Victoria and Justin’s Real Life Wedding

 

Victoria and Justin

09/05/2006 – The Moon Palace in Cancun, Mexico

     
   

How and when did you meet?

We met two and a half years ago, through friends and the help of the computer! It was love at first sight. My mum liked Justin instantly, and no man had been able to pull that one off before -I knew then that I was onto a winner.

How old are you both?

We are both 33, just 2 months apart.

Where, when and how did he (or you!) propose?

It was the day after my birthday. I was convinced he was going to ask me on my birthday night because of all the hints he kept giving. The next day I was slightly upset that he hadn’t proposed but very unexpectedly he got down on one knee besides me on the sofa, and said, "I wanted your birthday to be special and not known for this.” Now there will be two days in August which are special to me.

Did you have hen and stag celebrations?

Yes, definitely. I went out locally, hiring a superb limo – a stretch hummer! We had a meal in a fancy restaurant followed by dancing and fun at a bar/nightclub.My husband out did us though… he went to Birmingham for two nights: the first was spent at Jongleurs (a comedy club) which he highly recommended. The second day was spent nursing a very bad hangover.

Did your groom help you with the wedding planning?

He booked most of it! He booked our wedding through Hayes and Javis to the Moon Palace in Cancun, Mexico. That took a huge weight off my shoulders and I dealt with the reception party for our return.

Did you use confetti to plan your wedding? If so, how did the website help you?

Yes, it was a huge success and a really nice surprise for my husband because we used it a lot to record our feelings and fun times… it was brilliant.

Do you have a confetti web page?

Yes, its Ryles/Davies.

Did you buy any confetti products for your wedding? If so, did you visit a store, buy online or by mail order?

Yes, our guest book and invitations. We had web pages and I went on the Cafe message boards in times of need.

Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it.

It was a Mori Lee dress. I got a complete bargain because I looked for the dress that I liked, got my measurements and then did a Google search on it. I found an amazing lady who had a business in Yorkshire who had the dress and offered it to me for £500 less than the retail price. It was unusual and I think a little Spanish looking to tie into the theme of Mexico. I went full on with my dress even though we were marrying abroad…you have to!

Did you have bridesmaids? If so, who did you choose and what did they wear?

– I went again for very unusual taste because both my adult bridesmaids wore black as it tied in with the stitching on my wedding dress. Their dresses were light and they could keep them afterwards to wear. My 2 adult bridesmaids were Sheila my brother’s girlfriend, who knows me well and who was stunning when it came to organizing my hen do not to mention making me laugh on my wedding day when I really needed to keep the nerves at bay!Angie is the best man’s girlfriend and I have known her for as long as Jase. She has a very good sense of humour and is a really lovely person who just couldn’t do enough for me. What more could you ask for?Last but not least, my own daughter Abigayle looked stunning and very cute with her posy flowers and I bought her dress and matching shoes from Next. They were a good bargain as she went dancing (she is only 4!) and totally wrecked it!

Who did your groom choose for his best man and ushers, and what did they wear?

The best man ‘Mr. Jason Kendrick’ has been a lifetime friend of Justin’s. He has a brilliant sense of humour and is a much loved friend to us both. He wore a Pronuptuia suit with a silver/grey waistcoat and was a real hero on the wedding day because he trooped through it with burnt shoulders!

Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?

Civil and the words were perfect.

Where did you hold your ceremony?

The Moon Palace in Cancun, Mexico. It was beautiful in their wedding gazebo on the sea front. I arrived in a horse-drawn carriage and my brother gave me away. He was perfect and kept me together by reminding me where we were, how lucky I was and also I will never forget the total look of pride in him when he met Justin in the gazebo and shook his hand. I was so happy.

Where did you hold your reception?

The La Trattoria Restaurant in the Jack Nicholson Golf Club House on the complex; it was purely stunning! The golf buggies raced from the reception to the hotel afterwards, giving a fun element to the evening. When we came home we had a reception for friends and family who could not be in Mexico and it was brilliant. Our best man decided to strip at the end of the night – my mum will never be the same again!

Did you have any special wedding transport?

Golf carts with excellent service and fun.

How many guests did you invite to your wedding, and did you have a separate evening guest list?

There were 13 people who flew out to Mexico with us and then a further 100 who attended our evening reception that was held in the Albert Ballroom, Longton town hall. It’s a very traditional building with a lot of local history, huge chandeliers and draped windows.

Did your reception have a particular theme in terms of colour or style?

The wedding co-ordinator in Mexico (Pila Capillar) was excellent. She knew exactly how to recommend flowers for us and she asked us to sample food before choosing our venue for the reception in Mexico. A stunning service all round and highly recommended. She had hundreds of pictures for me to look at with flowers and I chose an exotic cascading arrangement with gerbera and lilac roses.When we arrived home our reception room was dusky pink so we kept it simple with white linen, flowers and pearl pink balloons with a few black balloons to tie in. We used S.G.B World Service in Stoke-On-Trent; they were amazing and faultless.

How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?

We had cameras to capture the moment and silver and pink table confetti. We managed to get some bargains because we looked around in local supermarket stores and came up with some excellent buys.

Did you give your guests favours?

Yes, my husband and I paid for all guests travelling to Mexico first class. We couldn’t think of ways to get favours to Mexico so this was for our family. At home we put two chocolates into boxes with the date of our marriage on the front; they were colour-themed pink/silver.

Describe your flowers (bouquets and table decorations). Who was your florist?

Gerbera, white lilies and lilac roses. My UK florist for the evening reception was a lady who is friends with my mother-in-law – very handy! She owns Scentsations, a local florist shop.

What did you choose to have on your menu? Did you have an outside caterer or did your venue handle the catering?

We had an Italian menu in Mexico for the wedding reception there, salad, chicken and vanilla cake for desert. At home we went for a very full menu in the evening to cater for all tastes. There were plenty of different sandwich fillings and traditional buffet food mixed with some exotic tastes and plenty of mixed desserts also.

What did you choose for your wedding cake?

A lady name Helen who owns ‘The Little Cake Shop’ in Stafford – excellent.
It was three suitcases with little copies of me and Justin. She had copied my wedding dress down to the stitching and the ‘just married in Mexico’ sign was funny. The layers were vanilla, chocolate and ganache, carrot and lemon – gorgeous!

Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?

Yes, a disco at home and a saxophone player in Mexico.
That’s a real memory, getting up to dance to the sax and all the guests shouting ‘Kiss her!’ He did –  truly amazing.

Did you have a gift list? If so, who did you have your list with?

Yes, it was from Next and it was brilliant, they were such a help as returns were no problem and we even had a wedding card from them!

Where did you spend your first night and honeymoon? Who did you book your honeymoon with?

Back in our hotel room, but the hotel had really gone to town, they had placed a bottle of Champagne on ice in the room, dipped strawberries into chocolate and wrote ‘Just married’ on the plate.The towels were made into swans kissing, there were chocolates on turned down sheets on the bed…. let’s just say we hung the ‘Do not disturb’ sign on the door and woke to a breakfast in bed courtesy of the hotel. We had fresh fruit and fresh coffee…. We also had a personal jacuzzi in our room and that morning it was used. What was nice was for our wedding gift my mum and dad bought us travel vouchers so that we could use them on a honeymoon alone.

What was your most memorable moment of the day?

Looking into my husband-to-be’s eyes and just knowing that I had made the best decision of my entire life because when the words of the civil ceremony were spoken, I felt like there were only two people there, that’s how close we were at that time; it was very romantic.
Yes, some! Going away with 9 others is hard. We were pulled from doing what we wanted to do in order to make sure everyone was happy.  We went for the former and we loved every minute.

Is there anything you would do differently, or any advice you would give to other brides?

 I would’ve dieted a long time before my wedding in Mexico – ‘all inclusive’ needs no wedding dresses. Seriously, I think you need to plan to gain weight in your first week, especially if you go to the Moon Palace, as the food was first class.Remember, it’s your day, no one else’s. I hope that helps people who are getting married at home also…  You need to communicate, that’s what I learned most from the experience and that would be my advice. And try to honeymoon alone!
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