It all started in the office with the missing receptionist… then a beach proposal… and then the happily ever after, under a gorgeous sailing-themed marquee. See Katie and Leo’s story below.
Wedding Date: 25th June 2011
Venue: Ceremony at St David’s Church Much Dewchurch
Reception: A marquee on our family farm on Monkhall, in Herefordshire
Photographer: Douglas Fry
We met… through work! I was asked to drop a file off at Leo’s office for one his colleagues. I walked to his office, carrying the heavy file, took the lift to the correct floor, but when the lift opened there was no receptionist to tell me where to leave the file, Leo spotted me across the room, walked over and took the file from me. Two weeks later I was told there was a consultant joining our department for a couple of months and that consultant turned out to be Leo…
The proposal… Leo proposed on Porth Ceiriad Beach in Abersoch, North Wales where his parents have a holiday home.
My dress… My dress was from a fabulous bridal boutique in Hereford called White Minx.
The bridesmaids… We had five bridesmaids in total; my older sister Sophie, our two close friends Harriet and Kathryn, Leo’s Goddaughter Hollie and her younger sister Ella. They wore royal blue dresses with an ivory sash.
The groomsmen… Leo had three best men. His brother Jay and his two cousins Ollie and Dom. He also had three ushers, his good friend Jamie, my younger brother Oliver and his other cousin Dan.
The flowers… My mum’s best friends Gill and Audrey made all the centre pieces and decoration inside the marquee. They were absolutely fabulous. My sister’s mother in law Fiona, together with a team of six ladies including Gill and Audrey, made all the church flower arrangements. We had blue delphiniums and crème roses with the cutest end of pew mini arrangements. These were all taken back to the marquee for the reception. My mother in law Gail and her sister Fiona made gorgeous bunting that we used to decorate the outside of the marquee and all over the out-buildings opposite my parents’ house.
Our reception… We had the reception on the lawn of my parent’s farm in Herefordshire. The marquee was decorated around a nautical theme. Leo has been an avid sailor all his life and has represented Great Britain on a number of occasions. The tables were named after different sailing knots and the names were written on flags in a boat shaped flower arrangements in the centre of the tables, the boats were placed on mirrors supposed to represent the water. We also had my mother in law, Gail’s, boat on display outside the marquee and she made sailing bunting which read the date of our wedding in sailing flags.
The food… We had outside caterers called “Sisters Catering” they are good family friends and were wonderful. Our guests were treated to gorgeous canapés whilst sipping Pol Roger before entering the marquee. We then had an Hors d’oeuvres plate of smoked salmon, prawns and quails eggs with local asparagus to start. Followed by whole fillets of Herefordshire beef carved at the table. Then a trio of pudding to finish, followed by coffee and mints.
The entertainment… We had a string quartet during the reception and the band Soul’d Out during the evening.
Our gift list… We chose to have our gift list with John Lewis.
My most memorable moment… The whole day was just magical…… My dad and I had a very memorable journey to the church in a vintage yellow Ford Model T, kindly leant to us and driven by our family friend Anthony Lowther. I was so excited about the journey that I actually left my bouquet on the kitchen table at Monkhall and had to take my sister’s bouquet down the aisle! However, without a doubt the most memorable moment of the day had to be walking down the aisle, seeing Leo’s face and then saying my vows to him… I will never ever forget that! There was also a rather funny moment in church when one of the pews broke in half midway through our vows….
Any glitches? No – the wedding was organised to absolute perfection by my incredible mum, Sally Price, without her the day would not have happened. She had a great team of friends around her, Gill, Audrey, Gail and Fiona and how could I forget my amazing Dad, he spent months selecting the Marquee, champagne and wine and making Monkhall and the farm grounds look absolutely perfect.
Douglas Fry has 20 years of experience, photographing approximately 40 weddings per year. He specialises in natural style, no-flash, unobtrusive photography – he has a rare gift of capturing the most beautiful moments without being noticed himself. Highly recommended by his customers.
