Lynn and Mark’s Real Life Wedding

Lynn and Mark

31/08/2004 – St George’s Church, Bickley, Kent.
Marquee reception

       

How and when did you meet?

We are both teachers and Mark started work at my school.

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

We were on holiday in Sorrento, Italy and went for a trip to Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. We climbed all the way to the top of Mount Vesuvius and when we were by the crater, he went down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was so well planned as I’m into volcanoes and it was an ambition of mine to climb Vesuvius.

Did you have hen and stag celebrations?

Yes, Mark had a go-karting afternoon followed by a night at the curry house and I went to the theatre, followed by a meal.

Did your groom help you with the wedding planning?

He helped in lots of ways. We did our research together and booked things between us. We also made our own wedding stationery and Mark’s computer skills really helped there! After the wedding, we personalised all our thank you cards with photos from our wedding which Mark did a great job with.

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

Yes, we regularly looked at the website for ideas or tips.

Do you have a confetti web page?

Yes, but we didn’t use it as we have our own website.

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

We bought our table confetti, cufflinks and guestbook online.

Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it

I wore an ivory dress with a bodice which was lightly beaded and sequined. The skirt was a straight, A-Line shape. The dress had a detachable train with the same beading and sequined detail around the edge. I wore a 72″ plain ivory veil with a thin satin trim.

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

Yes, my friend Jane who wore an evening style purple dress and had a small lilac and silver silk flower headband. She had a lilac shawl and carried a bouquet of cream roses with purple trimmed Eustonia. My younger bridesmaid was my cousin’s daughter, 5 years old called Florence. She wore a lilac dress with lilac beaded shoes and carried a basket with lilac silk flowers around the edge and lilac silk rose petals inside. She also wore the same headress as my other bridesmaid.

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

The best man was Mark’s brother, Peter and the usher was his other brother, Tim. They both wore black suits with frockcoats and lilac waistcoats and cravattes. The groom wore a lovely deep purple suit (frockcoat) with a light purple, striped waistcoat and purple cravatte.

Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?

We had a religious ceremony.

Where did you hold your ceremony?

St George’s Church, Bickley, Kent.

Where did you hold your reception?

In a marquee in Mark’s parents’ garden.

Did you have any special wedding transport?

Yes, we hired a white convertible London cab. It was amazing! My dad was a London cabbie but he died when I was 16 so this was our way of remembering him on the day.

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

There were about 250 people in the church (including the children in my class), 80 at the meal afterwards and about 150 in the evening.

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

Yes, our colour theme was purple and silver. We had purple and silver balloons decorating the marquee with purple drapes. As the marquee was in a split-level garden, we had a beautiful flower bed of purple, lilac and cream flowers running through it with purple (painted) terracotta pots full of flowers too. As we are both teachers, we had a teaching theme: the table layout was hand written on a chalk board and all tables were named after school clubs. We also gave each guest a small tub of Playdough and had a Playdough competition which was judged after the speeches by the best man and usher. The winning table won medals and the losers got wooden spoons. It was wonderful, great fun and got everyone working and talking together on the tables.

How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?

We made the stationery ourselves so were able to incorporate the purple theme on our menus and place names. We used a central theme of hearts on all stationery and also used confetti’s silver and purple heart table confetti. We had a purple candle in silver sand inside a hurricane vase with purple flowers around the top in the centre of each table. Tablecloths were white.

Did you give your guests favours?

Yes, Love Hearts with ‘Just married’ on them, inside small silver bags with tiny purple and silver flower details. We also gave them a tub of Playdough for our Playdough competition.

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

My bouquet was hand-tied with cream roses and lilac lisianthus. As we had so many flowers already in the marquee from the garden, we didn’t need anymore! The florist also did my bridesmaid’s bouquet and buttonholes and corsages for the main wedding party.

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

We had a caterer to do our food. We chose to have a cold buffet menu as it was the end of July and in a marquee. We had canapes all around the marquee as people arrived and then had a pork dish, chicken, vegetarian and fish. This was accompanied by hot minted potatoes and a variety of different salads and breads. A cheesecake or tropical fresh fruit salad was the choice for dessert followed by tea/coffee and mints.

What did you choose for your wedding cake?

My sister made a beautiful four-tier cake with handmade purple, lilac and cream flowers. The spaces in between each tier were filled with flowers so gently came to a point at the top with a cream candle surrounded by handmade flowers. It really was amazing!

Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?

Yes, we hired a disco for the evening. They were great and played everything we requested, even the Irish music to keep my Irish family entertained (and everyone else there who couldn’t resist some foot tapping!)

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

Yes, we an online company but unfortunately had a few problems receiving the gifts.

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

We went home for our wedding night and, as we were not going on honeymoon until nine days after our wedding, we stayed for one night two days after the wedding in the top suite of a lovely hotel nearby. We went on honeymoon to Sri Lanka and the Maldives which was superb.

What was your most memorable moment of the day?

Walking into the church and seeing 250 people stand up and look at me, then turning the corner and seeing Mark beaming at the end of the aisle!

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

There is absolutely nothing I would change, the whole day was perfect. Advice? Enjoy the planning and preparation and the day itself, take a step back and take it all in as it goes so quickly. Oh, and get someone to take a photo of the back of your dress because it’s the one thing you don’t get to see!