Bethan and Jonathan
28/07/2006 – The Barton Grange Hotel
How and when did you meet?
We met at a party in 2001 and have been inseparable ever since!
How old are you both?
We’re both 22.
Where, when and how did he (or you!) propose?
Jonathan proposed at the top of Longridge Fell at sunset on 9/9/03. I accepted straight away…before he changed his mind! Hehe.
Did you have hen and stag celebrations? If so, what did you do?
I went to Leeds with 15 girls and we had a spa day then went to the Hard Rock Cafe and out around Leeds at night! We stayed in the Crowne Plaza and it was fantastic.
Jonathan went to Newcastle with about 25 lads including his dad! They went go karting and paint balling then out around the city at night!
How did your groom help with the wedding planning?
Jonathan had lots of input when it came to the decision making. I did all the research and decided what to have but he always had to agree with the decisions I made! I did most of the planning but Jonathan did help with the table plan and table names and he wrote out the place cards as he has very neat writing!
Did you use confetti to plan your wedding? If so, how did the website help you?
I used the wedding forums very much and got lots of great advice and wonderful ideas from the other ladies also planning weddings!
Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it
I wore a gorgeous ivory wedding dress by Phil Collins. It looked absolutely gorgeous on the day! I won’t say were I got it from as the service I received from the shop was dreadful so I don’t want to give them any sort of advertisement!
Did you have bridesmaids? If so, who did you choose and what did they wear?
We had three bridesmaids! The chief bridesmaid was my best friend of 11 years, Sadie. We also had Jonathan’s two sisters, Joanna and Sara. They wore gorgeous periwinkle blue Venus bridal dresses. They were so flattering and all three girls looked fantastic!
Who did your groom choose for his best man and ushers, and what did they wear?
We had my brother, Tom, as our usher and Jonathan chose his best friend of 18 years, Joe, to be best man. They all wore Edwardian style suits with blue cravats that were hired from Greenwoods.
Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?
We had a really lovely civil ceremony. The registrar was fantastic and added loads of personal touches to the ceremony.
Where did you hold your ceremony?
We had the ceremony at Barton Grange Hotel at 2pm.
Where did you hold your reception?
We had the reception at Baton Grange Hotel. The staff are exceptional, especially our wedding co-ordinator, Tom Jordan, and the entertainment manager, Rob Falcon. They are worth their weight in gold!
Did you have any special wedding transport?
No, we didn’t need a car as the ceremony and reception was at the same place.
How many guests did you invite to your wedding, and did you have a separate evening guest list?
We had 50 people to the wedding and around 130 in the evening!
Did your reception have a particular theme in terms of colour or style?
It was a fairly traditional theme with modern twists such as the cake and the DJ’s style. The colour scheme was blue and ivory.
How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?
We had blue confetti sprinkled on ivory table cloths and we choose ivory flowers in the table arrangements! We also had blue napkins.
Did you give your guests favours?
Yes. We gave everyone a Ferrero Rocher in an ivory box wrapped with a blue bow!
Describe your flowers (bouquets and table decorations). Who was your florist?
We used a local florist, The Bay Tree. The flowers were ivory roses and gerberas with a lot of green foliage and bear grass. The men’s buttonholes were a single gerbera with green foliage.
What did you choose to have on your menu? Did you have an outside caterer or did your venue handle the catering?
The Barton Grange Hotel did the catering and it was absolutely gorgeous food! We had medley of prawns to start then we had roast turkey dinner with all the trimmings then apple pie with custard for desert!
What did you choose for your wedding cake, and who made it?
We had a lovely three tiered modern cake from Imaginative Cakes. It had blue and silver wire spiraling up the tiers with two gorgeous blue and silver wire hearts on top with blue feathers.
Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?
We had a fantastic DJ Rob Falcon who played fantastic music all evening and provided much entertainment by dressing up in many different crazy outfits over the course of the night! The dance floor was never empty!
Did you have a gift list? If so, who did you have your list with?
We had a gift lift with both Debenhams and Argos. Debenhams was particularly good as they gave us a £50 gift card just for registering our list with them!
Where did you spend your first night and honeymoon? Who did you book your honeymoon with?
We spent our first night as Mr and Mrs in the gorgeous honeymoon suite at the Barton Grange Hotel. We then flew out to Meedhupparu in the Maldives for two glorious weeks in paradise. We booked the honeymoon with Thomsons.
What was your most memorable moment of the day?
The whole day was absolutely fantastic. The best day of our lives! I particularly enjoyed kissing my husband for the first time. I think that memory will stay with me forever.
Did you experience any ‘nightmare’ moments in the run up to your wedding or on the day?
We were extremely lucky and chose all our vendors very well as everything went perfectly.
Is there anything you would do differently, or any advice you would give to other brides?
Make sure you take time out from the wedding bubble you enclose yourself in and look around and make memories, otherwise the whole day could just pass in a blur! Also definitely have a video as this is my most important possession now as the ceremony passed in such a blur for me as I was just so happy. I can hardly remember it myself and that video is my memory of the bits I missed!
