The invitation
We met in a rehearsal room with a broken radiator and have been making plans ever since. This one took a while.
Coda Works is a former piano factory that now opens its doors for a handful of weddings each summer. We will marry in the walled garden, eat long and slowly under the glasshouse, and dance in the old assembly hall until the lights come up.
There is no formal programme to follow and nothing you need to bring. Come early, stay late, and let us feed you.
— Marlow & Ines
The day
Times are a guide rather than a rule. If you arrive somewhere in the middle of it, someone will hand you a glass and point you in the right direction.
Courtyard doors open. Elderflower spritz, shade and somewhere to leave your coat.
In the walled garden, under the pear trees. It runs about half an hour.
Lawn games, a string trio, and roughly twenty minutes of us being photographed.
One long table in the glasshouse. Three courses, several speeches, a seating plan we agonised over.
The assembly hall opens. First dance, then the floor is yours.
Bacon rolls at eleven, carriages at midnight.
Details
Everything below is guidance from us rather than a booking service — arrange what suits you and let us know on the RSVP if anything is tricky.
Coda Works sits a short walk from the town's main station, and the walk is flat and well lit for the way home.
There is parking on site, though we would rather you left the car and shared a taxi. We will arrange a pick-up point at the end of the night.
The venue keeps a handful of rooms above the old workshop, held for guests travelling furthest.
There are several small guesthouses within walking distance of the square. Book early if you can — June is busy here.
Garden formal. Suits, dresses, something you can sit down to dinner in and still dance in at ten.
June evenings cool off quickly once the glasshouse doors open, so bring a layer you like the look of.
Gallery
Questions
Your invitation names everyone we have space for. The garden is a set size and we would rather feed fewer people properly, so we have had to keep the list tight.
Yes, and there will be a corner of the glasshouse set aside with quieter things to do. Tell us ages on the RSVP so we can plan food and seating.
Your being there is genuinely the thing we want. If you would like to mark the day anyway, a note in the card box or a contribution towards the honeymoon is more than enough.
Not at all. There is a notes box on the RSVP; anything you write there goes straight to the kitchen.
During the ceremony we would love you to keep phones away and simply watch. After that, take as many as you like — we will ask for them afterwards.
The glasshouse and assembly hall are level throughout, and there is a step-free route into the garden that avoids the gravel. Mention it on the RSVP and we will make sure someone shows you the way.
RSVP
One form, one minute. If your plans change later, simply send it again and we will use the most recent reply.
After that the seating plan is set and the caterer stops taking our calls.