Vanda and Adam’s Real Life Wedding

Vanda and Adam

04/08/2006
Local registry office and restaurant

How and when did you meet?
We met in a lift in the flats that we both lived in. Adam lived in a flat below me!

How old are you both?
26.

Where, when and how did he (or you!) propose?
Adam proposed traditionally by taking me out to a lovely restaurant and getting down on one knee.

Did you have hen and stag celebrations? If so, what did you do?
I had a full on cheesy hen night starting off with an Ann Summers party and then on into town to a few pubs and then on to our local Jumpin Jack’s. There were 30 of us and all dressed up in various costumes from sexy bride to sexy sherrif. Adam had a couple of nights out with various friends and family and luckily didn’t get tied to a lamp post.

How did your groom help with the wedding planning?
I love planning so enjoyed doing most of it. I asked Adam if he was happy with it as we went along.

Did you use confetti to plan your wedding? If so, how did the website help you?
The budget planner came in very handy reminding us of everything we needed to do/have.

Do you have a confetti web page?
Yes.

Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it
My auntie owns her own bridal shop so I got it from there. It was actually a Mori Lee prom dress which was very pale pink.

Did you have bridesmaids? If so, who did you choose and what did they wear?
We had three small bridesmaids that wore little pink frilly lily tutus and three big bridesmaids that wore deeper pink gowns with one row of diamantes.

Who did your groom choose for his best man and ushers, and what did they wear?
My husband’s brother was our best man and our ushers were his father, my step father and our other two brothers.

Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?
We had a civil ceremony.

Where did you hold your ceremony?
Our ceremony was held at our local register office.

Where did you hold your reception?
Our wedding reception was held at a restaurant quite local to us surrounded by lots of parkland.

Did you have any special wedding transport?
As we were on a budget a close friend took us in his silver sports car with a pink wedding ribbon attached to the front.

How many guests did you invite to your wedding, and did you have a separate evening guest list?
We had 37 of our close family and friends to our wedding ceremony and around 150 to our evening reception.

Did your reception have a particular theme in terms of colour or style?
Our colour scheme was pink and silver and we had lots of sparkle too. Our tables were named after board games such as “the hungry hippo table” and on that table we placed that game to play.

How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?
We had pink and silver balloons and pink cameras. Our favours were pink heart soaps covered in pale pink tulle and we had pink and silver heart shaped confetti and lots of pale pink ribbon.

Did you give your guests favours?
The adults had the soaps. The children were given sweets wrapped in pink tulle and we also placed champagne bubbles on all of the tables.

Describe your flowers (bouquets and table decorations). Who was your florist?
I had a white rose posy with a diamante placed in the centre of each one with the stem wrapped in pink tulle. The buttonholes were the same rose. Adam’s was made a bit more fancy.

What did you choose to have on your menu? Did you have an outside caterer or did your venue handle the catering?
Our venue did our catering we had a sit down buffet. The food was excellent and there wasn’t a sausage roll in sight.

What did you choose for your wedding cake, and who made it?
We had a very simple one tier heart shaped cake with pink hearts covered in glitter attached to thin wire on the top.

Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?
Our DJ was also a children’s entertainer so he performed a magic show for an hour in the evening for the 30 children that attended.

Did you have a gift list? If so, who did you have your list with?
We had a money poem as we have lived together for some time. Our guests were very generous. We also ended up with a few bottles of champagne and a kettle and toaster!

Where did you spend your first night and honeymoon? Who did you book your honeymoon with?
One of our bridesmaids present to us was a night in a hotel. We weren’t going to go away as we have three children but with the wedding money we ended up going to Great Yarmouth of all places and actually had a great time!

What was your most memorable moment of the day?
Adam coming to help me out of the car before the ceremony. He looked very handsome!

Did you experience any ‘nightmare’ moments in the run up to your wedding or on the day?
LOTS! We changed our venue several times, my flowers were wrong, my hair came undone on the day and my dress ripped!

Is there anything you would do differently, or any advice you would give to other brides?
Make the most of the day. If things go wrong, try and have a sense of humour about it.