Cara and Ronnie’s Real Wedding Story

Cara and Ronnie
18/08/2004
Bodrum Castle
Turkey
How and when did you meet?
We met while painting the ladies toilet of an internet cafe that I worked in and Ron’s employer rented an office in! It took us about a year from that first meeting to start dating each other.

Where, when and how did he (or you!) propose?
We had talked about getting married and went out and chose the ring during a visit to Ron’s home in Scotland. He proposed while we were getting ready to go to bed at night!

Did you have hen and stag celebrations?
We both went out with our friends for meals and drinks.

Did your groom help you with the wedding planning?
We planned everything together. I liaised with the wedding planner and co-ordinator but we made all the decisions jointly. In fact it was Ron who had his heart set on our fairytale wedding venue. He was also responsible for creating the CDs which we had playing during our wedding meal.

Did you use confetti to plan your wedding? If so, how did the website help you?
I used confetti to get hints and tips. It is also where I first started to look for dresses. I spent a huge amount of time on the message board (and still do!).

Do you have a confetti web page?
No, but I have posted some of our pictures on the MSN Confetti Powder Room.

Did you buy any confetti products for your wedding? If so, did you visit a store, buy online or by mail order?
Yes – we visted the confetti London store and bought some bubbles and ribbon.

Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it
I had a Ronald Joyce, Victoria Jane dress. It was empire line with shoe string straps and embroidery and beading on the bodice. The dress also had a full length sheer coat which had the same embroidery and beading details.

Did you have bridesmaids? If so, who did you choose and what did they wear?
I had one bridesmaid who is a close friend. She wore a blue dress in a similar style to my wedding dress.

Who did your groom choose for his best man and ushers, and what did they wear?
My groom chose to have his father as best man, they have always been very close. They both wore kilts in their family tartan.

Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?
We had a Turkish civil ceremony.

Where did you hold your ceremony?
The ceremony was held in Bodrum Castle, Bodrum, Turkey.

Where did you hold your reception?
As the wedding was abroad we had two receptions. In Turkey we had a champagne reception at the castle immediately after the ceremony followed by a wedding dinner at the hotel in Bodrum where Ron and I stayed. When we returned home we travelled to Northen Ireland (where I am originally from). My parents had arranged a small family meal there to celebrate the wedding.

Did you have any special wedding transport?
I travelled to the ceremony in a silver limousine and Ron and I returned to the hotel afterwards in the limo.

How many guests did you invite to your wedding, and did you have a separate evening guest list?
There were eight guests in total in Turkey for the wedding (both sets of parents, an aunt and uncle of mine and my bridesmaid and her partner).
For the reception in Ireland there were 24 guests – we had invited close family only.

For us this was perfect. On both occasions we all got to really enjoy the day without the need to rush around making sure we had spoken to everyone. Now that we are back home in England we’re planning a get together for all our friends over here.

Did your reception have a particular theme in terms of colour or style?
In Turkey we had asked for a simple theme, the hotel dressed the table and the private terrace where we had the meal in white.

How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?
As there were only ten of us we had only one table. It was dressed in white with a large floral arrangement as the centrepiece.

Did you give your guests favours?
The hotel chef made the favours for us and they also served as name cards. Each guest received a small bottle of olive oil with rosemary and garlic inside. The bottles were decorated with labels saying ’18th August 2004, Bodrum – Turkey, Cara and Ronnie welcome xxxx’. They were also decorated with ribbons and tradional turkish ‘eye’ beads (said to ward off evil). The guests all loved them!

Describe your flowers (bouquets and table decorations). Who was your florist?
The flowers were very simple. My bouquet consisted of white roses, lilies and foliage, the bridesmaid’s bouquet was a smaller version of mine. The buttonholes were white roses with wild heather. Table decorations were also white.

What did you choose to have on your menu? Did you have an outside caterer or did your venue handle the catering?
In Turkey our hotel handled all of the catering. Even though we knew that it would not be to the taste of all of our guests we asked for some Turkish food. We started with traditional Turkish mezes (salad, houmous, chickpeas, meatballs, filo pastry with cheese etc.). The main course was chicken provencale, or ravioli with pumpkin as the vegetarian option, and for pudding we had almond tulle baskets with cinnamon ice cream.

In Ireland we had more traditional food – a choice of roast beef, turkey and ham or fish for main courses. There were also three choices for starters and deserts.

What did you choose for your wedding cake?
Neither of us like fruit cake so I asked if the hotel could make a chocolate cake. They suggested chocolate cognac cake – it was AMAZING! It was so good I had to be dragged away from it for the first dance!

The cake had two tiers and was chocolate cognac sponge with chocolate cream filing. The whole thing was covered in fresh cream and sugar flowers.

Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?
In Turkey Ron had made CDs of our favourite music which we played during the meal. We also arranged for a belly dancer to arrive and dance for half an hour between the end of the meal and the cutting of the cake.

Did you have a gift list? If so, who did you have your list with?
As we were getting married abroad we did not want or expect gifts. We have also lived together for four years and owned our own house for two so don’t really need very much. We received a lot of gifts of money from our families.

Where did you spend your first night and honeymoon? Who did you book your honeymoon with?
As we were already in Turkey we did not have a separate honeymoon.

What was your most memorable moment of the day?
There are so many! Arriving at the castle and being applauded as I got out of the car while my father broke down in tears. My favourite was entering the courtyard for the ceremony and seeing Ron standing there waiting for me.

Saying that I don’t think I’ll ever forget the moment the wind whipped up Ron’s dad’s kilt and I saw more of my father in law than I ever wanted to 😉

Did you experience any ‘nightmare’ moments in the run up to your wedding or on the day?
I wouldn’t change a thing, If I could do it all again tomorrow I would! All I can say to other brides is – enjoy it, you only get to do it once and don’t stress about the little details.