for the whole day.
The couple took their honeymoon on the Costa Blanca in Spain. They will live in Burgess Hill.
© 2000 Stella Bernardi