Ria and Alan’s Real Life St Mary’s Church, Norton Wedding

When was your wedding?

18th August 2007

How and when did you meet?

I knew Alan through school. He was 2 years above me. We met in 2002 through MSN messenger.

How old are you both?

Im 23 and Alan is 25

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

Its not at all romantic. We were watching Coronation Street and Alan asked me if I would marry him!

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

I went to Benidorm for the weekend with 15 friends and Alan went to Magaluf.

How did your groom help with the wedding planning?

Yes he wanted to help on every aspect. I let him do this, well apart from picking my dress!

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

Yes I used confetti for ideas and help with planning!

Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it

It was a full length, a-line taffeta dress. The colour was champange. It had crystals on the front and dotted at the back with a lace up back.

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

I had 5 bridesmaids who wore gold knee length taffeta dresses

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

Alan chose his best friend Paul Davison to be his best man. His ushers were David, Shaun, Dale and Daniel. They all wore brown suits with ivory waist coats. Alan had a brown cravat and hankie and the ushers and best man had ivory. These were hired from Pronuptia.

Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?

Religious

Where did you hold your ceremony?

St Mary’s Church, Norton

Where did you hold your reception?

Hall Garth Golf and Country Club.

Did you have any special wedding transport?

I had a gold and ivory vintage Bentley and my bridesmaids and mother had a gold and ivory vintage Rolls Royce.

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

We have 200 guests at our wedding. As we didnt get married until 3pm all ours guests were there all day from the church.

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

My colours were gold, ivory and brown.

How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?

I had ivory napkins wrapped with brown ribbon. Cracked glass gold votive holders.

Did you give your guests favours?

Yes. Every guest had a brown organza bag with a ferrero rocher and gold hearts in.

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

I had 20 ivory roses. Hand tied with grass going through and diamontes. The bridesmaids had miniture versions of mine. The men and the rest of the bridal party had single ivory roses. My centre pieces were fish bowls with calla lillies floating in them.

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 our food. We had a hot buffet. Which included, lasange,salmon and chicken dishes.

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

I had a stacked 3 tiered cake which was ivory with gold ribbon and hand made ivory and brown roses. My mum made our cake.

Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?

We had a disco for the night time. We had a caricaturist called Paul Slattery.

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

We spent our first night at the hotel where we held our reception. Our honeymoon was 2 weeks in Cuba and was booked through Thomsons.

What was your most memorable moment of the day?

Walking down the aisle with a big smile of my face after we had been married!

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

A few arguments over guest lists but nothing major.

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

I wouldn’t change one thing about my wedding! My advice would be get a videographer as this is my biggest regret. The day just goes in a blur.