Fiona and Simon’s Real Life Wedding

Fiona and Simon

14/02/2005 – Civil ceremony, Mexico
Wedding gazebo overlooking the sea, Mexico

How and when did you meet?

Working at Marks & Spencers. We saw each other for the first at our Christmas party in 2000, but didn’t get together until May 2002.

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

We went on a brilliant holiday to Dubai for Simon’s 21st birthday and stayed at the Jumeriah Beach Hotel (amazing place!). Simon proposed while we were on a moonlit walk by the beach. We then went up to the rooftop cocktail bar to celebrate and saw fireworks over Dubai city centre.

Did you have hen and stag celebrations?

As we were getting married in Mexico our celebrations were joint with our families, spent having a gorgeous meal.

Did your groom help you with the wedding planning?

We planned everything together, including making our own invitations. His job was planning the design on the computer and doing the cutting and sticking.

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

We bought just about everything from the confetti website, and most presents for our families from the website (I also managed to convince hubby to be to take my on a romantic weekend break to Leeds so we could visit the store!). It has been invaluable.

Do you have a confetti web page?

Yes, it’s Fiona&Simon.

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

We did all three!

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

My dress was exactly what I wanted, being only little I stumbled across an advert for Weston Wedding Petites in one of the millions of wedding magazines I purchased. It’s a fab little shop in Newton Pagnell where all dresses are made to measure ensuring you look fab on your day. I went into the shop certain I didn’t want an ivory dress with a veil – so you can guess what I came away with!

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

I just had one bridesmaid, my older sister Heidi (from the minute she knew I was engaged she had been planning her moment!). As Heidi is the opposite colouring to me (paler with black hair) I chose a gorgeous deep red dress for her to complement my ivory one.

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

Simon chose his dad as his best man, which was a bit of a nightmare as he moved to the USA in October (five months before we married) so suits were bought and measurements for waistcoats taken a long time in advance.

Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?

It was a Mexican civil ceremony.

Where did you hold your ceremony?

In a wedding gazebo overlooking the sea.

Where did you hold your reception?

We had a small private celebration after the wedding in the same wedding gazebo. The staff worked and changed it from a wedding venue to a seated buffet within ten minutes. We also had a big fancy evening reception when we got back to the UK. It was held at the Donington Park Motor Museum. This was an evening do with 50 friends and family.

Did you have any special wedding transport?

I had a horse drawn carriage to arrive in along with my mum who was giving me away.

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

We had a total of 10 guests – being in Mexico it was a long way for people to travel!

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

Our wedding colours were burgundy and silver (we got married on Valentine’s day). As it was an evening do we also incorporated the colour black.

How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?

Each table had a centrepiece of red roses (three different shades) and the name cards, menus, etc. all matched in black and burgundy.

Did you give your guests favours?

Everyone had a personalised ‘Thank you for joining us’ card with a wedding picture in, a miniature bottle of alcohol and little boxes with chocolates inside

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

My wedding flowers were fab. My bouquet was white roses and daisies and my bridesmaid had deep red roses. Both were really fresh and stayed that way for the rest of the holiday. Back home I had a trailing bouquet of calla lillies and orchids and my bridesmaid had red roses. All the table decorations were red roses arranged in heart shapes.

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 outside caterer who had previously worked at a few family functions so we knew he was good. We choose food we both loved (which meant chocolate cheesecake for pudding!)

What did you choose for your wedding cake?

We used a local cake maker from Coalville and our cake was shaped in two hearts, large one at the bottom and smaller and the top. The cake had three sugar roses and our names and wedding date on it.

Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?

Our music for both the wedding and receptions was chosen by us and put on CD format by my lovely husband.

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

The only thing we asked for on our gift list were holiday vouchers! Our close family also paid for us to have a separate honeymoon.

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

Our first night was spent in Mexico as we stayed for five days after the wedding. After our reception back in the UK we went to Malta for four days and stayed at the Fortina Spa Resort, in one of the spa bedrooms which was fantastic!

What was your most memorable moment of the day?

Had to be the point when we were declared husband and wife.

Did you experience any ‘nightmare’ moments in the run up to your wedding or on the day?

We hired the groom and best man waistcoats from the UK and someone else was bringing these out to us. We saw them at 4pm the day before the wedding and they were the wrong ones. Thankfully the hotel and their staff were brilliant. We were sent off in a taxi to their tailor and by 2pm the next day we had two amazing waistcoats, handmade to the highest standard for only $20 dollars each.

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

My advice is enjoy every minute of it! If you are thinking of getting married abroad, do it. We found the whole experience enjoyable and relaxing.