Abigail and Lee’s Real Life Wedding

Abigail and Lee

28/08/2004 – St Bartholomews Church, Great Barrow, Chester
Hoole Hall Hotel, Chester

 

How and when did you meet?

We met on August 28 1997. I was working in Debenhams in Chester and Lee came in to visit a friend of his who worked on the same department as me. I was operating the till at the time and I can remember glancing up and seeing this very sexy man (in shorts) talking to my colleague. I assumed this was her boyfriend and later I said “Was that your boyfriend, he’s very nice!” She said “No that’s Lee a friend of my brothers.” I said I thought he was very nice and she told me that he had said the same thing to her about me!!! Apparantly his words were, “Who’s that working on the till over there? She looks nice.” Later on that day he had kept calling in to ask me out on a date but I was either in the stockroom, with a customer or on a break! In the end he left me his phone number on a little scrap of paper (which I still have!). I phoned him as soon as I got home and he picked me up later on that evening. We went for a few drinks in a local pub and started seeing each other from then.

How old are you both?

Lee is 30 and I’m 26.

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

February 9 2003 in Prague.We decided to go away for the weekend and we’d both always fancied Prague. He proposed to me (not on bended knee as he had been up the previous night being sick with food poisoning!) down by the river. It was beautiful as it had just snowed and everywhere was white. He produced a ring which he had hidden in his jacket pocket and said “Will you be my wife?” We had been out looking for rings a few weeks before and I had decided on three that I liked. He chose one for me. A one carat diamond solitaire white-gold ring.

Did you have hen and stag celebrations?

The hen celebrations were in Manchester. We had dinner at the Living Room and then drinks after at the docks.The stags went skiing in Calgary.

Did your groom help you with the wedding planning?

Lee gave me valid opinions on everything that I thought would be nice for our wedding. He helped me choose the invites, flowers, favours etc. He was fantastic and I couldn’t have done it without him!

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

I used the forum to get opinions and ideas for our wedding. Lee also used the pages to help him and the bestman with their speeches.

Do you have a confetti web page?

Yes, https://www.confetti.co.uk/wedding/Abby-Lee

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

I bought some hot pink favour bags and some silver favour bags from the online store. I also bought some silver party poppers and some silver/hot pink balloons.

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

I bought my dress from a shop in Chester. It was a Maggie Sottero gown called ‘Farrah’. It was diamond white in colour,strapless with an A-line skirt. There were Swarovski crystals on the bodice along with crystal buttons down the back of the dress and it had a beautiful chapel length train. My veil was full length and was again, diamond white in colour with a satin trim edging. It was embellished with Swarovski crystals and was from the same shop as my dress. I also wore a plain crystal tiara. My shoes were ivory satin, high heeled and open toe with delicate little crystals on the straps.

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

I had two bridesmaids – two my best friends, Karen and Rebecca. They wore a beautiful dresses by Maggie Sottero with fish tail skirts and a fitted strappy bodice embellished with crystals in fuchsia pink.

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

The best man was Lee’s brother, David. The ushers were my brother and his friend who were dressed in full RAF uniform (they are in the RAF!). The best man wore black tails with grey/black pinstripe trousers, a silver waistcoat and a silver cravat.

Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?

We had a religious ceremony.

Where did you hold your ceremony?

St Bartholomews Church in Great Barrow, Chester.

Where did you hold your reception?

Hoole Hall Hotel in Chester.

Did you have any special wedding transport?

We had two beautiful white cars – a Beauford Tourer and a Royale Windsor Laundelette.

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

There were 55 guests for the wedding and a furthur 30 for the evening reception.

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

No particular style but the colour scheme was fuchsia pink and silver.

How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?

I had a large round mirror in the centre of the tables. On this stood a tall round vase with an arrangement of white gerberas and foliage to match my bouquet. Around the outside of the mirror I had small fuchsia pink tealights with an orchid arrangement around each tealight.

Did you give your guests favours?

Yes, the ladies had pink favour bags filled with five silver heart-shaped belgian truffles and the men had silver bags filled with either vodka (for the younger generation) or whiskey (for the older!). I also gave the children small goodie bags to keep them ‘entertained’ during the meal.

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

My bouquet was a simple hand-tied posy of white roses with beargrass and foliage. The bridesmaids had slightly smaller bouquets and had white/pink roses with beargrass and foliage. Table decorations were vases with a simple hand-tied posy of white gerberas and foliage in water. The top table arrangement was produced by the hotel and was white in colour with various flowers, roses, lilies and foliage.

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

The venue handled the catering. We started with fan of melon with prawns in a marie rose sauce. Then we had lemon sorbet for a palate cleanser followed by roast beef and yorkshire pudding. For pudding, we had chocolate truffle torte.

What did you choose for your wedding cake?

Our cake was four tiers – two sponge and two fruit. It had white icing with crystals dotted around the sides. In between each tier were fresh roses in white and pink.

Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?

We had a disco in the evening.

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

Yes, our list was at Debenhams.

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

We honeymooned for seven nights at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas and then flew to Hawaii for another seven nights.

What was your most memorable moment of the day?

The speeches!

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

I would pay more for a better florist or get one that’s highly recommended. I would also discuss everything with regards to cake design. I obviously hadn’t made it clear enough how I wanted my cake to look even though I’d given them a photo.