A southsea castle/fort cumberland picture story

Southsea Castle is a fabulous place for a wedding. We were right on the seafront with views over the Solent to the Isle of Wight. The wedding veteran Henry VIII watched his flagship The Mary Rose sink from the same sun drenched battlements where Ellen & Paul and guests gratefully quenched their thirst post ceremony with champagne. I’d started at the castle seeing Paul and guests arrive before Ellen and her infectious smile arrived with bridesmaids. Their choice to be married in the cool of the castle keep seemed inspired as it was hot! A ceremony full of joy and tears was followed by a confetti shower along the draw bridge, then a double decker bus ride along the length of the seafront to their reception at the Southsea Gin Distillery within the cavernous Napoleonic Fort Cumberland, a wonderful and very atmospheric kind of subterranean Bond lair. Living in Southsea this was a home wedding for me and I’d run past the entrance to Fort Cumberland hundreds of times but had never been allowed inside. Ellen & Paul are lovely relaxed people. Their guests were like them and made me feel very at home. Catering vans supplied mountains of Fish and Chips, then Ice Creams, before bride and groom, to the delight of their friends, put on one of the best first dance routines I’ve ever seen. The dance floor rocked well into the night and I left far later than planned, a wonderful day.