Hannah and Mark’s Real Life Wedding
Hannah and Mark
How did you meet?
We both work for LTSB, and we met when I was sent to be a cashier at the branch where he was the manager. He was a bit worried at first because of us working together and the fact that I was only 22 and he was 30.
Describe the marriage proposal.
We moved into our new house in March 2001 and Mark proposed on my birthday that year. He prepared a lovely meal and when we had finished eating he told me that he was just going to get my present from upstairs. He came down with a little box. When I opened it, inside was the most gorgeous diamond engagement ring. He asked me if I would marry him and, after crying for a little while, I said yes.
How long did you spend preparing for the day and how was it?
We decided to get married in June 2002 and started arranging things that January. As neither of us is particularly religious, we decided that we would have a civil ceremony. We looked at halls and houses near us but decided that we wouldn’t have enough people to fill them, as we have moved away from all our friends and family, so we booked the local register office, a local hotel for the meal, and the Conservative Club in the town for the evening reception. We were due to spend the night before the wedding apart, but at the last minute my mum’s car broke down and she couldn’t get to our house to spend the night with me, so rather than leave me on my own Mark stayed the night. When my mum and everybody else arrived the next morning, he headed off to his best man’s house to get ready. The day was perfect and I wasn’t at all nervous. We had no problems apart from the fact that I arrived before he did as he was late! It was the most wonderful day – I can’t remember ever being happier.
What type of wedding ceremony did you have and where?
The ceremony was small and informal with only close friends and relatives, about 40 people in all. We had a professional photographer and my brother on video camera duty. We got married at the register office in the next town, which was about 15 minutes from our home. It was wonderful and they made us feel very at ease.
Where did you hold the reception and what was it like?
Our meal was at a hotel in town, just five minutes from the register office. It was a sit down meal and was lovely. We had two tables in a T shape, with us at the head and all our guests along the T.
Is there anything you’d like to change, with hindsight?
I wouldn’t change a thing apart from maybe my dress, even though it was beautiful and was perfect in every way, I let my mothers taste sway my decision on how it should look. I would have preferred off the shoulder or strapless, but was happy on the day.
What advice would you give to couples currently planning their wedding?
Plan, plan and then plan again, check all the details as many times as you can without going mad.
Is there any other detail that you would like to share?
Take a drink with you if you can or get someone to bring one for you, as the only problem I had was with a very dry mouth – at times I was worried that I might get my teeth stuck on my lips!!
