I invite those couples who have booked me for their wedding this year and any other couples thinking about a future weeding, to visit me during the Milton Keynes Wedding Show in Middleton Hall (by John Lewis) over the weekend for a free glass of Champagne..

By Genevieve Roberts
Sunday, 9 October 2011

Everything is ready. The marquee has been erected. The yellow roses, sound equipment and bags of ice have been delivered. The paparazzi and Beatles fans have gathered. For today is expected to be Sir Paul McCartney’s third big day – the day he marries American industrial heiress and multimillionaire Nancy Shevell, 51, in a ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall.

Only 30 guests, including McCartney’s five children, are thought to be going to witness the wedding, which will be followed by a party in the back garden of the Beatle’s St John’s Wood home. The musician’s brother, Mike McGear, is tipped to be best man, while his seven-year-old daughter Beatrice, by his second wife, Heather Mills, will be flower girl.

Both the date, on which John Lennon, assassinated in December 1980, would have turned 71, and the venue, where McCartney married his first wife, Linda, in 1969, are highly symbolic. McCartney, 69, posted the legally required 16 days’ notice of the forthcoming marriage in September, describing himself as a “business executive” and Ms Shevell as an “executive”. The couple were then eligible to marry within the year. But speculation has been mounting all week that today has been earmarked for the ceremony, with preparations evident at McCartney’s home. His fashion designer daughter Stella McCartney is said to be helping choose the vegetarian meal to be served.

Ms Shevell, whose father heads a £250m haulage firm, and McCartney are believed to have been granted special dispensation to marry today, in a ceremony conducted by Superintendent Registrar Alison Cathcart. Weddings at Marylebone usually take place from Monday to Saturday only.

If you are planning a wedding in the near future or if you’re thinking of setting the date to get married, Ken can highly recommend you visit him at the Milton Keynes Wedding Show.

Ken can explain the art behind Sabrage – the opening of a bottle of Champagne using a French Cavalry sabre. Sabrage is a tradition introduce by Officers in Napoleon’s cavalry. Today sabrage is promoted and practiced by Le Confrérie de Sabre d’Or http://www.goldensabre.co.uk/council/index.html

Come and visit Ken at his stand at the Milton Keynes Wedding Show in Middleton Hall from 30 September – 2 October 2011. You can to discover how you can include the art of sabrage in your wedding and what he does to ensure your wedding celebrations run smoothly and just as you planned.

Sabrage (opening a bottle of champagne with a sabre) is a time honoured art and tradition started by Calvary officers in Napoleon’s army.
The tradition goes particularly well at the moment before the cutting of the wedding cake by the bride and groom.  The master of ceremonies will call for order whilst the bride and groom Sabrage a bottle of champagne together.
The secret is to hit the champagne cork with the sabre at the right angle and with the right degree of force in order to send the cork spectacularly flying through the air.  Ken is an Officer Maître sabreur of the Order of the Golden Sabre – La Confrérie du Sabre d’Or – to make sure that all goes well.)
Once the bottle is opened, the champagne is poured into the loving cup. The sabre can be used to make the initial cut into the wedding cake by the bride and groom during which time they make a wish together as man and wife. Sabrage is a rare shill and an exciting element to add to your wedding breakfast.
Coupled with sabrage can be the ceremony of the loving cup. The ceremony of the Loving Cup at weddings dates back to the 15th century. Today however, drinking from the loving cup symbolises the love that the bride and groom share for each other by drinking together from the same cup. It also marks the coming together of two families.

At a wedding recently I was asked to make the announcements in English and French when I was the Toastmaster for a wedding at the beautiful lakeside wedding venue at Beaumont House in Old Windsor.  The bride was from France and the groom for England. 50% of the guests were from France so it made good sense to speak both languages. I had to draw on my schoolboy days and holidays in France. This is now a skill that I will add to my list of experiences at wedding receptions.