Lord Newport marries in Weston Park ceremony

Alexander, Viscount Newport, married Miss Eliza Liepina, on Saturday.

Surrounded by family and friends, the nuptials took place on a glorious spring day, with Weston Park’s magnificent parkland serving as a stunning backdrop.

Taking their vows in front of the Bishop of Lichfield at the pretty medieval Church of St Andrew, which sits next to the stunning C17th stately home, the Viscount and Viscountess left the church, exchanging their first kiss as a married couple.

Weston Park, set in 1,000 acres of Capability Brown landscaped parkland, set the scene for the wedding festivities.

With its impressive Italianate Gardens, guests mingled in the sunshine sipping champagne, before retreating in the evening to a flower adorned tent overlooking the park to take their seats for a dinner of salt marsh lamb accompanied by wine from New Zealand – a nod to Eliza’s childhood roots.

Looking radiant in her dress, Lady Newport chose London-based couture wedding dress designer, Phillipa Lepley, to create an elegant tailored bridal gown.

Renowned for her sweeping statement dresses, Phillipa and her team worked closely with the bride-to-be to formulate the exact design and style she wanted.

To complement the wedding dress, the couple embraced seasonality and went for peonies for their sweet spicy fragrance and luxurious blousy effect.

Besides adorning the church and house throughout, a show-stopper installation of peonies, created by Swallows and Damsons, an artisan florist, provided a stunning ceiling arrangement.

Introduced by mutual friends just over two years ago on a night out in Notting Hill, the couple hit it off immediately and following a fun night, discovered they lived just one minute walk away from each other.

Although Lord Newport had just resigned from his partner role at London based developer, Quadrant, to return to run the family estates company – Bradford Estates on the border of Shropshire and Staffordshire, the couple embarked on a relationship dividing their time between Shropshire and London.

Originally from Auckland, New Zealand, Lady Newport worked in property development but had only recently moved to London from New York and was still getting to know London.

Lord Newport is the eldest of the four children of the 7th Earl of Bradford of Weston-under-Lizard, Shifnal, and his first wife, the former Joanne Elizabeth Miller – now Mrs Philip Porter, of Hungerford, Berkshire.

Weston Park was gifted to the nation in 1986 by Richard, the current Lord Bradford, and is now owned and maintained by the Weston Park Foundation, an independent charitable trust.

Speaking after the ceremony Lord Newport's father, Richard Bridgeman, 7th Earl of Bradford, said: “The family and I are absolutely thrilled to welcome Eliza into the family, she’s a lovely girl.

"Ever since we first met her, we had an inkling she might be the one for Alexander, they’re very much in love with each other and make a great working partnership. They’re both extremely bright, hard-working and want the best for the estates, so I’m confident Bradford Estates are in safe hands.”