20 couples renew vows at Thatcham Flower Festival

Thatcham mayor Mike Cole officially opened the event on Friday, at which wedding dresses and photographs, as well as piano and organ music were on offer to help couples plan their special day, further carrying through the theme of weddings through the years.
Displays from local Scouts, Brownies and Guides proved popular throughout the festival, which ran from Friday to Monday, while displays were also provided by a number of local organisations including the United Reform Church and the Lakeside Ladies’ Club.
The church’s bell ringers also performed at various times over the weekend, at one point for up to 45 minutes, with the use of its 10 bells.
Rev Mark Bennet said: “It was a wonderful and beautiful celebration of what’s best about our community.
“What we were trying to do was put marriage in church a bit back on the map… we believe that marriage is one of the core building blocks of society.”
He added that the wedding theme was chosen to showcase the church to the public.
“Sometimes people think you have to go to church to get married in church, that’s not true, we are there for everyone and it doesn’t cost a fortune.”