Claire and Duncan
10/09/2005 – Putteridgebury
The Corus Hotel, Harpenden
How and when did you meet?
We met about 8 years ago, through friends.
How old are you both?
25.
Did you have hen and stag celebrations?
We both had hen and stag celebrations. I had two hen parties. The first one was mainly family and a few close friends; we went for a weekend in Barcelona and then a couple of weeks before the wedding I went to the School Disco in London with a large group of friends. Duncan and the lads went to Newcastle for a weekend of alcohol, pole dancing clubs and go-karting.
Did your groom help you with the wedding planning?
Duncan wasn’t really involved with much of the wedding planning, he left it to me. The main thing he helped with was collecting the suits!
Did you use confetti to plan your wedding? If so, how did the website help you?
I did use Confetti to help plan my wedding. I viewed wedding dresses, table decorations, cakes and make-up.
Do you have a confetti web page?
No.
Did you buy any confetti products for your wedding? If so, did you visit a store, buy online or by mail order?
Yes, I did buy products from Confetti, I shopped online.
Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it.
My dress was a Maggie Sottero ‘Olympia’. As soon as I saw this dress I know it was right, I was looking for something quite plain and elegant and I absolutely loved the back of the dress as it laced up and had a crystal effect running each side and down into the train. I bought it from The Bridal Room in Hitchin, Herts.
Did you have bridesmaids? If so, who did you choose and what did they wear?
I had two bridesmaids, one was Duncan’s sister Laura and the other was supposed to be my sister Lisa, but unfortunately she lives in the States and was unable to come home for the wedding. So a good friend – Sarah, very kindly stepped in at the very last minute!
Who did your groom choose for his best man and ushers, and what did they wear?
The best man was Gary, Duncan’s best friend. The Usher was Duncan’s brother Gary (also.) They wore grey suits with cream waistcoats and sky blue ties to match the bridesmaid dresses.
Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?
Civil ceremony.
Where did you hold your ceremony?
Putteridgebury.
Where did you hold your reception?
The Corus Hotel, Harpenden.
Did you have any special wedding transport?
We had a 1934 Rolls Royce in white.
How many guests did you invite to your wedding, and did you have a separate evening guest list?
We had about 75 guests to the wedding and another 30 came to the evening reception.
Did your reception have a particular theme in terms of colour or style?
Sky Blue was our colour scheme.
How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?
We had blue balloons as centrepieces along with blue coloured favours.
Did you give your guests favours?
Yes.
Describe your flowers (bouquets and table decorations). Who was your florist?
I had a hand-tied bouquet designed with bianca roses (ivory) and eucalyptus foliage. The bridesmaids had hand-tied bouquets with bouvardia and white double lisianthus with eucalyptus foliage. My florist was Outside the box in Harpenden.
What did you choose to have on your menu? Did you have an outside caterer or did your venue handle the catering?
The hotel did the catering for us and we had a buffet as we had a late wedding.
What did you choose for your wedding cake?
We choose a wonky cake design which had tatty teddies as the cake topper. A friend of Duncan’s, called Chrissie, made our cake.
Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?
We had a DJ in the evening.
Did you have a gift list? If so, who did you have your list with?
We didn’t have a gift list, we choose a honeymoon account which our Travel Agent set up for us. They gave us cards with all the details on to send out with our invitations.
Where did you spend your first night and honeymoon? Who did you book your honeymoon with?
The first night we spent at the hotel in which we’d held our reception. We had a fantastic honeymoon, for the first week we went to the Sandals ‘Grande’ in St. Lucia and then for the second week we went to Las Vegas. We booked through First Choice Holiday Hypermarket.
What was your most memorable moment of the day?
The actual ceremony and Duncan being so nervous! I had been stressing for weeks and he was so calm and then on the day it was completely reversed! I’ve never seen him so nervous!
Did you experience any ‘nightmare’ moments in the run up to your wedding or on the day?
The real nightmare was my sister not being able to get here for the wedding.
Is there anything you would do differently, or any advice you would give to other brides?
Stressful, but I miss it now it is all over. Just enjoy every minute.
