Tracey and Daniel
02/09/2006 –
How and when did you meet?
We grew up together and went to school together.
How old are you both?
25.
Where, when and how did he (or you!) propose?
2000. In his car when he was taking me to college.
Did you have hen and stag celebrations? If so, what did you do?
Yes, I went to an adult Butlins hot summer party weekend with 15 close friends and family. My mum out partied us all. Daniel went to Gran Canaria for a week with nine mates. I know, a week. What happened to a night out, getting tied to a lamp post?
How did your groom help with the wedding planning?
Not at all really. All he ever said was, “If that’s what you want, darling, then do it.”
Did you use confetti to plan your wedding? If so, how did the website help you?
I used a lot of the ideas but we were on a tight budget so I had to dress it down a bit. We made our own invitations. We got our daughter to draw a picture of a bride and groom. We scanned it onto the cards and then used Confetti’s downloadable wording inside.
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 bought lilac table cloths, 20 lilac organza bags, and 20 champagne bottles which we filled with stones and used as weights for the balloons.
Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it
My dress was ivory. Very pretty. It was plain with two flowers on my shoulder with a shimmer. It was very me. I didn’t want anything fussy. It was from Debenhams and didn’t cost me half as much as I had saved. My shoes were from Tiffany’s. They only cost £20. They were gorgeous. My best buy was my tiara which I bought on eBay. They were new and from the US. They only cost £13. I recommend people look on eBay for tiaras and jewelry. Mine was all new and lovely.
Did you have bridesmaids? If so, who did you choose and what did they wear?
Yes, just my daughter. She is six years old and she looked like a princess. Her dress was lilac with butterflies and flowers. It also had a shimmer to it. That was a bargain–£12 from Woolworth’s. Her tiara was also from eBay. It was £16. She looked gorgeous.
Who did your groom choose for his best man and ushers, and what did they wear?
We didn’t have a best man as such. My brother helped a lot. My 2 year old son was our page boy and carried our rings. He wore the same as his dad—a lilac waistcoat and cravat and black pinstripe trousers. Very handsome. He doesn’t walk so my brother helped pushing him for us.
Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?
Civil ceremony. None of us are particularly religious and thought it would be hypocritical to get married in a church.
Where did you hold your ceremony?
Yeomanry House Registry Office in Reading, Berkshire.
Where did you hold your reception?
Our local village hall. My aunt is a caterer so she prepared all the food. Two of my good friends did all the decorations and my dad’s friend is a DJ so he did the disco. Everyone said they had a fantastic time and the hall looked great. We also did a children’s room out the back because we had a lot of children there. I recommend doing this. They loved it. I just put some balloons out there and some paper colouring and sticky bits. It stopped them from getting bored and the parents could relax knowing where they were.
Did you have any special wedding transport?
Yes, a friend’s husband restores old Rolls Royce so we had a gold Rolls Royce and she drove it. It was lovely. It was a surprise because I was just going to use my dad’s car and put some ribbons on it.
How many guests did you invite to your wedding, and did you have a separate evening guest list?
About 40 for the day. We only wanted family and one of our close friends who was our witness. We believe it’s about us for the ceremony so we really didn’t want that many. That was just immediate family as Daniel is one of six and they all have children. There were about 100 adults, plus children, to the evening.
Did your reception have a particular theme in terms of colour or style?
Yes, lilac and ivory.
How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?
We didn’t do a sit down meal.
Did you give your guests favours?
We had bubbles because there were a lot of children.
Describe your flowers (bouquets and table decorations). Who was your florist?
My flowers were ivory roses and lilac freesia. Medium sized buttonholes were ivory roses with lilac pins in the middle. My florist was just someone local. My daughter had silk flowers. They were ivory and lilac roses so she can keep them.
What did you choose to have on your menu? Did you have an outside caterer or did your venue handle the catering?
I bought all the food from Costco and then my auntie prepared it all.
What did you choose for your wedding cake, and who made it?
My wedding cake was three tiers. Bottom tier was sponge, middle was fruit, and the top tier was polystyrene for us to keep. It was ivory icing with lilac butterflies, two wedding bands, and Daniel and I on the top. Very simple but pretty. The same friend who provided the car made the cake for us.
Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?
Yes, lucky for us, my dad’s mate is a DJ and he did it as a favour. He’s known me all of my life.
Did you have a gift list? If so, who did you have your list with?
No, we asked for Argos and B&Q vouchers as we are doing our living room up.
Where did you spend your first night and honeymoon? Who did you book your honeymoon with?
We stayed in a hotel the first night. Then we went to Crete for our honeymoon on the Tuesday after. We traveled with First Choice. They were really good. We took our daughter with us and she spent the whole time at the kids’ club while we just relaxed. It was all inclusive so we just ate and drank and did nothing. Lovely.
What was your most memorable moment of the day?
All of it. I wouldn’t change any of it.
Did you experience any ‘nightmare’ moments in the run up to your wedding or on the day?
Yes. When I went to pick up the rings, they had no record of us and this was three days before the wedding. So I had to run around town finding jewelers that stocked wedding rings which isn’t many as they order to size. I found one luckily or it was going be a pully thing from a baked beans can!
Is there anything you would do differently, or any advice you would give to other brides?
I would do nothing differently. I wouldn’t change a thing. I would say do what you want not what you think everyone else wants. It’s your day, not anyone else’s. If they don’t like it, they can go home and you can carry on having the best day of your life your way.
