Wedding at The Hidden Lake, Maisemore Court

May 2025

The very next evening after a suburban wedding booking in Clifton, we headed for the Gloucestershire countryside, to The Hidden Lake at Maisemore Court, for Nickie and Wijnand's wedding.

There's something quite different about arriving at a venue like this. Everything feels peaceful. There's countryside, there's the lake, there's plenty of space and, for a while at least, everyone seems remarkably calm.

Then a wedding band arrives.

We got ourselves set up while the celebrations carried on around us, and gradually the atmosphere started to change. Guests were chatting, drinking and catching up, but there was a definite sense that people were beginning to think about the evening party.

Once we started playing, they didn't keep us waiting.

The dance floor filled up quickly and stayed busy, with plenty of dancing and singing throughout the evening. It was one of those crowds where you can tell almost immediately that you're going to have fun playing.

There's also something quite nice about the way weddings work from our point of view. We arrive knowing virtually nobody, spend a few hours playing music with a room full of strangers, and then leave feeling as though we've somehow been part of the guest list.

The Hidden Lake made a brilliant backdrop for the day, and the contrast between the peaceful surroundings outside and the noise coming from the dance floor inside was rather satisfying.

Thanks to Nickie and Wijnand for letting us be part of the celebrations. We had a great evening — and the lake remained reassuringly free of discarded drum kits.