Susan and David’s Real Life Wedding
What is your first name?
Susan
What is the name of your groom?
David
When was your wedding?
23rd December 2006
What is your email address?
How and when did you meet?
We met when I was out for my birthday in Jumpin Jacks in Halifax on 7th November 2003 with my best friend Sarah & Jackie. Sarah knew Kevin, David’s friend, and we just started talking and it went from there.
How old are you both?
30 and 26
Where, when and how did he (or you!) propose?
David took me to Oslo for my birthday in November 2005, we were walking along the Fjords, by the castle and David took hold of me, like he sometimes usually does to give me a kiss, and he told me he loved me to bits and I was the best thing that had ever happened to him and would I marry him. I just smiled, cried and gave him a kiss and hug, he said, “I take it is a yes.” I said, “Yes – I love you so much. It took me by surprise!” We immediately got on the phone to family and they were over the moon!
Did you have hen and stag celebrations? If so, what did you do?
The stag do was at Slaley Hall for a sporting superstar weekend, about thirty lads went up there for the weekend. I had two hen parties, one was with twenty of my friends at York races and then for a meal which was great fun and the other was organised by my sister and friend, ten went up to Ulverston in the lakes to my brother’s cottage. We had a girly weekend, which was great including bowling, meals, walking and then at night they organised for a beautician to come to the cottage and do lots of beauty treatments for us all and we played bridal bingo, twister and a game which we had to produce a wedding gown out of three toilet rolls and a six paper clips. It was a fantastic weekend.
How did your groom help with the wedding planning?
He helped with all aspects of the wedding(except the dress) and he told me that it was our big day and he wanted to help.
Did you use confetti to plan your wedding? If so, how did the website help you?
Yes, we used Confetti a lot for quite a few aspects of our day – it is a brilliant website!
Did you buy any confetti products for your wedding? If so, did you visit a store, buy online or by mail order?
Yes, we bought a lot of products.
Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it
It was the first dress I saw, I always wanted a dress with red on and I always imagined a Christmas wedding, so when I saw my dress, it was truly my dream dress. It was Alfred Angelo and I bought it from Always and Forever in Elland. They were very helpful. It was ivory. The train was red and there was a red band around the top. My head piece was by Amanda Wyatt and it had feathers on, and my veil had red diamantes on. I felt like a princess – everyone commented on how amazing my dress was.
Did you have bridesmaids? If so, who did you choose and what did they wear?
Yes I had three – my sister Catherine, my best friends of 26 years, Sarah and Samantha. They wore a red Alfred Angelo dress from Always and Forever in Elland. They looked stunning.
Who did your groom choose for his best man and ushers, and what did they wear?
The groom and the ushers wore top hat and tails. With the groom wearing a white waistcoat and cravat and the ushers wearing red cravats and waistcoats – they looked very dapper.
Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?
Religious ceremony and we wanted as close to Christmas as possible as it is a family time for us both.
Where did you hold your ceremony?
We got married in St James Church, Thornton, where I grew up and went to that church as a child. The ceremony was amazing and very moving, my mum read a reading and our friend Clare read a special poem about love. Rev Green, was brilliant and everyone commented how brilliant he was!
Where did you hold your reception?
The Rock, Holywell Green, Halifax
Did you have any special wedding transport?
As a wedding present to David I organised for an Aston Martin DB9 Volante to be delivered the day before and for him to have it to arrive at the church in. He was over the moon and he was the envy of all his friends and had ten of his friends over on the Friday night to look at it! Also the business partner of David organised for a Rolls Royce to pick me and the bridesmaids up and take us to the church. It was beautiful.
How many guests did you invite to your wedding, and did you have a separate evening guest list?
We invited 80 people to the day and another 100 to the evening.
Did your reception have a particular theme in terms of colour or style?
It was a Christmas theme and red and my sister and brother organised a snow machine for us!
How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?
We had little Christmas trees on the tables instead of flowers and we had a white chocolate fountain in the evening.
Did you give your guests favours?
Yes we had little Christmas stockings which David’s 80 year old grandma had knitted and we put two chocolate gold coins in them and a betting slip in for the King George Boxing Day race.
Describe your flowers (bouquets and table decorations). Who was your florist?
My bouquet was red grand prix roses, red berries and silver bear grass. It was fantastic and the bridesmaids’ were avalance roses and the groom and ushers had one single rose with silver bear grass. The top table had roses, berries and bear grass – it was simply stunning. We got them from Sunflower Florists in Kings Cross in Halifax.
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 menu of vegetable soup, bacon & black pudding salad, or goats cheese tart, then roast beef, chicken chasseur, and mushroom risotto and followed by chocolate delux, Christmas pudding or winter berry pavalova. We had the food provided by the Rock team – it was delicious. In the evening it was a BBQ menu – which was different.
What did you choose for your wedding cake, and who made it?
We had two wedding cakes. A three tier fruit cake which my mum made and a friend Elaine iced for us and a three tier fun cake which was made by 3 Tier in Halifax. It had a twist to it with Dave in his Huddersfield colours and a golf club and then me in my swimming costume with a golf ball down my cleavage. It was one tier sponge, one tier lemon sponge and one tier chocolate sponge.
Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?
Yes, we just had the DJ from the Rock – he was very good and everyone danced all night!
Did you have a gift list? If so, who did you have your list with?
Yes the list was with Debenhams and we had a request for Superbreaks vouchers.
Where did you spend your first night and honeymoon? Who did you book your honeymoon with?
We spent Christmas at home as it is family time for both of us and then we went to Madrid for four days and then went to the Maldives, it was magical – David surprised me on the wedding day as he had planned it all himself – it was the most amazing time of my life.
What was your most memorable moment of the day?
The ceremony – looking into each other’s eyes and saying our vows.
Did you experience any ‘nightmare’ moments in the run up to your wedding or on the day?
None at all. We did a lot of work so we weren’t running around on the last week.
Is there anything you would do differently, or any advice you would give to other brides?
No I wouldn’t change anything at all – it was the most perfect day of our lives. I would advise any other bride to get organised, so that day before you can just get pampered and enjoy the day.
