Congratulations Mr and Mrs Knapman!

As the glorious sun shone and excited guests arrived, the celebrations began at Newport’s Mansion House as we saw Lauren pull up in a lovely yellow VW Camper van beaming from the window and giving everyone a wave! Gathered inside, we witnessed the emotional moment Lauren’s dad walked her down the aisle to ‘I Always Knew’ a song by The Vaccines, covered by Awfultime. Hankies at the ready as the blubbing commenced seeing Lauren looking soooo beautiful and elegant meeting her handsome husband-to-be. This long awaited day that so much thought and preparation had gone into was finally underway. 

“I will’s” were said, rings were exchanged, kisses were given as the room filled with applause when the registrar announced that Lauren and Josh were now Husband and Wife! Yay!

After a few celebratory ‘shandys’ at The Handpost Pub (well, we did have to wait for a taxi), the next stop was Newport Market for the reception party. Now, to say that Team Parade have been excited about the fact that Lauren and Josh’s wedding was the first to be hosted at the newly refurbished Victorian Market is an understatement. It's Europe's biggest indoor market regeneration and we’ve been following its progress since the major works begun in 2020. We've had a couple of site visits, enjoyed the launch party and have eaten there pretty much non-stop since it opened in March. It’s magnificent and we absolutely love it.

The private wedding reception was held on the upper floor, showcasing the huge open space, adorned with luscious green foliage, stylish painted metal work and a pretty impressive banquette seating area. In addition, the beautifully presented tables, abundance of flowers and all the carefully-crafted trimmings certainly took your breath away upon arrival. 

Lauren’s creative talents and graphic skills were on full display having designed the beautiful order of service, table plan, name settings and cute seed pouches for wedding favours. All ‘on-brand’ of course! Great work Lauren. (We wouldn't expect anything less!)

Guests were spoilt rotten with fizz, beers and wine (thanks guys!) and a wonderful selection of culinary delights, that quite frankly could have fed a small country. Bruschettini with goats cheese, pomegranate and fig, sun-dried tomato and walnut and honey from Ostuni Catering (new brand design by Parade to be revealed soon!) Followed by a fantastic selection of incredible pizza by Flour and Ash, who have recently joined Newport Market's food hall. We definitely recommend. And if that wasn’t enough to whet your appetite, the antipasti buffet and selection of amazing cakes later in the evening were enough to put you into a food coma.   

After the abundance of food, incredible speeches and heartfelt toasts, it was time to get the dancing shoes on (or rather, take them off) crank up the music and get the party started. 

For additional entertainment and a wonderful memento of the day, guests were invited to have a hand painted portrait of themselves by artist Lucie Sheridan in her wonderfully quirky ‘Rubbish Portraits’ booth. Based on the concept of a traditional photobooth, guests enter via a curtain and are seated on a stool. Curtain drawn, you sit towards a window where you will come face-to-face with the hugely talented artist, who immediately puts you at ease whilst putting black ink to paper to create your portrait. We’ve known Lucie for a few years now and sat in her booth on numerous occasions. You just want to sit and talk to her all night! Not too dissimilar to a confession box, you’ll find yourself lost in conversation whilst her artistic magic takes place. After only a few minutes you exit the booth where your completely bespoke, signed Rubbish Portrait is dispensed to you through a slot. You’re even given a branded hard back envelope make sure your work of art doesn’t become crumpled on your journey home. Nice touch. Lucie and her booth travel all over the UK for events, celebrations and festivals. Visit her website and get her booked for your next event. You wont be disappointed. 

The evening saw inhibitions left behind as people fled to the dance floor to bust some moves. We drank copious amounts of (unnecessary) booze and naturally told way too many people that we loved them. But that’s OK! There was so much laughter, joy and celebration for this wonderful couple it was inevitable that we’d get caught up in the moment. And like any self-respecting party-goer, the evening didn’t end there. The bride and groom and most of their entourage didn’t let a wedding stop them from seeing in the early hours at LePub. Why change the habit of a lifetime eh?

Lauren and Josh. Thank you for letting us share your magical day. We wish you a lifetime of happiness as husband and wife.  

Maybe it’s not just fools that fall in love after all. 

Photo Credits

Beautiful photography by Carmel Mccabe (with permission by Lauren & Josh) 

Amateur photography by drunken wedding guests (mostly Paraders)