When was your wedding?
10/08/08
How and when did you meet?
We have been good friends for many years, but actually started dating on July 7th 2005, the day of the London bombings. Simon was supposed to be working in London but had the day off. It made me realise I loved him more than as a close friend
How old are you both?
Im 22 Simon is 23
Where, when and how did he (or you!) propose?
He propsed at our house. I got in from work, and there were rose petals leading from the front door into the dining room at the back of the house. There were candles lit and bunches of roses everywhere! He was stood in the dining room dressed smartly, and before I could say hello, he got down on one knee and presented me with a beautiful white gold cluster ring. I started crying and said yes!! He’d even cooked a lovely meal, which was laid out on the table
Did you have hen and stag celebrations? If so, what did you do?
I had a weekend away in Great Yarmouth which was a great laugh, and also a night out in Stamford (near Peterborough) for all the girls that couldnt make it to Yarmouth. We all wore costumes, I went as a burlesque girl, and my mums costume was the best, she went as Vicky Pollard!! Simon had a day of paintballing and a drink with mates, then a day of Go-karting and a meal out with all the boys
How did your groom help with the wedding planning?
Not alot!! He decided it was best if I chose everything, though he did pick the first dance and helped pick the colour scheme and wedding cake. Everything else was done by me and my mum
Did you use confetti to plan your wedding? If so, how did the website help you?
Yes, and found it very usueful. the weekly to do list was helpful, and there were lots of great ideas and lovely brides in the forums!
Do you have a confetti web page?
Yes
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 champagne bubbles for the tables, silver heart confetti, cameras and camera cards, as well as table name holders.
Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it
I wore an ivory Amanda Wyatt Emerald gown, which was stunning. Its an A line gown, with sparkle on it, simple and elegant. I brought it from the lovely Tracey Jaynes of Spalding. I had an Amanda Wyatt tiara and matching necklace and earring set also. I had a white veil with diamates on it by Richard designs and ivory heeled sandals from debenhams bridal. I wore a blue garter belt as my something borrowed and as my something old and borrowed, I pinned my grandads favorite ring to the inside of my dress, close to my heart, as he is no longer with us.
Did you have bridesmaids? If so, who did you choose and what did they wear?
Yes I had 4 adult bridesmaids, who were my sister Rachel, my best friend Becky, my sister-in-law Katie A and my close friend Katie H. They all wore black forever yours strapless full length a line gowns, with a white panel in the back and a thin white ribbon around the waist. They all had matching tiffany style silver necklace and earring sets with double heart pentdants. I also had my cousin Olivia as a flower girl. She wore an ivory dress with ivory ribbon around, and a silver heart necklace and earring set. She had little heart slides in her hair and a matching brooch on her dress
Who did your groom choose for his best man and ushers, and what did they wear?
He chose his best friend Lee as his best man, his brother Matthew as an usher, his friend Ben as an usher and our friend Charles as an usher. All the boys wore black morning suits with a white shirt, ivory waistcoat and silver crevatt and hankie. They all had personalised cufflinks in black and silver and black shoes
Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?
Civil
Where did you hold your ceremony?
Orton Hall Hotel in Peterborough
Where did you hold your reception?
Orton Hall Hotel in Peterborough
Did you have any special wedding transport?
No as I stayed overnight at the hotel. Although we did have our picture taken with my dad’s friends rare yellow Aston Martin!!
How many guests did you invite to your wedding, and did you have a separate evening guest list?
We had 70 day guests and then another 65-70 in the evening
Did your reception have a particular theme in terms of colour or style?
Yes our theme was hearts and our colours were black and white, with a touch of silver
How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?
We had silver heart confetti all over the tables, the tables had names instead of numbers, which was love in different languages, this was written on big hearts. Our menus were heart shaped and all chairs were covered in white linen with black organza sashes. We had a giant silver hear engraved with our names hung off the front of the top table with black and white organza sash and small silver hearts hung the same way off the cake table.
Did you give your guests favours?
Yes we gave them frdge magnets in little white envelopes with their names on sealed with little diamnte hearts. The magnets had a picture of simon and I on with a thank you message and our wedding date. We got these from the lovely Sheena at photosonthings.co.uk
Describe your flowers (bouquets and table decorations). Who was your florist?
Simple bunch of white roses held together with organza and diamatne pins. The tables all had roses and spray carnations arranged around black candles on black wrought iron candlesticks. We also had 6 larger ones done that decorated the ceremony room. Our good friend Joy Parker did all our flowers and stationery
What did you choose to have on your menu? Did you have an outside caterer or did your venue handle the catering?
The venu did all our catering. we had tomato soup to start, poached chicken in mushroom sauce for mains and fruit salad for dessert. there was a lemon sorbet between starter and main!
What did you choose for your wedding cake, and who made it?
We had a themed cake! We had a volcano, with ruins at the bottom and our cars on the cake to represent us. My car had mrs on the numberplate and Simons had mr. We also had our dog and cat on there playing in the ruins. The idea was to represent where we went on honeymoon, which was Italy. One of the places we visited was Mount Vesuvius (hence the volcano) and also Pompeii (hence the ruins). It was a fab cake, very tasty!! It was made by Paula Macleod of the creative cake company in Wisbech
Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?
We had a dj in the evening, Garry from Sunset entertainment of Peterborough. His lovely wife provided a very tempting chocolate fountain!
Did you have a gift list? If so, who did you have your list with?
No, we asked for euros for our honeymoon. We did get a nice cookbook and photo frames and album
Where did you spend your first night and honeymoon? Who did you book your honeymoon with?
First night was in the honeymoon suite, which was amazing as our best man and bridesmaids decorated it with confetti, candles and champagne. We went all over Italy by train. We went to Florence, Rome, Naples, Verona, Venice and Paris. We were gone for 3 weeks!!! Simons Mum and Nan booke it as a wedding gift to us
What was your most memorable moment of the day?
Walking down the aisle to so beautiful by Savage Garden on my dads arm seeing Simon smiling and all our guests crying and smiling.
Did you experience any “nightmare” moments in the run up to your wedding or on the day?
Only that my first wedding dress didnt fit!! I was originally going to wear charlize by amanda wyatt, which is very fitted. I bought it 18 months before my wedding, then went up 3 cup sizes!! I lost 1/2 stone before my wedding, but 3 weeks befoe it fit me perfectly up to my bust then wouldnt go any further!! IO had to choose a second dress, which was heartbreaking but it turned out good because I loved the second one so much more!! It was the same size as my other dress, but because it was a calico and not a zip, it fit round my boobs better!!!
Is there anything you would do differently, or any advice you would give to other brides?
I wouldnt have changed it for the world, it was the happiest day of my life and will remember it always. My best advice would be to make lists. on everything. its amazing what little things you can forget that add up!! And get a close family member to help you. My mum was a fantastic help, and made it less stressful becuase hse helped organise things. And you can never attend enough bridal shows!!! He’ll moan but its worth it. And speak to brides on forums, they always have fab ideas and always very helpful.
