Unsolicited Wedding Testimonials

Guests thought the doves were amazing – Just a quick note to tell you how much we enjoyed releasing the doves at our wedding. They looked beautiful; all the guests thought they were amazing and a lovely feature to have.

Jayne and Paul, Gamlingay, Beds.

Dear White Dove Company – We would just like to take this opportunity to thank you for your contribution to our wedding on 2nd August 2002. The doves were excellent and helped make the day an extremely special one: it was commented on as being one of the best weddings any of the guests had been to!

Catriona and Michael Hole.

Just a card to say thank you - for providing the doves for us to release at our wedding. Our guests said how nice they were and how perfect they flew out of the baskets; they made it a wonderful day.

Louise and Kevin, Toot Hill, Ongar, Essex.

We are so glad we chose your company – We thank you so much for helping us to add that extra special something to our ‘fairytale’ wedding at Great Fosters. Your doves were breathtaking. It was lovely for us to be able to hold two and release them by hand, then open the basket to release the other 10. Our guests were watching in amazement.

Natasha and Mathew Duffey, Staines, Middlesex.

It just happened on our magical day - Thank you so much for allowing us such a spectacular moment of joy on our wedding day. The doves arrived in a beautiful white basket and were released at the end of our ceremony. It was such a surprise for all guests and particularly our bridesmaids. The doves shot out and circled above our heads and flew out over the gothic temple and across the lake. It all seemed like a well rehearsed sequence for a film, but it just happened on our magical day.

Catherine and Nayland Smith, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey.

A surprise for the bride, groom and guests – Something different arranged by the groom’s parents – they loved it!

Thank you so very much – For being prompt and efficient with the doves at my daughter’s wedding, this was very much appreciated. I shall recommend your services to friends and relatives that were unable to come to the wedding.

Freda Stoneham, Brentwood, Essex.

Unsolicited Memorial and Funeral Testimonials

Holly and Jessica remembered – Many thanks for all you did Monday morning at the start of term at St. Andrew’s Primary School. In spite of the weather, I think it all went very well – the families certainly found it a valuable thing to have done and I suspect that the school children will always remember the day they stood in the rain and saw two white doves being set free.

Tim Alban Jones MBE – Vicar of Soham, Cambridgeshire.

Just a note to say – thank you for your time and support at our ceremony last Thursday. I have had many comments from staff and pupils as to how moving they found the occasion.
Best wishes.

Howard Gilbert, head at Soham Village College.

The release of doves lifted the spirits – I would just like to write and thank you note for making the interment of my father’s ashes such a beautiful occasion. The event would normally have been a sad experience, but the release of the doves lifted the spirits of all those attending. I can honestly say that I would recommend your company to others.

Linda Series, Bishops Stortford, Herts.

The sight of doves soaring into a perfect blue sky – We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your efforts. The sight of doves soaring into a perfect blue sky was a very moving experience for everyone involved.

Beverley Phillips, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.

A Special Thank you – I just wanted to say a special thank you for allowing my granddaughter to release one of your doves at our family funeral. It was a very moving final tribute to a very sweet old lady – it will remain a lasting memory for us all I am sure.

Marilyn Lambert, Harlow, Essex.

Just a little note – To say thank you so very much, for bringing the dove along to the cemetery. Releasing it was a wonderful experience. My emotions got the better of me on the day I’m afraid, thank you for being there.

Mary O’Hara, London W12.

I just wanted to say – Thank you on behalf of my family and myself for making the anniversary of my son’s death a pleasant one, although the reason for releasing the dove was so sad.

Mrs. B. Engledew, London E17.

They were so very beautiful they took my breath away - Thank you so much for bringing your doves to the funeral of my dear sister-in-law. I just know she would have approved of the very tasteful way the task of releasing the doves was conducted. It was a very moving experience – they were so very beautiful they took my breath away, and I felt it was a dignified and uplifting end to a very sad day.

Anne Saunders, Sheppey, Kent.

Surprise doves at a funeral! – When Hilary Cortes of Carmel, California USA sadly lost her sister here in the UK, she was advised by her doctors she should not travel to the funeral for medical reasons. She contacted The White Dove Company to arrange for some Surprise Doves for her family to release at the graveside on the day of the funeral.

Hilary wrote: You have given me a tremendous gift of comfort knowing that you could do this for me – as it was impossible for me to be there. My family said the release of the doves was absolutely awesome and most beautiful – I can’t thank you enough for what you have done for me and my family. I am truly at a loss for words.
If there is anything I can do for you such as an unsolicited testimonial of your services, compassion, professionalism etc. please let me know. It is most uncommon to find a business with such caring people as you all have been. To include but not limited to preparing for the service without receipt of funds – most uncommon.
Thanking you from the bottom of my heart. Hilary.

32 doves to celebrate 32 years of Simon’s life - The doves were arranged by his sister Maxine, for members of their family and friends to release. “Thank you so much for making my brother’s ceremony a lovely occasion – it was truly lovely under the circumstances”. Your doves were uplifting and I hope other similar events you take part in are equally so.”

Please find us doves for Twin Towers victim’s memorial – My mother was in the Twin Towers and has four grandchildren that would love to release doves at her memorial. My mom loved birds and the children feel that this is their way of saying they love her and to say goodbye. Please can you help make these children’s dreams come true? Lorena Roman – New Jersey USA

We found and contacted a company in New York who provided doves for the children to release at their grannies memorial.

Here’s my Big Thank You – I hope this e-mail gets to you as I couldn’t find a regular e-mail address! I just wanted to send a big THANK YOU for all the help you gave to me regarding the dove for a funeral I was arranging. I really appreciated the fact that I wasn’t even a customer. If that is the way your company deals with mere mortals like me, I am sure your customers are 100 percent happy with your service.

Linda Beattie, Wilton Funeral Service, Belfast.

A dozen of our doves were released by the Payne family at Guildford Cathedral on the 12th August 2000 to celebrate the life of their daughter Sarah.

The doves symbolised a spirit soaring free

“The doves rose up in a flurry of white wings. They circled once overhead and then turned to fly away. Michael and Sara Payne shielded their eyes against the afternoon sun and watched them until they were gone. This was the symbol of a spirit soaring free. This, they had told friends, was how they imagined Sarah had been mercifully released from her suffering, in the end.

The flight of the doves, images of peace, was a way of saying farewell. It was a poignant and simple gesture, a ceremony the Paynes had asked to perform, to bring to a close a touching service in memory of Sarah.

Dennis Ellam (Sunday Mirror)

The Doves of Peace

“.. 12 doves were released as a sign of peace and hope in memory of Sarah”.

“.. they moved on to the cathedral lawn and opened a white basket containing 12 doves, symbols of hope and peace”. Patrick Collins (The Mail on Sunday) The ultimate symbol of hope “..the service .. ended when Sarah’s mum and dad released 12 white doves – the ultimate symbol of hope – into the clear summer sky”. “.. they could not speak as they watched the last of the birds disappear”.

Ben Proctor, Anna Gekoski and Nadia Cohen (News of the World)

A Celebration of Life

“The family of Sarah Payne released 12 white doves outside Guildford Cathedral after a service to celebrate her life”.

Tom Robbins (Sunday Times)

A Very Private Moment

“It was a perfect day – even the doves of peace released from a white wicker basket seemed choreographed as they flew away and briefly circled back. The final, symbolic moment came after the family of Sarah Payne emerged into sunshine from the austere interior of Guildford Cathedral.”

“The silence .. broke as pale Michael Payne released the 12 doves. The excited beat of their wings drowned the noise of frenzied shutters from ranks of photographers there to capture a very private moment in a very public place”.

Yvonne Ridley (Sunday Express)

Signifying the Holy Spirit

“.. the Payne family released 12 doves, signifying the Holy Spirit, from the lawns of the cathedral ..” “The birds wheeled high over Stag Hill, where the kings of England once hunted. Sara Payne and her family watched them go, maybe thinking how such a splendid sight would have prompted one of those familiar, tinkly laughs if only their precious Sarah could have been there with them.”

John Smith (Sunday People)

It was a way of saying it is time to move on

“.. the Payne family stepped out into the dazzling sunlight of the cathedral green where 12 white doves were released from a white wicker basket. One by one, the doves flew into the sky, hovered briefly then flew away. Mr Payne stepped forward and carefully shut the lid of the basket. Perhaps after so much anguish, it was a way of saying it is time to move on..”

Mark Rowe (The Independent on Sunday)