Please reply by 14 April 2027.

The ceremony begins promptly at 4:00 pm — the gate closes at 3:55.

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M & T Alder Cove · 2027
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An outdoor wedding ceremony on a lawn at golden hour, guests seated in rows facing a flower-framed arch
Saturday 12 June 2027

Maren Orin and Theo Verge

We are getting married on the west lawn at Alder Cove House, and we would love you there for all of it.

Reply to the invitation

Ceremony

4:00 pm, west lawn

Where

Alder Cove House

Carriages

Midnight, coaches 12:30

The short version

Four things to know

If you read nothing else on this page, read these. Everything after it is detail you can come back to nearer the time.

The date

Sat 12 June

2027. A Saturday, so most people travel the day before and stay the night.

Arrive by

3:30 pm

Doors and lawn open at 3:15. Seats are unreserved apart from the first two rows.

The place

Alder Cove

One venue for the whole day — ceremony, dinner and dancing all happen on site.

Dress code

Garden formal

Long dresses, linen suits, strong colour very welcome. Flat or block heels for grass.

Order of the day

From the first drink to the last dance

Times are the real ones we have given the venue, not polite estimates. The only moment that genuinely cannot wait is four o'clock.

  1. 3:15PM

    Lawn opens

    Come straight through the stone archway to the west lawn. A string trio plays, and there is iced tea and something cold on the table by the hedge.

  2. 4:00PM

    Ceremony

    Thirty minutes, outdoors, under the arch. If it rains we move inside the orangery and nothing else about the day changes.

  3. 4:40PM

    Drinks on the terrace

    Group photographs happen here, which is why we would love you to stay close rather than wander to the cove just yet.

  4. 6:15PM

    Dinner is called

    The seating plan is posted on the orangery doors. Find your table before you find your drink — it saves a great deal of milling about.

  5. 8:00PM

    Speeches

    Three of them, all short, all timed by Maren's aunt with a small brass bell she has promised to use.

  6. 9:00PM

    First dance, then the band

    A four-piece until half past eleven. Cake is cut around ten and quietly reappears as a late-night slice with coffee.

  7. 11:45PM

    Last dance

    Bar closes at midnight. The second coach leaves at half past twelve and it is the last one of the night.

A long wedding dinner table under warm light, set with glassware, candles and low greenery down the centre
The orangery, set for dinner
Dinner

One long table, and most of it from the garden

We are eating together at one table down the length of the orangery. Dinner is three courses, served family style, built around what the kitchen garden has in June — so expect broad beans, new potatoes and a great deal of soft herb.

Every course has a full vegetarian version made the same way rather than as an afterthought, and the kitchen can cover gluten, dairy and nut requirements if we know by the end of April. Tell us in the RSVP form and it goes straight onto the plan.

Travel & stay

Getting to the cove, and sleeping near it

The lane down to the house is single track with passing places. If you are driving, add twenty minutes to whatever your map tells you on a June Saturday.

  • By train

    The coast line stops at Alder Halt, which is twelve minutes from the house by taxi. Taxis do not wait at the halt, so book one before you travel or take the guest coach from the harbour instead.

  • By car

    Park on the gravel field above the house — a steward will wave you in from two o'clock. Cars can stay overnight at no charge if you collect them before ten on Sunday morning.

  • Guest coach

    Two pickups from the harbour square at 2:30 and 3:00 pm, returning at 11:45 pm and 12:30 am. Free, no booking needed, and the only way home that does not involve a taxi queue.

  • On foot

    From the village it is a twenty-five minute walk along the cove path. It is beautiful and it is uphill at the end. Not recommended in the shoes you intend to dance in.

6 minutes on foot

The Cove Inn

Eight rooms above the pub, breakfast until ten. Rooms held under ORINVERGE until the end of March.

10 minutes by car

Saltmarsh Guesthouse

Quieter and a little larger, with family rooms and a garden. Also holding rooms under the same name.

15 minutes by car

Alder Farm Rooms

Four simple rooms and a barn that sleeps six — the sensible choice if you are coming as a group.

Gifts

Honestly, your being there is the whole thing

We have lived together for six years and own more than enough plates. There is no registry and no list, and nobody is keeping track of who brought what.

If you would like to mark the day anyway, we are putting anything that arrives towards a long walking trip in the spring. A note we can keep, or a photograph of us you have that we have never seen, would be just as welcome — bring it on the day and leave it in the wooden box by the orangery door.

Guest questions

The things people have actually asked

If your question is not here, put it at the bottom of the RSVP form and we will answer it directly.

Can we bring our children?
Yes, and quite a few are coming. There is a supervised playroom off the library from six o'clock with films, floor cushions and an early tea at half past five. Tell us ages in the RSVP so the kitchen and the sitters can plan properly.
What does garden formal actually mean?
Wear the thing you would be pleased to be photographed in, with shoes that cope with lawn and old brick. Men mostly in linen or light wool, no morning dress, ties optional. Colour is encouraged — white or ivory is the only thing we would ask you to leave in the wardrobe.
How do I tell you about a dietary requirement?
Use the dietary notes box in the RSVP form and be as specific as you like, including severity for allergies. The kitchen needs it by the end of April to guarantee it. After that they will still try, but we cannot promise the same dish.
Does my invitation include a plus-one?
If your invitation has a second name on it, yes. If it only has yours, we are sadly at the limit of what the orangery holds. The number-in-your-party field in the form will tell you what we have you down for.
What happens if it rains?
The ceremony moves inside the orangery, which is set up and ready either way, and we make the call by midday on the Saturday. Nothing else about the timings changes. There are umbrellas at the archway and a covered walk between the house and the orangery.
Can we take photographs during the ceremony?
We would love you to put your phone away for the thirty minutes of the ceremony — our photographer has the aisle covered and a sea of screens in the shot is the one thing we would regret. Everything after four thirty, photograph away.
Can I leave a car at the house overnight?
Yes, in the gravel field above the house, at no charge. The field gate is locked at one in the morning and opened again at seven, and we would be grateful if cars were collected before ten so the stewards can clear it.
I can only come for part of the day — is that all right?
Completely. Tell us roughly which part in the RSVP notes so the kitchen counts dinner correctly. If you are arriving after four o'clock, come to the terrace rather than the lawn and one of the ushers will find you.
A couple holding hands on a path at dusk, the bride's bouquet resting at her side
RSVP

Tell us you are coming

One reply per invitation is plenty. If plans change after you send it, reply again with the same name and we will use the later one.

Replies close 14 April 2027