Sarah and David’s Real Wedding
Sarah and David
December 1999
How did you meet?
We met at an amateur dramatics club, Wraysbury Players, back in 1994. I’d been a member of the group already for a number of years and David moved into the area and joined the club. I think it was the sight of me in fishnet tights and a short tunic that clinched it – I was playing Robin Hood and David was the Sheriff of Nottingham in our 1995 panto ‘Babes in the Wood’!
Describe the marriage proposal.
David proposed in New York City on 1 November, 1998. I had gone there on a business trip and David joined me for the weekend – he decided against a proposal at the top of the Empire State Building and instead, opted for a much more romantic proposal in a lovely restaurant called Indigo in Greenwich Village. The staff found out and served us a bottle of Champagne free of charge!
How long did you spend preparing for the day and how was it?
We spent about ten months planning for the wedding – it was slightly complicated as we decided to marry in David’s home town in the Midlands and so all the preparation was done at a distance. We obviously spent quite a number of weekends racing up the motorway to Birmingham to check out venues, photographers, florists, hotels etc, but it was great fun and I now know the centre of Birmingham like the back of my hand.
What type of wedding ceremony did you have and where?
We had a civil ceremony with 50 immediate family and close friends in a Victorian house in Edgbaston that was decked out with a huge Christmas tree (we even put presents under the tree for all the children!), real fires and lots of candles. Rather than sticking to traditional ideas, we wanted something that really reflected us and our relationship so we chose things like a wandering Elizabethan minstrel (who sang bawdy ballads during the wedding breakfast), readings like ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’, ‘best women’ instead of bridesmaids and a three-tier chocolate wedding cake. I wore a gold silk dress and plum velvet shrug, David was in green velvet.
Where did you hold your reception and what was it like?
Our reception was held in the same location as the ceremony, which made the whole event very intimate and meant our guests didn’t have to worry about getting from one place to the next. The ceremony was in an upstairs room and the house had a lovely staircase so we were able to greet our guests at the bottom of the stairs with a glass of mulled wine immediately after the ceremony. We had crackers on the tables, served a hearty three-course wedding breakfast and finished with speeches from David, myself, one of my ‘best women’ – Julie – and Pete, the best man.
Thinking back to the ‘big day’ what things did you especially enjoy?
I think the thing we most enjoyed was that it was a very fun and happy event. Neither of us were nervous, everything was just as we had hoped it would be (better in fact) and we were able to share a very special event with our closest family and friends.
Is there anything you’d change, with hindsight?
No, I don’t think there is anything we would change – it really was a perfect day.
What advice would you give to couples currently planning their wedding?
The only advice I think we would give is don’t feel you have to stick to tradition – be imaginative and do things that really reflect what the two of you are all about!
