I had recently moved into the area and knew very few people. I was lucky to meet Nick on a rare night out in the pub.
I'm 33 and Nick is 32.
It was Halloween 2005. We held a fancy dress party at our new house. Just as we were both ready and dressed up in horrific outfits he produced a gorgeous diamond ring and popped the question .
Nick went paint-balling in the day with his mates and then drank all night in the city. I had a fancy dress themed party. Everyone dressed up in the tackiest, nastiest bridesmaid dresses they could find. It was brilliant!
Nick helped out with the big decisions like venue, cake, menus. Most of the other details I did myself, though Nick gave me his input if I asked for it.
I got lots of ideas from the articles and also all the other brides on the forums. I also found the budget planner very useful.
I bought the bridemaid's guidebooks and the best man one.
I wore an ivory dress by Maggie Sottero. It was an organza over satin gown with a corset back. It was very sparkly with lots of embroidery, crystals and beads sewn on.
I had three adult bridesmaids, Two were good friends of mine and one was Nick's Sister (also my friend!). They wore burgundy full length dresses with matching wraps and bags. All were purchased from BHS.
Nick chose his close friend, Chris, as his best man. Chris and my dad wore waistcoats and cravats which matched the bridesmaid outfits. The ushers were two of Nick's friends called Scott and Mick. As they and the groom are all Royal Naval Officers, they all wore full uniform for the day.
It was a civil ceremony.
Kitley House Hotel in Yealmpton, Near Plymouth.
The whole day was held at Kitley.
We had 78 guests to the day and then about 125 in total for the evening.
The main theme of the day was ivory, gold and burgundy and also calla lilies.
The tables had burgundy cloths with ivory ones underneath and the napkins matched them. We had gold party poppers, champagne party bubbles and table diamonds scattered on them too, which sparkled nicely when the tea lights were lit.
I carried a bouquet of calla lilies and burgundy roses with gold spirals and a sprinkle of diamantes. The bridesmaids carried armheld sprays which matched my bouquet. The buttonholes and corsages were all calla lilies with burgundy trim. The tables each had a slim line vase with three large callas in with gold nuggets and ting ting.
We had a selection of canapes as a starter, followed by Beef Wellington. The dessert was our wedding cake served with white ice cream and fruit coulis.
Our cake was made by Annelise Wedding Cakes based in Newton Abbot. It was three tiers. On the outside it was white chocolate decorated with fresh fruit including raspberries, black cherries and redcurrants. Inside was a gorgeous Belgian chocolate mud cake.
During the day we had a caricaturist going around the guests drawing them pictures of themselves to take home as souvenirs. In the evening we had a disco.
We asked people for contributions towards our honeymoon.
We spent our first night in the Bridal Suite at the venue. We left for our honeymoon on the island of Kurumba in the Maldives two days later.
Seeing Nick for the first time as I walked the big oak staircase.
Take time out for just the two of you during the day, we did and we are so glad that we had the chance. |
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