
Victoria and Martin, Real Gretna Green Wedding Story
What is your first name?
Victoria
What is your last name?
Thrower
What is your maiden name?
Brownridge
What is the name of your groom?
Martin
When was your wedding?
21st June 2009
What is your email address?
Would you like other brides to be able to email you?
Yes
How and when did you meet?
We met when i started a new job, and he worked in the same office as me
How old are you both?
I’m 31 and he’s 42
Where, when and how did he (or you!) propose?
He proposed to me on christmas day 1999, we were staying at my mam and dads for christmas, and had gone out on christmas eve for a drink, we left the pub and went home, to find mam and dad still up, which i thought was odd considering it was nearly midnight, as it turned midnight martin got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife, mam and dad already knew what he was planning hence why they had stayed up.
Did you have hen and stag celebrations? If so, what did you do?
I had 3 hen nights. The first one my 8-yr-old daughter arranged for me at my mams house, she decorated it with banners and balloons etc, and bought me L plates and badges which was fantastic loved every minute of it, my 2nd one was a quiet family meal, and my 3rd one was my main hen night me and all my friends went to york in a limo, had a pole dancing lesson on the afternoon, then back to my friends house where we were staying who had decorated it all fantasically well, and made party food and drink then went on a pub crawl dressed in tutus!!. Martin isn’t really in to going out much so he had a few drinks with his friends and best man in our local town
How did your groom help with the wedding planning?
He didn’t do a great deal to be honest, mainly because he wanted me to have what i wanted so let me make most of the decisions, which suited me!!
Do you have a confetti web page?
yes we did
Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it
I had a Maggie Sottero strapless 2 piece dress, which was oyster with diamond white organza over the top, i bought it from a bridal shop near my home town
Did you have bridesmaids? If so, who did you choose and what did they wear?
I had 6 bridesmaids and a flowergirl. I had my 2yr old daughter as my flowergirl, my 8yr old and 6yr old as bridesmaids and my 2 neices and my 2 best friends, the adult bridesmaids wore strapless dresses and the younger ones had the same dresses but with spagetti straps, they were chocolate with a pink sash, and my flowergirl was the opposite she had a pink dress with a chocolate sash
Who did your groom choose for his best man and ushers, and what did they wear?
He chose his son and his ex boss as his best men, didn’t have any ushers and they wore chocolate brown suits with cream waistcoats and brown cravats
Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?
Religious ceremony
Where did you hold your ceremony?
Anvil hall, Gretna Green
Where did you hold your reception?
Smiths at Gretna Green
Did you have any special wedding transport?
No a family friend took us to the church and picked us up
How many guests did you invite to your wedding, and did you have a separate evening guest list?
We invited 80 guests with only a few extras on the evening, due to distance
Did your reception have a particular theme in terms of colour or style?
My colour scheme was chocolate and pink,
How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?
We named them after different types of chocolate
Did you give your guests favours?
Yes they got little bottles of champagne
Describe your flowers (bouquets and table decorations). Who was your florist?
My bouquet was hand tied with pink roses and gerberas with crystals, my bridesmaids had just roses, and for table decorations we had long tall vases with a brown ostrich feather and a pink gerbera in.
What did you choose to have on your menu? Did you have an outside caterer or did your venue handle the catering?
Tthe venue did the catering, and everyone got a choice of 2 starters, 2 main, and 2 dessert, we had vegetable soup/prawn cocktail, chicken in mushroom sauce/roast beef and yorkshire puds, lemon cheesecake/chocolate sticky toffee pudding
What did you choose for your wedding cake, and who made it?
We had a 2 tier chocolate cake with pink roses round the centre, it was made by a friend
Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?
We had a disco and karaoke on the evening
Where did you spend your first night and honeymoon? Who did you book your honeymoon with?
We spent our first night at smiths in the thistle suite
What was your most memorable moment of the day?
Walking down the aisle
Did you experience any “nightmare” moments in the run up to your wedding or on the day?
No it all seemed to run smoothly
Is there anything you would do differently, or any advice you would give to other brides?
Don’t get stressed out over it, remember the true meaning of marriage, everything else will fall into place.