Lisa and Rob
27/05/2006
Priest House on the River Castle Donington
How and when did you meet?
We met whilst working in a hotel together during the summer of 2001.
How old are you both?
I’m 25 and Rob is 30.
Where, when and how did he (or you!) propose?
Rob proposed in July 2004 after a meal out. We celebrated the following day with a day at Alton Towers!
Did you have hen and stag celebrations? If so, what did you do?
Rob celebrated in London- that’s all I want to know. I treated myself to some pampering followed by an evening out with friends.
How did your groom help with the wedding planning?
He agreed with everything I wanted!
Did you use confetti to plan your wedding? If so, how did the website help you?
I did use the website for ideas.
Did you buy any confetti products for your wedding? If so, did you visit a store, buy online or by mail order?
I visited the Birmingham store and stocked up with lots of stationery items for decorating my tables.
Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it
My dress was by Maggie Sottero and was from a great little shop called Mimi Toko in Duffield, Derbyshire. It turned out to be the second dress I ever tried on. The ladies in the shop were very helpful and they made sure you never left the changing room without looking and feeling like a bride complete with shoes, tiara, veil and certainly no bra straps on show!
you have bridesmaids? If so, who did you choose and what did they wear?
I had one bridesmaid- my now sister-in-law. She wore a dusky pink dress from Debenhams and despite actually being pregnant on the day, she still managed to get into the dress bought originally.
Who did your groom choose for his best man and ushers, and what did they wear?
Rob chose his friend, Will, as his best man and his brother-in-law as an usher. They all hired traditional black morning suits with the grey and black striped trousers from a local suit hire shop. They all wore cream cravats and waistcoats as they refused to wear pink!
Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?
We had a civil ceremony which was held at the same venue as the reception.
Where did you hold your ceremony?
The ceremony was held at the Priest House on the River Castle Donington.
Where did you hold your reception?
The reception was also held at the Priest House on the River Castle Donington. We hired the Garden Suite for the reception which gave us our own private walled garden.
Did you have any special wedding transport?
I had an ivory Daimler to take me to the hotel.
How many guests did you invite to your wedding, and did you have a separate evening guest list?
We had around 60 day guests and had a total of around 100 guests in the evening.
Did your reception have a particular theme in terms of colour or style?
Pink.
How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?
Table settings consisted of a tented place card and a favour from Thorntons. These were both dotty hot pink with light pink spots and cream with light pink spots. The two options were alternated along the tables. I also wrapped up disposable cameras in cream tissue paper and tied a hot pink ribbon around. The top table also had hot pink tissue paper hearts scattered on it.
Did you give your guests favours?
The adults all had a pink foiled chocolate heart from Thornton’s presented in a small dotty favour box. The children all received a clear acetate tube of jelly beans (one layer of white jelly beans and one later of pink).
Describe your flowers (bouquets and table decorations). Who was your florist?
My bouquet was mainly lilies and roses (my favourite). Table decorations were small posies of pale pink and hot pink gerberas. My bridesmaid carried a posy of pale pink and cream roses. The room decorations were two large displays of lilies, roses and some exotic flowers. The bridesmaid also wore small pink and cream flowers in her hair. All flowers were provided by the Cottage Garden, Willington. They were all fab.
What did you choose to have on your menu? Did you have an outside caterer or did your venue handle the catering?
The hotel offered a choice of menus. We had melon as a starter followed by chicken wrapped in parma ham and served with roast potatoes with a red wine gravy. For dessert, lemon tart with raspberry sorbet. The food was fantastic- I was concerned that melon wasn’t a very exciting starter but it was served in the most unusual way with red jelly!
What did you choose for your wedding cake, and who made it?
The wedding cake was provided by Decor Cakes of Stapleford (nottingham). It was all decorated with white chocolate and each tier was decorated with one hot pink gerbera to match the table decorations.
Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?
In the evening, we organised a DJ as well as a fabulous firework display supplied by MLE pyrotechnics.
Did you have a gift list? If so, who did you have your list with?
Our gift lift was with Debenhams. We were overwhelmed with the number of gifts we received.
Where did you spend your first night and honeymoon? Who did you book your honeymoon with?
Our first night was spent in the Stocker Suite at the Priest House hotel. It was the best room in the house right at the top of this spiral turret. We went on honeymoon the following day, spending 14 nights on the island of Juredu in the Maldives.
What was your most memorable moment of the day?
It is difficult to pinpoint one special moment- the whole day was just magical.
Did you experience any ‘nightmare’ moments in the run up to your wedding or on the day?
The DJ called me whilst I was on the way to the venue (I know I shouldn’t have had my mobile on me!) to let me know his equipment had failed but he was sending a replacement instead.
Is there anything you would do differently, or any advice you would give to other brides?
I wouldn’t do anything differently. My only advice- don’t get married in a rush. The planning and organising is half of the fun.
