Whilst unwrapping our new sofa, on the day we moved into our first home together, Tim got down on one knee (with a ring in his shaky hand) and asked me to marry him.
We wanted a summer wedding so we set a date for the following July. We decided that we wanted a simple, traditional wedding using as many local amenities as possible. As we live in a lovely part of the country, this proved to be incredibly easy and felt very lucky to have all of this on our doorstep.
I wasn't sure what style of dress I wanted and therefore had a very open mind. So on a Saturday in July, I went with my Mum to Shropshire Brides. I tried on around six dresses all in different styles however I still didn't feel happy with these. I was then presented with a Ronald Joyce dress, which was very different from the other styles, and then immediately knew that this was the one! The dress was satin material, quite plain yet bigger than what I had imagined. Along with the veil it was the dress for me.
For my hair, I was very fortunate to have had Tim's Best Man's fiances - Becky - to style mine and my bridesmaids's hair. As they live in Northern Ireland, a hair trial was a great excuse for a weekend away a few months before the wedding! Becky was amazing. We went to her studio, Rebecca's Hair Studio, where created a lovely up do which I was really pleased with. This look was then recreated for the big day! As Becky was a guest at our wedding, it was a great luxury to have her there to keep touching up my hair throughout the day - something I am grateful for.
I was fortunate enough to have Nicola Harrison to do my make up for the bridesmaids, my Mum and me. I had a make-up trial three months before the wedding and was so pleased with it. I don't wear a lot of make up so wanted more of a natural look. On the day of the wedding, Nicola was very organised and created a schedule for the order of the morning which included the time to put on the dress. Everyone was really pleased with their make-up. Nicola was so friendly which made the morning run incredibly smoothly.
Since the ceremony was at 1:30pm, this gave me plenty of time, in the morning, to relax and enjoy spending time with family and friends who had travelled from afar for the weekend. I stayed with my family at The Bateman Arms, Shobdon, the night before where we all had a meal and a few drinks. In the morning, we headed for a walk to the Shobdon Aerodrome for a cup of tea before heading back to get ready.
After studying YouTube videos of how to tie a Windsor Knott my 3 Ushers, Best Man and I headed to the bar for a pre wedding whisky where my Mum and family friends were preparing the button holes. Mum had grown orchids especially for the wedding as she was kind enough to offer to make us the buttonholes. When the time came, my groomsmen, friends and I took a walk up the lane to the church leaving plenty of time to greet all of our guests upon arrival. We used Bill Child Formal Wear to hire the Groomsmen's suits and to buy mine.
As we were both keen to have a church wedding we couldn't pass up the opportunity to marry in St Johns Church in our local parish, Shobdon. The church has been maintained with great detail offering a stunning interior with a unique charm and beauty. The church boasts an impressive tree lined approach with views over the Herefordshire countryside. We really couldn't have had a better place to tie the knot.
Our guests moved on the venue for reception drinks whilst we seized an opportunity to have some photos taken.
After having a few more private photos taken, we were driven to Burton Court (Chrome 'N' Ribbons) to join our guests for reception drinks. As the car pulled up to the dramatic entrance, our guests were out on the terrace being looked after by the venue and catering staff with fresh Pimms and Canapes. We were greeted by Ed who swiftly announced our arrival.
Our Wedding Breakfast has probably received most compliments since our wedding and is still spoken about today! Receommended by Ed, we used Lyn Bullock. She is very local to Burton Court and an extremely charming, yet professional lady who we couldn't have thought more highly of. Her service certainly delivered. We opted for an array of canapes to be served with our reception drinks, a choice of two starters and then a fillet of beef to be served on each table with a nominated guest member to carve. Along with the beef, all the seasonal trimmings were served and then finished off with a choice of two desserts. We also provided a range of cheeses from Monkland Cheese Factory which our caterers laid out for us to be nibbled at during the course of the evening.
Dominic Lemoine was our photographer and he came with his partner, Ruby. Both were very likeable, charismatic people and worked very well as a pair. Having the two of them proved very useful as they split up between the bridal party and groomsmen during the morning and then being able to take photos from all different angles during the ceremony as well as during the time at the reception. They had pre-determined lists printed out for the group photos and this organisation was highly required as at times herding guests can much like herding animals. They also came equipped with a drone to get the all-important group shot which we had taken out on the terrace of Burton Court.
We chose to use Burton Court for our wedding venue. The house was roughly a 10-minute drive from the church so being local appealed to us straight away. After a viewing with Ed, his eldest daughter showing off her latest Black Swan dance moves and the family collie, we immediately picked up a relaxed family business vibe. This largely appealed to us and we immediately booked up. The venue offered us all we needed and more, the flow of the venue between all the rooms worked perfectly allowing our guests to move between the bar, terrace, dance floor and the pop up Gin Bar with ease.
The Great Hall gave an impressive setting for us to enjoy the wedding breakfast and was large enough to easily host our 80 guests but not too large that our speeches would require a microphone. Anna's Mum dressed the tables with beautiful pink roses, gypsophilia and candles which sat neatly in decorated jam jars to tie in with the colour scheme of our wedding.
We decided to allow family and friends to contribute to decorations as we felt it gave a more personal touch (also helped with budget). Tim's Mum provided a variety of beautiful plants which really enhanced the steps leading up to the main entrance. Auntie Pam made the fantastic table plan and name cards utilising her amazing calligraphy skills. We also made a few pieces ourselves which involved painting a pallet white to display the order of the day as well as putting LED lights inside empty Gin/Whisky bottles which were placed around the Great Hall.
A colleague of Anna's was kind enough to make our 3 tier wedding cake which tasted and looked amazing!
We were recommended the band XL5 to play at our wedding so we ensured we sealed that date for them as soon as possible. They played 2 hour long sets and provided the disco between and post sets. We felt very lucky to have had this band at our wedding as they are very reputable. They did a fantastic job in playing our first dance song 'Wonderful Tonight' even changing the lyrics from blonde hair to brown hair! They kept the atmosphere high and fully entertained the party throughout the whole evening.
Anna's friend, Nat, came as a guest to the wedding and very kindly filmed the day for us. We received the video a few weeks after the wedding and we were so impressed. She had captured our special day perfectly and it was the wedding gift we could ask for.
Here is the link to to see the video she made.
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