Lucy and David’s Real Life Wedding

 

Lucy and David

01/09/2005 – The Ringwood Hall Hotel near Chesterfield

How and when did you meet?

We met in October 1999 at a party. It’s a very long and complicated story, the short version is my mum introduced us, I wrote to him, he called back and the rest is history!

How old are you both?

I’m 24, Dave is 26.

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

At the end of our holiday in Gran Canaria, June 2004. We went back to our room before dinner, I thought he had forgotten something! Waiting in the room was champagne, roses and a three course meal served on our sea-view balcony. I thought all of this was just his way of ending a great holiday, but he got down on one knee just as the sun was setting and asked me to marry him!

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

Yes, Dave went to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone with a few close friends. I had two! Firstly a lovely girly evening in Nottingham with four of my closest friends from church, then 13 of us went to Calke Abbey for the summer classical concert with fireworks!

How did your groom help with the wedding planning?

As we got married in Chesterfield, and I lived in Burton On Trent at the time, he was great in arranging appointments, and really took an interest in all aspects of the day!

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

Yes, I found the forums really interesting, and the shop for table decoration and favour ideas.

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

Yes, plain placecards for my sister-in-law to decorate.

Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it

I had a pale gold strapless dress by White Rose. It had lots of sparkle at the top of the bodice. I wore it with a floor length sparkly veil, and the largest tiara the shop had!

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

Just the one, Dave’s sister. She wore a dark green two-piece from Veromia, which had a similar neckline to my dress, and a small tiara.

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

He couldn’t decide between his brother and best friend for best man, so had them both! Our ushers were my brother, and two close friends from church. All the men wore black Prince Edward suits, white shirts, gold embroidered waistcoats and gold cravats.

Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?

We had a religious ceremony as both of us are commited Christians.

Where did you hold your ceremony?

At our local Methodist Church where we are both members.

Where did you hold your reception?

The Ringwood Hall Hotel near Chesterfield.

Did you have any special wedding transport?

We had two cream and black Austin Princesses.

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

We had about 75 in the day, and a further 40 or so for the evening reception.

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

Yes, gold, ivory and dark green.

How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?

We had ivory table linen, gold heart confetti, gold wrapping for the favours, and cream and green flower arrangements.

Did you give your guests favours?

Yes, two ‘Baci’ Chocolates wrapped in gold paper, and Cadburys Buttons for the children.

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

We chose a local florist who had just openend. I had a simple hand tied posy of cream roses, with a rolled leaf collar and crystals between the flowers. My bridesmaid had a smaller version of my bouquet without the collar or crystals. The men had single rose buttonholes, our mums’ had double rose corsages. The reception venue did our table decorations in cream flowers (with some red which we didn’t ask for!)

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

The venue did the catering. We started with smoked salmon terrine (my favourite) followed by roast beef (his favourite) and chocolate torte to finish (everyone’s favourite!) In the evening we had a sandwiches and chips buffet, together with our wedding cake.

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

We had a round three tiered cake – one fruit and two sponge. I was ivory with green ivy cascading down from the top, and had the words ‘to have and to hold from this day forward’ written in gold around each tier.

Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?

We had a jazz/swing band called CPDJQ in the evening. We found them at Center Parcs a few years ago and loved them! They did an absolutely fantastic job!

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

Yes, as we didn’t live together before we got married. We were starting from scratch! We had a list with Debenhams.

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

We spent our first night in the Bridal Suite at Ringwood Hall, then flew to the Maldives for two weeks three days after the wedding.

What was your most memorable moment of the day?

There are loads! The car journey with my dad (we don’t see each other that much so it was really special). Hearing my entrance music start (our friend who plays the piano at church learned the piece specially for us!) Sharing Communion with my new husband, the fantastic and very funny speeches, and our first dance (we had secret lessons and amazed everyone!)

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

Not really, the only things I can think of are the venue got the seating plan wrong, so me and my bridesmaid had to run round changing it just before we got ready, and the venue also put bright red flowers in our table arrangements which was not what we asked for. By the time we noticed everyone was sat down to eat so we couldn’t do much about it!

 

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

Yes, I would do my own hair! I only had it in my normal style, but wanted more volume, it was as flat as a pancake! My only advice would be, it’s your day, do it how YOU want to! I had to put my foot down on a couple of things other people wanted done differently and I’m glad I did. Make sure you take time to remember and enjoy every part of the day, otherwise it will fly by!