For most people, a wedding day is a once-in-a-lifetime occasion.
For Lyme Regis Town Council’s wedding steward, Carol Earp, it has been 100 unforgettable celebrations.
From lockdown ceremonies to owl-delivered rings, each one has been unique and each one has been special. Carol has helped over 100 couples begin married life together, and that is quite the achievement.
Carol said: “It’s incredibly rewarding knowing you’ve helped make someone happy and you know they will remember that day for the rest of their lives.”
After spending 20 years as a teacher, Carol was ready for something completely different and jumped at the chance to steward weddings.
Reflecting on the moment she spotted the advert in the local paper asking, ‘Do you love a good wedding?’, Carol said: “I’m not sure I ever imagined it would lead to one of the most rewarding chapters of my life.
“I thought it sounded fun. I’d spent years with people pulling me in different directions as a teacher, so the idea of spending my time surrounded by happy people was quite appealing. It’s been beautiful to do something where everybody is happy.”
Originally from Leicester, where she lived close to a busy racetrack surrounded by the noise of motorbikes, moving to Lyme Regis almost a decade ago certainly offered a complete change of pace and a much quieter life.
Not long after settling in Lyme Regis, Carol joined the Guildhall team as a wedding steward but didn’t steward her first wedding until March 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.
Reflecting on the uncertain times that Covid brought, she said: “It was such a strange time and a very different experience. Weddings were limited to just 30 guests and everyone had to wear face masks, people had to stay two metres apart, and we had to thoroughly clean the handrails before and after every ceremony.
“We weren’t allowed to play loud music, and there was no cheering, because everything was so restricted.”
Thankfully, those days are now behind us, and today’s ceremonies are once again full of laughter and celebration.
In 2024, the council invested in the civil ceremony package it can offer in the Guildhall.
Before guests arrive, the stewards transform the Guildhall with chair covers, coloured sashes, fairy lights and carefully arranged seating, all available to book as part of the wedding package.
Having witnessed over 100 ceremonies, Carol knows no two weddings are ever the same.
There have been military weddings, where uniformed guests formed a traditional guard of honour on the Guildhall steps, spectacular ceremonies accompanied by bagpipes the entire town could hear, and even one memorable occasion where an owl was entrusted with delivering the wedding rings.
Carol said: “We had to shut the windows that day, otherwise the owl would have been on his way to France!”
Carol also believes the Guildhall itself plays a part in creating those memories –steeped in history and overlooking Lyme Bay, there are few venues that can rival its setting.
She said: “It’s the history, the character of the building and of course, that incredible view from the main chamber, I don’t know many venues that can offer something quite like it.”
After reaching the milestone of 100 weddings, Carol is already looking ahead to the future. With plans progressing for weddings on the beach, she is hoping to swap the Guildhall floorboards for going barefoot on the sand.
And after helping more than 100 couples begin married life together, she still believes the perfect wedding is simply ‘one that goes without a hitch’.