Laura and James Real St Botolphs Church, Shepshed Wedding Story

When was your wedding?

27th June 2009

How and when did you meet?

We met 3 and a half years ago at a wedding reception.

How old are you both?

Im 21 and James is 28

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

On our 6 month anniversary of meeting James took me back to the hotel we met at for a meal. Before leaving he pulled me into the room where we met and he had organised to have the chairs put in the same position as they were the night of the meet. He then did the romantic approach and got down on one knee and asked me. And of coarse I said YES!

Did you have hen and stag celebrations? If so, what did you do?

We both had two each. I went to Sheffield on a night out with the girls where we dressed up with sashes and whistles and then the 2nd was a meal for the older generation of the girls and out round our local town for a few (a lot actually). He went to Birmingham with the lads. And 2nd he went to dog racing with all the older generation of the men.

How did your groom help with the wedding planning?

He helped with all the making of the stationery and we decided on everything together from the music to the venue.

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

Yes. The forums help tremendously. And the check list was a big help too.

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

I bought quite a lot from Confetti online. Including my beautiful invites and favour boxes.

Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it

My Dress was a Maggie Sottero Dress called Victoriana. I ordered it over a year ago from a shop locally in Leicestershire. My jewellery was also from the same bridal shop.

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

I had 5 Bridesmaids. 2 Adults, my best Friend Kelly and brothers girlfriend Holly (who was also a good friend from school.) And 3 little bridesmaids, my two sisters Kimberly and Melanie and our friends daughter Alice. They all wore satin dresses made by a family friend. The adults wore a black dresses with a pink sash and the children wore pink dresses with a black sash.

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

James chose Wayne as his best man who has been his best friend for many years and my brother also Wayne and friend Luke as his ushers. We also had Joseph as our pageboy which was also our friends child.

Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?

Religious

Where did you hold your ceremony?

St Botolphs Church, Shepshed

Where did you hold your reception?

The Quorn Grange Hotel, Quorn

Did you have any special wedding transport?

Yes we had a Beauford Tourer in cream and a deep pink to take me and my dad to the church and then me and my new husband to the reception. We also had a Mercedes S Class to take the bridesmaids and my mum to church.

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

In the day we had 70 people at our wedding breakfast. We then invited about another 50 people at night. I’m sure there were more people in church as well.

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

We had a pink, black, ivory and butterfly theme throughout the planning and day.

How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?

On our tables we had a pink vase with ivory roses and a big black butterfly with the table name written on which were all named butterfly in different languages. We also had butterfly place cards which sat on top of the glasses and our cake stand was an acrylic butterfly stand.

Did you give your guests favours?

Yes our guests had little ivory favour boxes filled with White Rainbow Drops (aka jazzies) and the little girls in the families all got a little butterfly hair clip.

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

My bouquet was an ivory rose trailing bouquet. The bridesmaids all had wrist corsages in ivory roses and the tables had 3 ivory roses to symbolise the three years we had been engaged on the day of the wedding.

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 and we had: melon and sorbet for starters, chicken with roast potatoes and vegetables for main and then a yummy meringue nest filled with strawberries and raspberries.

What did you choose for your wedding cake, and who made it?

We had a Marks and Spencer wedding cake. The traditional cake. We had three tiers of sponge and I bought the cake stands for it

Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?

In the day we didn’t need for any entertainment as it went quite quickly. The kids were playing in the gardens and we managed to get round all the guests to say hello. At night we had a DJ who played a song list which I put together with the help of the Confetti ladies on the forums.

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

We didn’t have a gift list. We just asked our guests to contribute towards our garden fund if they wanted to.

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

Our first night was spent at the hotel we had the reception at. Then the next day we flew to the Maldives for our honeymoon. We booked the honeymoon through First Choice.

What was your most memorable moment of the day?

When we were pronounced husband and wife and we kissed! It makes me smile so much when I think about it. Also when we got to the hotel we decided to take a little walk around the gardens together before we mingled with guests.

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

My husbands sister made things very difficult. She was supposed to be my 3rd adult bridesmaid but she complained she didn’t like the dress or the shoes, so we decided for her not to be one any more. On the day we had two little hiccups. My mums zip on her dress broke 2 hours before the church so she had to get it fixed. And the Minibus I booked for the bridesmaids didn’t turn up. But they did send a car instead.

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

The only thing I would do differently is make sure I got more pictures of just me in my dress. Other than that the day was perfect I am now married and love looking at all the pictures from the day. Just remember that its your day and you need to relax and enjoy it.