What is your first name?
Sarah
What is your last name?
Gray
What is your maiden name?
Davies
What is the name of your groom?
Nick
When was your wedding?
29th March 2010
What is your email address?
Would you like other brides to be able to email you?
yes
How and when did you meet?
We met in January 2010, we met online.
How old are you both?
I was 30 and Nick was 34
Where, when and how did he (or you!) propose?
Funny story, my Dad ended up spilling the beans to me after Nick asked him for my hand in marriage. Nick then asked me on the top of the North Yorkshire Moors overlooking Whitby.
Did you have hen and stag celebrations? If so, what did you do?
My hen party consisted of 10 very close friends going to gorgeous cottage in Shropshire. Nick had his stag do in Newcastle.
How did your groom help with the wedding planning?
Paying for it!! He also keeped me in check with what was realistic to spend and hunting out the best value for money.
Did you use confetti to plan your wedding? If so, how did the website help you?
I used the forums lots for ideas.
Do you have a confetti web page?
Did you buy any confetti products for your wedding? If so, did you visit a store, buy online or by mail order?
My favour boxes and table plan were both from confetti. I bought the favour boxes in the Leeds store and the table plan online.
Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it
My dress was by Christina Rossi, it had a full skirt and a laced up back.
Did you have bridesmaids? If so, who did you choose and what did they wear?
My bridesmaids wore chocolate prom dresses from Debenhams that i chose.
Who did your groom choose for his best man and ushers, and what did they wear?
Nick wore a grey suit with a silver waistcoat and silver tie. The rest of the men wore pink ties instead of silver ones but the same suit as my husband.
Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?
We had a beautiful religious ceremony.
Where did you hold your ceremony?
St Peter’s Church in Conisbrough which is very close to where we live. It is the oldest building in South Yorkshire.
Where did you hold your reception?
Rudding Park in Harrogate, it was beautiful and just how we expected.
Did you have any special wedding transport?
We hired an Audi Q5 to take us on the hours drive from church to reception.
How many guests did you invite to your wedding, and did you have a separate evening guest list?
We had 57 guests in the day and an extra 15 in the evening.
Did your reception have a particular theme in terms of colour or style?
I had a chocolate and pink theme for the day. Neither of the colours featured too much and it was a very sublte look.
How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?
We had pink flowers for the tables, the favour boxes had chocolate bows and the sashes on the chair covers were also chocolate. The name place cards had a pink butterfly on.
Did you give your guests favours?
Yes, small boxes with chocolates it.
Describe your flowers (bouquets and table decorations). Who was your florist?
My bouquet was a beautiful hand tie, it had 2 shades of pink roses with pink bouvardia. My bridesmaids had cream roses with some pink bouvardia. The grooms button hole was one of the deep pink roses with pink bouvardia to match my bouquet. The rest of the wedding party had cream roses. These were provided by a florist who is a family friend. The top table decoration was also done by a florist and this was 2 shades of pink gerberas. The rest of the table flowers were done by my mother in law, these were pink gerberas in a gold fish bowl with a mirror plate underneath. I opted only for pew ends at the church which were pink gerberas and greenery, these were then taken to the reception and hung on the stair case which looked lovely.
What did you choose to have on your menu? Did you have an outside caterer or did your venue handle the catering?
The food at Rudding Park is amazing. We offered guests a choice which they made in advance of the day. The starters were slow roast tomato soup, Yorkshire farmhouse terrine or smoked haddock and parmesan tartlet. The mains were lamb, pork or seabass. For dessert we had pavlova, sticky toffee pudding or chocolate tart. It was amazing. In the evening we has a sweetie buffet and a cheese selection.
What did you choose for your wedding cake, and who made it?
We had 3 different flavour cupcakes – lemon, chocolate raspberry and vanilla. These were made by Cate’s Cupcakes in Harrogate.
Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?
We had a magician to entertain the guests during the drinks reception. Then in the evening we had a DJ.
Did you have a gift list? If so, who did you have your list with?
We had a gist list at John Lewis which was great.
Where did you spend your first night and honeymoon? Who did you book your honeymoon with?
We spent our first night at Rudding Park then the night before our honeymoon we stayed in the Sofitel at terminal 5. It was very relaxing and just what we needed after all the excitement. We then flew to Thailand for 10 days which was heaven staying in Bangkok and Phuket. We booked this with Kuoni who were faultless.
What was your most memorable moment of the day?
Walking down the aisle which made me well up with tears. It was lovely leaving the arms of my Dad to then hold on to my husband. I couldn’t let go of his hand throughout the ceremony as i thought i’d just cry.
Did you experience any “nightmare” moments in the run up to your wedding or on the day?
Some of our close friends who were due to come couldn’t as their son was rushed to hospital.
Is there anything you would do differently, or any advice you would give to other brides?
Not rely on other people as you can only really rely on yourself to do something right.
