Val and Brian’s Real Life Wedding
Val and Brian
03/09/2005 – St Margaret’s Church, Wolston
The Musmajas, Wolston
photos by Annette Chalmers Photography
How and when did you meet?
We met through work in June 2001. I’d only been there 6 weeks when we started going out and we went for drinks in Leamington. We chatted non stop and saw each other loads from then.
How old are you both?
I’m 30 and Brian’s 33.
Where, when and how did he (or you!) propose?
I proposed to him on February 29th 2004. I asked him jokily as it was a leap year, and he replied you’ll have to ask me seriously if you want me to say yes… so in my dressing gown, I got down on one knee and asked him to marry me. We then went to buy the ring, and once we had that, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.
Did you have hen and stag celebrations?
Brian went to Amsterdam with his brothers and some friends for the weekend; he had a great time. I went to Warwick Castle for the Highwayman’s Supper with 15 of my family and friends; it was a brilliant laugh. Much fun was had by all.
Did your groom help you with the wedding planning?
All decisions on suppliers were made together. He helped with making some of the stationery, he chose the men’s’ suits and he booked places for us to go away to Cornwall for a few days after the wedding.
Did you use confetti to plan your wedding? If so, how did the website help you?
Used loads of info on confetti, from finding songs to the brilliant help of the girls on the confetti forum.
Do you have a confetti web page?
Yes, but we didn’t really use it.
Did you buy any confetti products for your wedding? If so, did you visit a store, buy online or by mail order?
I bought the table trivia chocolates and love hearts from the confetti store in Birmingham.
Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it.
It was my Mum and Bridesmaids who said it was the dress for me. As soon as I put it on, they said, “That’s the one”. It was a Venus Bridal A-line gown with lots of beading. I bought it from Image is Everything in Lincoln.
Did you have bridesmaids? If so, who did you choose and what did they wear?
I had two bridesmaids, both lovely friends, Claire & Caroline. They wore Forever Yours long dresses in Claret.
Who did your groom choose for his best man and ushers, and what did they wear?
EBrian chose two of his brother’s to be his best men, Sean and Peter and his usher was my brother, Nick. They wore Prince Edward suits from Nigel James in Coventry. It consisted of a black jacket, grey pinstriped trousers, ivory waistcoats and a claret scrunch tie.
Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?
We had a lovely religious ceremony. It was fantastic and our vicar even told some jokes during the service, making it the relaxed and informal ceremony we wanted. Everyone was smiling and happy and we were both beaming as we said our vows.
Where did you hold your ceremony?
The ceremony was held in St Margaret’s Church, Wolston, which is our local church.
Where did you hold your reception?
Our reception was held in The Musmajas, Wolston; a great venue with beautiful gardens.
Did you have any special wedding transport?
Our friends provided the wedding car for us, a Jaguar and the second car was an Audi Convertible, provided by Brian’s brother.
How many guests did you invite to your wedding, and did you have a separate evening guest list?
We had 110 guests to our day, plus an extra 40 friends invited to the evening.
Did your reception have a particular theme in terms of colour or style?
Our theme was flowers, and our colours were claret, ivory and gold.
How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?
Our table names were flower names, and we sprinkled red and gold hearts table confetti over the tables.
Did you give your guests favours?
We made all the favours ourselves, these consisted of ivory envelopes with sunflower or forget me not seeds and a card. We then used these as place names and added what our guest’s name meant, then added ribbons and bows to match our colour theme.
Describe your flowers (bouquets and table decorations). Who was your florist?
Our flowers were beautiful; my bouquet consisted of roses and Singapore orchids and we had two large pedestals and pew ends in the church, then two large pedestals and table arrangements at the reception. Our table arrangements were a small vase filled with claret gel, and the arrangement sat on the top. Our flowers were provided by our friend from Theresa’s Flowers in Wolverhampton.
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 BBQ instead of a sit down meal, which we felt went with the relaxed and informal atmosphere for our day. Our menu consisted of cutlet of lamb, chicken with herbs, lemon sole and fillet steak with various salad options. Our caterers, Ultimate Catering in Solihull, did a superb job.
What did you choose for your wedding cake?
Our cake was two tiers with iced figures on the top. It was made by Brian’s Mum and Nan and iced by Brian’s sister, Siobhan. It was fabulous.
Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?
We had a DJ who provided music for a meal, and then a disco in the evening. It was great to see lots of our guests dancing the night away.
Did you have a gift list? If so, who did you have your list with?
Our gift list was our honeymoon to Thailand, which our guests could sponsor parts of. We placed it with both sets of parents who kept a record of who had given what.
Where did you spend your first night and honeymoon? Who did you book your honeymoon with?
We spent our first night at the Golden Lion in Easenhall, a short taxi ride from the Musmajas. We had a lovely four-poster bed and jacuzzi bath.
What was your most memorable moment of the day?
All of it, so many highlights. One was when Brian and I went for a walk after the meal. We were sat on a bench in the gardens, chatting and watching our guests enjoying themselves.
Did you experience any ‘nightmare’ moments in the run up to your wedding or on the day?
No real nightmare moments, the only things that went wrong on the day was that one of the tables collapsed, spilling red wine onto a guest (luckily she was wearing a red and white dress!), and we forgot to thank someone.
Is there anything you would do differently, or any advice you would give to other brides?
I wouldn’t do anything differently, and my advice to other brides would be to keep records of everything and check everything you can, but most of all my advice would be to relax and enjoy it – the preparations and the day.