Anna and Raymond
28/05/2005 – St Mary’s Church, Builth Wells
Caer Beris Manor Hotel, Builth Wells
How and when did you meet?
Over six years ago in February – we met through my best friend in our local pub!
How old are you both?
I am 23 and Ray is 26.
Where, when and how did he (or you!) propose?
In Dublin in May 2003.
Did you have hen and stag celebrations?
Yes, I went to Cardiff with my friends for my hen night. We stayed at The Thistle Hotel in the centre of Cardiff. We went on a speedboat, had our nails done, had a champagne afternoon tea and then went to The Hard Rock Cafe. The boys went to Newquay in Cornwall.
Did your groom help you with the wedding planning?
He let me get on with it all really!
Did you use confetti to plan your wedding? If so, how did the website help you?
Yes, I was on the message boards everyday and found them so helpful. They answered all the questions I wouldn’t have had a clue about. It was great to hear everyone elses’ experiences and advice. It really helped me with the planning of our wedding. I don’t know what I would have done without it!
Do you have a confetti web page?
No I don’t.
Did you buy any confetti products for your wedding? If so, did you visit a store, buy online or by mail order?
Yes I bought 10 table cameras, lots of confetti, car ribbon and little guide books for the bridal party which I gave as Christmas pressies!
Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it.
I wore a Maggie Sottero dress called Julie. It was a strapless ivory dress with organza. I got it from Wedding Belles in Bridgend.
Did you have bridesmaids? If so, who did you choose and what did they wear?
I had two of my best friends as bridesmaids and Ray’s two nieces as our flowergirls. They wore dresses by Hilary Morgan in a gorgeous aqua colour.
Who did your groom choose for his best man and ushers, and what did they wear?
Ray’s brother Michael was best man, and his brother in laws and my brother were our ushers. Ray’s nephew, the best man’s son, was our pageboy. They all wore morning suits with silver celtic waistcoats and greeny aqua cravats to match the bridesmaids.
Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?
We had a religious ceremony.
Where did you hold your ceremony?
At our local church, St Mary’s, in Builth Wells at 1.30pm.
Where did you hold your reception?
We had our reception at Caer Beris Manor Hotel also in Builth Wells.
Did you have any special wedding transport?
My Dad’s boss owns a Toyota garage, he lent us a brand new Toyota to arrive at the church in.
How many guests did you invite to your wedding, and did you have a separate evening guest list?
There were 94 in the day and an extra 150 at night.
Did your reception have a particular theme in terms of colour or style?
Our colour scheme was aqua, silver and ivory.
How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?
We had silver confetti sprinkled on the tables. The place names matched the invitations which were in our colour scheme.
Did you give your guests favours?
The favours were little perspex hearts with silver foil covered chocolates and tied with aqua ribbon.
Describe your flowers (bouquets and table decorations). Who was your florist?
I had ivory roses and lilies. We had two lovely heart wreaths either side of the top table and on each table we had square vases with roses in them. My mum’s friend, Caroline Meredith, did the flowers.
What did you choose to have on your menu? Did you have an outside caterer or did your venue handle the catering?
We had a choice of prawns or soup to start, beef, turkey or a veg option for the main course and then strawberries and cream or profiteroles for pudding.
What did you choose for your wedding cake?
We had a three tier ivory square stacked cake. One layer Carrot Cake, one Lemon Sponge and one traditional fruit. There was ribbon to match the stationery around each tier and silver and aqua stars exploding out of the top of the cake. Audrey Gwillim, a family friend, made the cake. We also had fairy cakes in the evening that were iced with either ivory, silver or aqua icing and had either A’s or R’s on them or lilies, roses or stars.
Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?
We had a disco at night and a fireworks display by Phenomenal Fireworks later in the evening which was amazing!
Did you have a gift list? If so, who did you have your list with?
We had two gift lists, one at Next and one at Debenhams. Most people gave us money though. We put it towards our first house.
Where did you spend your first night and honeymoon? Who did you book your honeymoon with?
Loads of friends and family stayed over at the hotel. We had the bridal suite which was really lovely. We went to New York for 4 nights and Orlando for 10 nights for our Honeymoon and had a fantastic two weeks!
What was your most memorable moment of the day?
It was all so memorable and fantastic. We had a family friend sing in the church and that was a lovely moment. Making our vows was very memorable. The speeches were excellent, the disco was excellent and the fireworks display was unbelievable! It was just all so memorable.
Did you experience any ‘nightmare’ moments in the run up to your wedding or on the day?
No, luckily there were no real nightmares in the run up to the big day.
Is there anything you would do differently, or any advice you would give to other brides?
My advice would be to enjoy every moment of the planning and the big day as it goes by so quickly! I would strongly recommend getting your wedding filmed as you can re live the day time and time again and it catches loads of stuff that you don’t get to see on the day!
