A COUPLE who met at a theatre group booked an owl ring bearer for their 'dream' wedding in the Lake District.

Lucinda Banton, a 32-year-old teacher, tied the knot to Jay Rolfe, a 37-year-old property manager, in Windermere.

They chose this area to get married because Lucinda has a family link through her maternal grandparents. 

The pair met at their local theatre group when they were cast in a production of Sense and Sensibility as Marianne and Willoughby.

They got engaged at the Catbells on August 9 2022 and then took a ride back over Derwentwater and celebrated with dinner at Sheila's Cottage in Ambleside.

The wedding took place at Merewood Country House Hotel on April 6 with 110 guests of all ages - and the family dog.

Lucinda and Jay created stationery for the day and even had a wedding programme as a hint to their love of theatre.

They said: "We were so thrilled that so many friends and family offered to make the journey to join us for our wedding in the Lakes.

"As a surprise to our guests, we booked an owl ring bearer. Juno the barn owl flew down to the best men over the heads of our guests and dropped the rings at the end of the aisle. We then had two readings from Jay’s parents, and two further pieces of music played during the signing of the register. We exited the room with the family dog, Sapphi, who had a special lead for the day.

"We were so pleased with our wedding breakfast set-up. The tables looked beautiful with jars of flowers and tealights, plus mountain-themed place names, and Lake District postcards by Jo Witherington Design as table centres. We had Grasmere Gingerbread as favours. 

"Due to the Storm Kathleen, we had a very tight time frame to get down to the lake for photos - which was something we really wanted to achieve as we just love the Langdales backdrop - but Tiree Dawson was phenomenal. She got us down there just in time to capture some absolutely gorgeous sunset photos.

"We chose to choreograph a short routine for our first dance to Everything I Do by Bryan Adams in tribute to one of our favourite guilty pleasure films. Everybody had a great time dancing until midnight, and we just loved seeing our guests enjoying themselves so much.

"It was the wedding we had dreamed of and more. We were blown away by the enthusiasm and love of our guests, the professionalism and kindness of our suppliers, and the absolutely flawless running of the day by Caleigh and the Merewood Team.

"We were delighted to be able to share a special place with many people - many of whom had never visited the Lakes before and will definitely be going back. On Sunday we took a handful of guests on a hike over Loughrigg Fell, Lucinda’s favourite, to round off the weekend and it was the perfect way to ring in the start of our marriage."

After the wedding the couple, from Surrey, spent a few days in Ambleside but their main honeymoon will be in July to New York, then Disney World Florida and Universal Studios.

The bride and the groom would like to thank their parents, bridesmaids, groomsmen and flower girls, page boys, The Banton family for the florals and their hired suppliers including Tiree Dawson, Matt at Journey Production House, Jude Kelly, Purple Swan, Elysia String Quartet, The Wolfpack band, Eagle Entertainment and Caleigh, Beth and all the team at Merewood.