Lou and Andy’s Real Life Wedding

Lou and Andy

28/04/2006 – Crawley Register Office, West Sussex.

   
   

How and when did you meet?

We met in February 2005, though not under great circumstances due to me losing my best friend.

How old are you both?

Lou 27, Andy 31.

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

We know when – it was 8 June, about 6 weeks after we started going out.  There was no big proposal – we were having a conversation and I think Andy said that he would love to marry me in the future.

Did you have hen and stag celebrations?

I decided against a hen do as I’m not the partying type. Andy went to the pub for a game of pool with his best man.

Did your groom help you with the wedding planning?

He made phone calls, wrote cheques and dropped things off etc. If I couldn’t get things done because of work Andy would do it for me.

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

I used it quite a lot and the table planner was invaluable.  I used the budget planner, guest list, the cafe and the shops… The Suppliers section also helped me to find my caterer, photographer and cake maker!

Do you have a confetti web page?

I do – it doesn’t have much information on it – but I did print the address inside the bottom of all the invites.

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

I purchased items online as I know that I would have changed my mind about a dozen times as I have been to the London store before.  I bought table cameras, trivia boxes and a guest book.

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

My dress is a one-off, hand made by my cousin Davina.  The top part of my dress is in beautiful ivory satin with delicate flower embroidery.  In the middle of each flower I had a diamante attached so I sparkled in the sun.  The bottom of my dress was gold and not very full.  I had a contrasting gold wrap to wear on the day.

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

My cousin, Chloe, I was her Mum’s bridesmaid 16 years ago.
She wore ‘Lily’ by Alfred Angelo in Lavender and again this was from Cardiff Bridal Centre. She looked beautiful.

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

I had three: my friend Sarah who was my chief bridesmaid, my younger sister Mandi and my niece Bridey. I had them all in dusky pink.  The style of dress was very similar to mine but the skirts were less full.

Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?

Civil

Where did you hold your ceremony?

Crawley Register Office in West Sussex.

Where did you hold your reception?

At the Function Suite, Broadfield Stadium, Crawley.

Did you have any special wedding transport?

No. The groom walked to the ceremony while I was driven in my own car.

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

We invited 37 to the ceremony and another 22 to the reception.

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

We carried on the pink, ivory and gold from the outfits.

How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?

We had foil heart balloons, one pink and one gold on each table as our centre piece.  We also had gold place cards and gold favour boxes.

Did you give your guests favours?

Yes – We had gold cones filled with 5 different flavoured Jelly Belly Beans!

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

We didn’t have flowers.

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

We had to use the approved caterers for the venue who put on a fabulous buffet; they also set up the room and ran the bar for us.

What did you choose for your wedding cake?

I used Donna’s Cakes based in Hove. We had a 2-layer stacked cake; both layers were vanilla sponge with vanilla butter cream filling which was covered with two layers of sugar paste as we didn’t want marzipan.  Around the join and on the top we had roses made in the colour of the bridesmaids’ dresses.  It was exactly what I wanted.

Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?

We hired a DJ for the evening.

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

We placed our gift list with Argos as it was easy for our guests to get to a store or shop online.

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

Our first night was in a local hotel.  My cousin booked it as a surprise as we hadn’t organised anything because all the places I wanted were booked up!

What was your most memorable moment of the day?

Signing the register and then being presented by the registrar as Mr. and Mrs. Launchbury.

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

Hmmm – there was a bad traffic accident in the town which blocked so many roads. By the time I got round to getting ready I was running an hour and a half late….  There were also times when I thought that I may be a bridesmaid short… different ones on varying days!

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

Go abroad!