Stephanie and Scott’s Real Life Wedding

 

Stephanie and Scott

06/05/2006 – St.Andrews, Ferring, West Sussex.

     
   

How and when did you meet?

We met on Christmas Eve 2000, at our local pub; we were both down with the same friends but had never met. We got on like a house on fire and couldn’t believe we’d never been introduced before!  We went out on our first date on Boxing Day and were driving around for an hour trying to find a pub which was open!

How old are you both?

33 and 35.

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

The ‘first’ proposal was after our friend’s wedding where I had been a bridesmaid.  I was very cross with him as he was quite drunk and had ignored me most of the night!  This was in his Mum’s back garden and not the most romantic of proposals as he’d only asked if I wanted to get engaged!  Nevertheless a year later he surprised me with a romantic meal at the Grand in Brighton where he gave me a very official proposal and went down on one knee – ahhh!

Did your groom help you with the wedding planning?

I had two: a girl’s pampering weekend in the New Forest for my closest friends and a wild night out for all my friends and family two weeks before the wedding.  Scott went to Amsterdam (predictibly!) where his friends dressed him up as a woman and he looked like Ena Sharples (bless him!)

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

Not really, he left it all to me, although he did get involved in the financial side!

Do you have a confetti web page?

Yes, the cafe was invaluable – I had some great advice from other brides-to-be and newly weds.

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

No.

Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it.

I bought the freeze-dried petals but unfortunately they were forgotten and not put out at the reception. The dress came from Brides of Sussex and was a full strapless A-line gown with an organza overlay and embroidered flowers and beading; I also had a matching wrap and bag.

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

I had two adult bridesmaids whose pink dresses came from Dessy. I also had two little ones whose dresses came from Debenhams.

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

He chose his closest friend Steve for his best man who also wore the same kilt as Scott. His ushers wore matching waistcoats and cravats in a deep purple.

Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?

A Church of England service.

Where did you hold your ceremony?

St.Andrews, Ferring, West Sussex.

Where did you hold your reception?

Field Place, Worthing, West Sussex.

Did you have any special wedding transport?

We had a wonderful open-top moggy in cream with a red interior – unfortunately it rained!

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

We had 70 to the day and another 50 in the evening.

How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?

Yes it was a Scottish theme as my husband is Scottish and the wedding party wore kilts with thistle buttonholes.  The other main colour was fuchsia pink which the bridesmaids wore.  After the meal we had a ceilidh band which got everyone dancing!

Did you give your guests favours?

The fudge favours were wrapped with tartan ribbon. Each table had Scottish names of places we’d both been to and a little bit about that place.

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

We had a fantastic florist, Gill of Flower Sensation Too.  My bouquet was pink and purple tulips with scattered diamantes, the bridesmaids had smaller bunches of tulips and the little ones had a single gerbera.  The men wore purple thistle buttonholes.  Each table had a fishbowl with beargrass and floating gerberas.

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

We had to get an outside caterer. The guests had a choice of roast beef or salmon, followed by banoffie pie or pavlova which all went down really well.

What did you choose for your wedding cake?

Good old M&S!  My caterer friend kindly decorated it with gerberas and wrapped ivy around the stand which gave it a real fairytale look.

Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?

We chose to have a honeymoon giftlist with Travel Counsellors.

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

Our first night was in a beautiful country hotel.  We went on our honeymoon two days later to Santorini and Naxos in Greece; I used the reviews on Trip Advisor.com to choose the hotels and Travel Counsellors booked it all for us.

What was your most memorable moment of the day?

Catching Scott’s eye as I walked up the aisle.

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

After the speeches the fire alarm went off so the whole wedding party had to evacuate!  It was quite funny really and all the ladies were eyeing up the fireman!  Luckily all was OK and we were allowed back in after 10 minutes; it was a real talking point of the wedding.

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

Don’t get too wrapped up in the finer details. I found it hard to remember what the day was really about and not just what the reception looked like! Don’t be swayed by what other people want or be afraid to change your mind if you’re not sure. We met at work 4 years ago. It was far from love at first sight, in fact Darren couldnt stand me but after my persistent chatting we finally became friends. Then after a while we fell in love and eventually started dating a year later.