Rachel and Andy
05/11/2005 – St Pauls, Nuneaton
Royal Court Hotel, Coventry
How and when did you meet?
We met on the 22nd November 2003 at a party – it was also the day that England won the Rugby World Cup.
How old are you both?
I’m 24 Andy is 33.
Where, when and how did he (or you!) propose?
I proposed 2 days after Andy’s birthday when we were out celebrating with friends – I’d been saying I was going to ask him as it was leap year in 2004!
Did you have hen and stag celebrations?
Andy went to Liverpool with 20 of his friends including our dads; they went dressed up as cowboys, Sheriffs and Indians. I went to the greyhound racing with family and friends and then into my local town; we hired 3 limos to take us and bring us back home – it was great!
Did your groom help you with the wedding planning?
Andy made sure he nodded in the right places and he turned up to various meetings we had planned. He also helped design and make the wedding invitations with me – we had our own little production line going with a good bottle of red wine!
Did you use confetti to plan your wedding? If so, how did the website help you?
I bought my bows and sparklers from Confetti – the site really helped us to use ideas from other brides.
Do you have a confetti web page?
No.
Did you buy any confetti products for your wedding? If so, did you visit a store, buy online or by mail order?
Yes.
Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it.
My dress was a Bonny Bridal dress from a shop called Clarice in Coventry. It was two shades of ivory with crushed diamond effect on the bodice and train, which was a semi cathedral length.
Did you have bridesmaids? If so, who did you choose and what did they wear?
The bridesmaids were Jenn, who is my younger sister and she was my chief bridesmaid and Andy’s sister Rachael. They both wore cranberry coloured dresses from Clarice. I also had my niece Hollie, who is 2. I bought her a cream dress from BHS and had to have the cumberbund altered to suit my colour scheme.
Who did your groom choose for his best man and ushers, and what did they wear?
Andy chose his dad as his best man as he has too many close friends and didn’t know who to pick; his 4 close friends were his ushers.
Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?
We had a beautiful church ceremony at our local parish church.
Where did you hold your ceremony?
The church is called St Pauls in Nuneaton.
Where did you hold your reception?
The reception was held at the Royal Court Hotel in Coventry.
Did you have any special wedding transport?
Two vintage cars.
How many guests did you invite to your wedding, and did you have a separate evening guest list?
We had a 100 guests to the wedding and 175 to the evening reception.
Did your reception have a particular theme in terms of colour or style?
Cranberry and gold was the theme.
How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?
I mainly used gold as the bridesmaids were in cranberry but the napkins were gold and cranberry alternated around the table.
Did you give your guests favours?
Yes, I bought little ivory chest-like boxes from Hobby Craft in the sale, put 5 chocolates in each and finished them with little gold bows from Confetti.
Describe your flowers (bouquets and table decorations). Who was your florist?
I had a long teardrop bouquet with ivory roses, ivy, eucalyptus and leather leaf. The two adult bridesmaids had hand-tied freesias and Hollie had a fairy wand with a freesia corsage on it.
What did you choose to have on your menu? Did you have an outside caterer or did your venue handle the catering?
We had pate to start, bangers and mash for the main and hot apple pie and custard for dessert. The hotel took care of the catering for us.
What did you choose for your wedding cake?
I had a stacked 3-tier fruit cake in ivory. My mum baked the cake and Andy’s Mum’s friend iced and decorated it with sugar paste flowers that she individually made. Around the centre tier of the cake I had written "to have and to hold from this day forward"
Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?
Andy, his dad and one of his ushers who sings for the Sid Lawrence Orchestra did a set for the first half of the evening and then Andy’s friend from school who is a DJ played until the early hours.
Did you have a gift list? If so, who did you have your list with?
We asked people for gift vouchers for various different places and we also had cash and cheques given to us.
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 held our reception in and then my dad took us to Gatwick the day before our honeymoon to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe.
What was your most memorable moment of the day?
The whole day – I remember it all. I think that has something to do with the amount of photos my mum was taking from the moment I opened my eyes in the morning!
Did you experience any ‘nightmare’ moments in the run up to your wedding or on the day?
On the day, the photographer turned up at my house instead of at the hotel in the morning so he was an hour late and the catering got a little messed up, but these were only small things and they didn’t ruin the day.
Is there anything you would do differently, or any advice you would give to other brides?
The whole day was like the dreams I had been having leading up to it. It was beautiful; the only advice I would give is enjoy being the centre of attention and do some facial exercises beforehand as I woke up the next day with face ache!
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