Glynis and Richard’s Real Life Wedding

Glynis and Richard

27/11/2004 – The Chapel at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London
The Painted Hall at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London

How and when did you meet?

We both had mutual friends who we’d both known for over 15 years. They’d never bothered to introduce us, so one day we all met up in the local pub…

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

Richard got down on one knee on the bridge next to the ice rink in Central Park, Manhattan on Valentine’s Day. It was a little crowded so he was very brave. He got a round of applause although I was oblivious to it!

Did you have hen and stag celebrations?

Richard went to Prague, and I went to Monaco.

Did your groom help you with the wedding planning?

By supporting me with “yes dears” and “oohhh, I know”.

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

I viewed it on and off, but I was (and still am) living in New York so I had to use American websites.

Do you have a confetti web page?

No.

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

I bought it on Fifth Avenue – it was a traditional strapless ballgown with heavy beading on the bodice, and beading at the front and along the train. It had a six foot cathedral train, and I had a cathedral veil encrusted with diamonds, with a diamond tiara. The colour was called diamond, so it wasn’t quite white and it wasn’t quite cream. My mum chose the dress with me.

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

Yes I had two adult bridesmaids wearing navy blue satin long halter neck dresses, five flowergirls in white dresses with navy blue sashes, and three pageboys in sailor suits.

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

Richard had seven ushers, and his best man is his best friend. The ushers wore white tie, and the best man and groom wore morning suits.

Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?

We had a religious ceremony.

Where did you hold your ceremony?

The Chapel at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich (where they filmed one of the weddings in Four Weddings and A Funeral)

Where did you hold your reception?

The Painted Hall at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich.

Did you have any special wedding transport?

An old fashioned taxi for the bridesmaids, and a horse and carriage for me.

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

200 guests – and no evening list. Evening lists always make me feel like you’re not that wanted!

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

We had a Naval theme as it was at the Naval College, so the scheme was navy blue and naval themes.

How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?

The table settings were formal.

Did you give your guests favours?

Yes, a beautiful navy blue box with white ribbon and a gift tag with a anchor on the front. The favour was a lucky dip lottery ticket for that night.

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

I carried a wild blue, yellow and purple bouquet and the adult bridesmaids had smaller versious. The flower girls carried small posies of lavender and white roses and the boys had wooden anchors.

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

Leiths handled the catering. We had a wild boar terrine to start, followed by a gin sorbet The main course was chicken and pudding was a trio of naval rum desserts, then cheese and biscuits and then wedding cake.

What did you choose for your wedding cake?

We had a five-tier traditional cake all in white with our initials and anchors on each side. There were fresh flowers on each tier.

Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?

We had a harpist in the chapel before the ceremony, a string quartet during drinks, the Royal Marines during dinner, a live band for dancing, followed by a disco….and then a bagpiper to pipe us from the reception.

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

We had a John Lewis gift list at Peter Jones in Sloane Square.

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

We booked direct. We spent our first night at the Ritz Hotel, and then had a week at Skibo Castle in Scotland.

What was your most memorable moment of the day?

Walking down the aisle and seeing Richard… leaving the party in a speedboat and seeing our guests on the pier. Dancing to the Royal Marines to ‘New York, New York’ as our first song.

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

Yes – the meal lasted for three hours at which we were sitting at top table. I would have circulated. In retrospect we should have gone for a formal photographer instead of the reportage one we used as we have no pictures of the main wedding party. Also… the photographer has lost all the photographs so we have no photos apart from those taken by guests! I would have double and triple checked the itinerary to check the timings -we got them wrong which caused stress before the walk down the aisle.