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*gnashers*
Beginner October 2013

The wedding report of *gnashers* UPDATED WITH MORE PICS

*gnashers*, 11 of November of 2013 at 18:11 Posted on Planning 0 61

Well, it's our one month anniversary today, and before H gets home from work and takes me out somewhere romantic to the tennis club AGM (joy), I thought I may as well get started on my wedding report.

It's super long, so I won't be offended if you skip to the pictures (and the videos at the end, don't miss that bit), but seeing as I spent the majority of my wedding planning life on Hitched (in fact, I was here before I was even engaged), it only feels right to drag it out as much as possible. Also, this is the last wedding related thing I have to do (excluding thank you cards), so the longer I drag out, the less chance of me getting the dreaded post-wedding blues.

I make no apologies for how utterly self indulgent it is - as I was reminded numerous times during the speeches, I am an only child, so it's definitely OK to be all me me me, right?! And if I can't be now, then when can I?!

So grab a cup of tea/glass of wine/pint of gin and a biscuit/bag of crisps/hot dog, and enjoy.

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Latest activity by sal.san, 9 of December of 2013 at 15:43
  • *gnashers*
    Beginner October 2013
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    The Background (pretty long in itself)
    So I didn’t get the greatest start to university life. I started at one university and utterly hated it. Fortunately, I had good A Level grades and when I called Royal Holloway (RHUL) to ask if I could transfer, they were more than happy to let me do so. I originally should have chosen it, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.
    As I started three weeks later than everyone else, there was no accommodation for me, which was fine as home was only a 20 minute drive away (partly why I chose against the RHUL originally). It also meant I could still spend time with my then boyfriend, A.

    One of my old school friends also was studying at RHUL, so one day, as I was walking to visit her in her halls, I noticed this tall, blonde, lanky bloke heading in the same direction. I’d seen him in a couple of my lectures that week and so caught up with him and introduced myself - it was potentially the most awkward conversation ever...we just had nothing to say to each other. I didn’t fancy him or anything, I was just trying to make friends and the most of what was a fairly stressful start to university life.

    As I lived at home for our first and second years, my university friends we really just my course mates – I didn’t really make other friends. This didn’t bother me, as I still had a close knit network of ‘home’ friends too. Me and M became better friends after a trip to Cologne, when he said to another mutual friend ‘she’s pretty funny, that Kirsty, isn’t she?’. Again, I was still with A, and had no interest in M, other than being friends.

    Our third year, as language students, was spent abroad. I was in the southern most town of Germany, and transport links were awful, so I didn’t really see many of my university friends over that year. I made some great friends where I lived though, and it really was one of the best years of my life. I think it changed me as a person, I grew in confidence and began to realise that I didn’t love him A much as I thought I did. I kept the relationship going but moreso as I didn’t have the balls to end it whilst I was abroad.

    After coming back from Germany, and starting my final year at university, I became increasingly aware that I had to do something about this relationship I was stuck in. I went out a lot, and spent loads of time with my university friends, becoming ever closer to M. One very drunken night, I persuaded him back to my room (so he could get a CD he wanted to borrow off me, the first Pussycat Dolls album no less), and although nothing really happened, I woke up the next day realising I had to end it with A. So that week I did, telling him the truth, I just didn’t love him anymore.

    Although M and I shared the odd cheeky kiss after this, and went on a couple of dates, he decided he didn’t want a relationship – although I was pretty gutted about this at the time, I know now that it was the best thing for us...we enjoyed the rest of our university days as friends and both did well in our exams. There was always ‘something there though’ . A few pics of our university times together...




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  • *gnashers*
    Beginner October 2013
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    Fast forward two years. We had started a family...buying our two gorgeous cats (gratuitous cat flash, it's only fair).

    Once we’d all graduated, most people stayed in London so we all saw each other a lot. I got a job near home, and M got a job working for Deutsche Bank. In Frankfurt. Bummer. However, a few weeks after he moved out there, he sent an email round to everyone, inviting us over for a weekend before Christmas. Without asking if anyone else was going, I booked my flight (which was the day after my first work Xmas party [sick face]). Turns out that nobody else could afford it, so I went on my own.

    Once we’d all graduated, most people stayed in London so we all saw each other a lot. I got a job near home, and M got a job working for Deutsche Bank. In Frankfurt. Bummer. However, a few weeks after he moved out there, he sent an email round to everyone, inviting us over for a weekend before Christmas. Without asking if anyone else was going, I booked my flight (which was the day after my first work Xmas party [sick face]). Turns out that nobody else could afford it, so I went on my own.

    That weekend, we shared a couple of cheeky kisses (again) and when he came back over the Christmas period, we went on a few dates. By the time he was due to back, we decided to give the relationship a go. It didn’t go down well with some of our friends (to this day, we still don’t know why) so it was a pretty miserable start to the relationship to be honest! That, twinned with the fact we were trying to maintain a long distance relationship for the first six months, made it pretty tough to begin with. After 8 months of being together, I started to be quite unwell, eventually being diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. It was a pretty tough first 18 months or so but we survived, and eventually in May 2010, we bought our first house together.

    The Proposal

    Fast forward two years. We had started a family...buying our two gorgeous cats (gratuitous cat flash, it's only fair).


    My best friend had got married in 2011, which introduced me to the world of Hitched (I like to think I was a very helpful BM) and I was getting desperate for a proposal. Both of M’s closest friends were engaged (who live near us so we see them a lot), and I was getting a bit impatient and fed up!

    I did have a feeling it was coming...M had taken a day off to spend ‘gardening’ with my dad, plus I had spotted a text on his phone from my best friend (I wasn't snooping, he'd asked me to read him a text from his mum, honest!) – I didn’t read it, as there was something in my head that told me not to. We were also due to be going on a holiday of a lifetime, to Hong Kong, Singapore and Bali and I was kind of expecting it then.

    Anyway, M had asked me to put a lunch date in the diary for Saturday 19th May – we were going back to our old university to meet up with a friend. It was a sunny day, and M suggested getting a picnic, so on our way to university, I nipped into M&S and spent a small fortune on picnic food.

    We set up our picnic in the field next to the beautiful building our old university is famous for and had a bite to eat but our friend hadn’t turned up. Not unusual as he is late for everything. However, when he was over an hour late, I got a tad annoyed. M was being a bit quiet but i didn’t notice that at the time. He then started pointing at something on the top floor of the building, I couldn’t see what on earth he was going on about, so he said ‘stand up and you’ll see it’. At this point, I thought ‘hang on a minute, something’s going on here!’. But I stood up anyway. When I turned round to say ‘what the f**k are you banging on about?!’, he was down on one knee, with a beautiful princess cut diamond sitting in a box.

    I can’t remember my reaction exactly, but I squealed and cried a bit, and we didn’t eat any more picnic food, we were both too excited. Late friend never turned up, but he was never supposed to – he was in on the whole thing.

    Here’s a couple of pics shortly after he popped the question...



    We went to my parents to tell them the good news – Dad knew, as M had asked his permission. As old-fashioned as it is, it was very important to me as I am very close to my dad. Dad hadn’t told mum though, which I am very proud of him for, as him and my mum are very close and tell each other everything. Mum cried, of course and we had a nice BBQ with them. We then pootled off to tell M’s parents – they didn’t have any idea either, and his dad in particular (who doesn’t really show emotion) was very pleased for us. FMIL’s reaction was pretty muted but I think it's because it was such a surprise.

    We spent the rest of the weekend telling people, and then we were very lucky to have an Engagement-moon...being able to celebrate our engagement on the holiday of a lifetime was incredible.




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  • *gnashers*
    Beginner October 2013
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    Planning the wedding

    After we came back from our holiday, I was desperate to get planning and that we did. We looked around a fair few venues, and although we were torn between a few different venues, as soon as we walked into Great Fosters, we knew it was 'the one'. I actually wanted to have a shorter engagement than we did, but M wasn’t convinced. He didn’t want to marry before the two best friends of his who were already engaged (although one couple have since called of their wedding and separated, sad times) and he (sensibly, I hate to admit it) was concerned about money.We decided on Great Fosters, with the intention of marrying in the chapel at RHUL, just down the road. That didn’t quite work out sadly – GF is not the cheapest venue, but by marrying on a Friday in October, we’d be able to afford it (with a very kind, unconditional lump sum from my parents, for which, I’ll be eternally grateful). When we looked at available dates, the first Friday in October 2013 was booked, so we pencilled in Friday 11th October.Due to that fact that date was a weekday in RHUL term time, we were unable to marry there. However, the alternative of my old parish church and more significantly, where my parents were married, wasn’t too shabby, so we booked, paid deposits and had an official wedding date of Friday 11th October 2013.

    We booked stuff pretty quickly after the venue was booked. We knew we wanted Julia, our Tog. I'd seen her pictures on blogs before we were even engaged and had she not been available, we'd have changed our date, we wanted her that much. This was the image that got me (courtesy of Julia and You, formerly Modern Photographic).


    The vog was next, and we used people recommended to us by Julia. I quickly got the band, venue decor and flowers booked and by Christmas 2012, the big stuff had all been done. People probably think I was a bit keen but 2013 has been a busy year for weddings for us and I just wanted stuff out of the way so I could enjoy celebrating with other friends who were marrying. I was also adamant to avoid stress to reduce the chances of any nasty flare ups!

    The Dress

    Now, I’m not a particularly small or large person, but I am pretty out of proportion. My top half is small, and my bottom half is rather more substantial (and as I discovered when being measured for my dress, my back is wider than my front?!). So, I thought finding a dress would be really hard work. I was also scared of not being able to fit in any samples due to my rather large rump.For these reasons (and basically because I am impatient!), I started dress shopping before we even booked the venue. Turns out, it wasn’t easy, but more so because I loved pretty much every dress I tried on, rather than not liking any at all!

    The ones I thought I would love (massive and lacy) made me look pretty ridiculous, but I stood by the opinion of try everything on before you make your mind up. I first tried what would end up as my dress at the end of June, but I wanted to do the proper day with my bridesmaids, and as one of them was 8 months pregnant at this time, we kind of had other things to be busying ourselves with. We eventually went dress shopping again in October, and the (almost) final decision was made in November (after I had managed to barter a 10% discount!). I was torn between having a mix of two dresses, or just one ‘standard’ one. In the end, I went with the ‘standard’ one.

    Now seems as good a time as any to tell you something hilarious. A lot of people may already know this but I had actually bought my bridesmaid dresses before I was even engaged (I blame my BM who did the same before her wedding). But basically, I was surfing on the Debenhams website about 6 weeks before M proposed, and came across my ideal BM dresses, long, black and one shouldered. Reduced from £120 to £60 in the sale. ‘Should I?’ I asked myself. No, of course not. So I left it. About a week later, I had another sneaky look, and they had been reduced further. To £36!!! Debenhams must’ve known I was looking at their site, as at that moment, an email popped up, with a further 10% off. My ideal BM dresses, for £32.40 each. I couldn’t refuse, and I didn’t. Thankfully, M didn’t think I was psycho when I told him. The BMs loved them, and I had got myself a bargain. Hurrah!

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  • *gnashers*
    Beginner October 2013
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    The week before
    In the weeks running up to the wedding, both of us had been very busy at work. Luckily, we had done quite a lot in advance, so there wasn't too much for us to do.

    The Sunday before the wedding, we drove over to Great Fosters with my mum and dad (it took two cars) and dropped off all the bits and pieces. I then had two days left at work, which were busy but ok, and on the Tuesday, went out for a quick vino and lunch, before leaving the office (late, naturally) for the last night time as an unmarried woman.

    On the Wednesday, we went into town to get some last minute honeymoon bits, and then I went for my obligatory waxing session, and the boy went to the suit shop, as they'd given him a white cravat (which looked pants!), so he swapped it for an ivory one. I think throughout the whole wedding planning process, this was my only bridezilla moment (well that and when my male colleague booked his wedding six days after ours at the same venue but I got over it!) - I had a bit of a strop about the white cravat, but it was easily sorted. I then drove with MIL to Colchester where we did some dodgy dealings with the Flowster, and exchanged cash for wedding cake.

    After a very stressful journey with the cake, we got home and packed for honeymoon. We then round to the PILs, where they gave us a lovely card, a chocolate champagne bottle and a few glasses of bubbles.


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  • *gnashers*
    Beginner October 2013
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    The day before
    The penultimate night's sleep before the wedding was probably the worst I had had! Mainly because I was stressing about getting the cake round the M25 (it travelled a long way, did that cake). We woke up fairly early, took the cats to the cattery and then came back home, and loaded the car up with honeymoon stuff, the cake and other random bits and pieces. We drove very slooooooowly round the m25, got to my parents, had some lunch and dropped yet more stuff off at the venue - cheese and all evening food, champers for toasts and pimms for reception drinks.

    M then dropped me and mum at the nail bar where we had our nails and feet done, whilst he checked in to the lovely travelodge where he'd be spending his last night as a single man. We met at the pub opposite the church for a few drinks and nibbles before heading over to the rehearsal. I giggled through that bit a lot, and was apparently bouncing whilst saying my vows (thankfully I was unable to do this when it got the real thing, thanks to my rather high shoes!).

    We went our separate ways after that, him going to the travelodge with his family and groomsmen and me going back with my mum and dad. I gave them their gifts and went to bed about 11pm. I slept pretty well, apart from waking up about 3.30am, utterly freezing and unable up get back to sleep as I was so cold!

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  • *gnashers*
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    Wedding day!!

    After a reasonable night's sleep, I woke up about 6am...my mum and dad bless them had to take the cake to the venue (they'd asked us not to take it until the day in case it was damaged or anything), so I waved them off and had myself a long and lovely bath. The sun was shining but I was preparing myself for rain, as that's what the forecasts had predicted. Sadly, on this occasion, they got it bang on.

    My bridesmaids were due to arrive at 8 but were held up in traffic. The hair lady arrived, swiftly followed by the make up lady, who got started on my hair. The girls arrived and from then on, it was all systems go! I gave them their pyjamas to get ready in as well as their cards and gifts and they had bought me a lovely gift - to have a permanent reminder of the day, they gave me a voucher to have a cast of one of the petals from my bouquet in sterling silver. I was so touched, and it's a lovely thing to have.









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  • *gnashers*
    Beginner October 2013
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    The rest of the morning was all a blur of hairspray, make up and croissants! I was quite calm, a bit shaky and to be honest, I found the whole getting ready part quite stressful. My mum was a bundle of nerves, and was flitting around like a mad woman. It's funny now but at the time, I was getting a bit annoyed. My hair lady took ages on one of my BMs hair, partly my fault as I never actually told her to get the girls ready for 11.30. It meant that we didn't get any of the formal shots at home, although by midday it had started to pour with rain so we would have struggled anyway. I'm very glad I never opted to have the Vog there for that bit, I think I would have spontaneously combusted! It wasn't all that bad though - Juliet, a MUA I found here on Hitched, was utterly amazing. Also, my florist arrived and it was honestly the only point I thought I was going to cry the whole day. The flowers were better than I ever could have imagined. She'd even taken pictures of the venue to show me and it looked spectacular. It was amazing to see all the research, hard work and all the little details really come to life.
    Anyway, once all our makeup and hair was done, the girls got dressed and then it was my turn.
    My mum helped me into my dress and then her hands were shaking too much, so had to get my bridesmaids and Juliet to help with the rest. Once my dress was on, and the girls and mum had left for the church, I sat with my dad and opened a present from M. Earlier in the year (when he'd been on a friend's stag to Vegas), he'd come back with a gorgeous Tiffany pearl bracelet, which he'd given me so I didn't buy anything else (sorry HT! The girls loved their stuff though). So on the wedding day, I wasn't expecting much, but I got a lovely card and the matching earrings! Very lucky girl!

    The rest of the morning was all a blur of hairspray, make up and croissants! I was quite calm, a bit shaky and to be honest, I found the whole getting ready part quite stressful. My mum was a bundle of nerves, and was flitting around like a mad woman. It's funny now but at the time, I was getting a bit annoyed. My hair lady took ages on one of my BMs hair, partly my fault as I never actually told her to get the girls ready for 11.30. It meant that we didn't get any of the formal shots at home, although by midday it had started to pour with rain so we would have struggled anyway. I'm very glad I never opted to have the Vog there for that bit, I think I would have spontaneously combusted! It wasn't all that bad though - Juliet, a MUA I found here on Hitched, was utterly amazing. Also, my florist arrived and it was honestly the only point I thought I was going to cry the whole day. The flowers were better than I ever could have imagined. She'd even taken pictures of the venue to show me and it looked spectacular. It was amazing to see all the research, hard work and all the little details really come to life.

    Anyway, once all our makeup and hair was done, the girls got dressed and then it was my turn.

    My mum helped me into my dress and then her hands were shaking too much, so had to get my bridesmaids and Juliet to help with the rest. Once my dress was on, and the girls and mum had left for the church, I sat with my dad and opened a present from M. Earlier in the year (when he'd been on a friend's stag to Vegas), he'd come back with a gorgeous Tiffany pearl bracelet, which he'd given me so I didn't buy anything else (sorry HT! The girls loved their stuff though). So on the wedding day, I wasn't expecting much, but I got a lovely card and the matching earrings! Very lucky girl!










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  • *gnashers*
    Beginner October 2013
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    The car arrived back after dropping the girls and mum off and I made my way, under the cover of an umbrella, into the car. The journey was very short and dad didn't get emotional like I thought he might (thankfully)...we just had a nice chat and before we knew it, we got to the church. With the help of the umbrella again, we got into the entrance porch of the church where the vicar gave me a big hug, said I looked a beautiful, traditional bride (cheers Rev) and the girls tidied me up ready for my big entrance






    The bridal march began and the Rev went first. As practised in the rehearsal the night before, once he'd hit the first step, me and my dad were off. I smiled at one of my friends, who I'd met living in Germany. But then I literally didn't see anyone else but M standing at the end of the aisle.







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  • *gnashers*
    Beginner October 2013
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    The ceremony was a bit of a blur, I remember M looking pretty terrified although he says he was calm, and my face hurt from smiling so much. The Rev did his introduction and preface and then we sung the first hymn 'Morning has broken'. Two of our friends then did amazing readings: our biblical reading was Romans 12: 9-18, and we chose to have a non-biblical reading 'I Will Be Here'.



    The Rev then did a lovely address - the night before the wedding, M's dad told him something that he never knew about. M's mum was very close to her mum but she sadly passed away when M was only 18 months old. She kept a copy of a small passage from the bible in her handbag, as does M's mum and neither of us ever knew about it. The Rev very kindly put this into his address and it meant a lot to M's mum, I could hear her sniffling behind me when it was read out and it was a really touching and poignant moment. It reads;

    Sometimes a burden brings a blessing.

    Struggling with your load –

    You find unlooked-for treasure

    On the hard and difficult road …

    You never thought your strength would last.

    It all seemed so unfair –

    But you were helped.

    An unseen presence walked beside you there.

    In some strange way there came a day

    When the burden ceased to press.

    Out of the darkness there came a hand with a gift of happiness ….

    You thought, half crushed beneath the weight,

    That you could bear no more –

    But you cannot see when you’re under strain what the good Lord has in store.

    The burden is lifted from off your back if shared with the Friend of the years –

    For He too carried a heavy cross along the Street of Tears.


    We then said our vows and exchanged rings - it really is true that no one else in the room when you're saying them to one another. I'm surprised that I didn't cry to be honest, the line 'all that I am I give to you, and all that I have I share with you' gets me at every wedding I go to but saying it to M, I just meant every word and just couldn't stop smiling!

    We were pronounced as man and wife, had a little kiss and all our family and friends applauded. It was very surreal looking out to all our nearest and dearest knowing we were now Mr and Mrs N.

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  • *gnashers*
    Beginner October 2013
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    We sung another hymn, One More Step Along the World I Go, and then it was time for the signing of the registers. We wanted to involve the important people in our lives where we could, so our friends M (who'd been one of the ones against the relationship at the beginning) and K were our witnesses. We signed the register and then walked out to Wedding March by Mendelssohn.

    It was an amazing feeling walking back down the aisle. As directed by our tog, we took a little walk to have a moment to ourselves (and to shelter ourselves from the rain!!!). The driver of our car came and handed us some bubbles. It was raining pretty heavily so we couldn't have our confetti shot...we directed the ushers to get everyone to go to the venue so they could get a drink and not stand out in the rain (although people did, I love these pics!).

    We stayed behind, did a couple of formal shots, then headed off in our beautiful car...despite the traffic on the M25, everyone let us cut in and there was lots of beeping and honking of horns. It was pretty special.

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  • *gnashers*
    Beginner October 2013
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    We arrived at the venue, and Alex, our AMAZING banqueting manager, was waiting for us with a glass of champagne and she said 'do you want me to put the fire on?' (One of the benefits of getting married in an old barn, on a wet October day, is you get a beautiful fire). I nodded my head emphatically, and she whisked us off to have a few drinks with our guests.

    We mingled and chatted with guests for a while and then we headed out to get all the formal shots we wanted (in the rain). I got my BM to remov my veil - as much as I loved it, it would have got ruined outside so we whipped it off. Alex then said to me that we only had one bottle of prosecco left (we'd ordered 22 bottles plus 140 glasses of pimms for 73 people!) - we'd had a text the day before from my old school friend that he and his wife couldn't come, so the money we'd have spent on them covered a few more bottles. I can't believe we got through the drink so quickly but due to the weather, people had got there earlier...and my friends and family are clearly piss heads, considering a good ten people of that 73 weren't drinking!


    M and I then had some couple shots...it was raining but we didn't care, it was so much fun. Our tog said we were brilliant, despite the weather...my answer to that was 'we'll only do this once, and there's bugger all we can do about the weather, so we may as well just enjoy it!!'

    We had a few more drinks with our guests and my tog got a great pic of my amazing boss. I'd been given my shoes as a present from work so it seemed only right that we had this pic taken.

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  • *gnashers*
    Beginner October 2013
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    Everyone was then called into dinner by our awesome toastmaster/usher, and he then announced us to the room as Mr and Mrs N. People were incredibly touched by their favours (simple jars of sweets with a personalised message for each guest on a tag) and everyone loved all the little details...it made all the hard work worth it.

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  • *gnashers*
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    Our toastmaster/usher then introduced my dad for his speech - my dad is quite a nervous guy so he kept his speech short and sweet, but it was lovely nevertheless. You could hear his voice shaking as he spoke and I was so proud of him. M then did his speech, the perfect amount of funny and soppy - where he thanked his parents, and mine, and then it was time for the best man's speech. M's brother did a fab job, despite having got back of his honeymoon the day before (long story, don't ask!) and then it was time for dinner. The food was excellent but due to my dress/general excitement, I didn't eat much, but we had compliments from everyone.

    Between courses, my husband and I (and my parents) went round and chatted to each table...I'm so glad we did this as it gave us the chance to speak to all of our day guests. When we got to my boss's table, her and her husband wondered why on earth I hadn't done a speech (I'm renowned for always having a lot to say)...I dismissed the idea, but in hindsight, I wish I had done one. I've decided that if I ever have another big party (for a birthday or similar), I'll do one then instead!

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    After dinner finished, the guests had coffee and tea in the bar whilst the venue changed the room around. It had FINALLY stopped raining, so the tog got us outside for some more shots.

    I then went up to the bridal suite with my BMs who helped me go to the loo (first time all day) and change up into my evening look. I loved my lace bolero but it was a relief to get it off for some partying! I went back downstairs and our evening guests started to arrive, including some lovely Hitchers and girls from the 2013 Brides group on Facebook.

    I had a couple of drinks with various people and the tog took us into the barn for a few shots with my little surprise...I'd arranged to have massive giant light-up letters in the evening (no one but the tog and me knew about them). M loved them and we got some awesome shots.

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    It was then time to cut the cake - although we had two, we only cut our proper wedding cake made by our very own Flowmojo (and with some Urban Fairy toppers) -the cheese had been taken away to be prepared for the evening buffet, but here are some pics along with some Love on Top toppers too *is greedy*

    As the weather had been so bad earlier, the venue very kindly let us do our throwing of the confetti in the barn - all our family and friends gathered in two lines and pelted us with lots of rose petal confetti (some thanks to Shropshire Petals and some thanks to Farrah Fowler's nanna!!).

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    We then got on the dance floor to do our first dance - after much deliberation, we went for Take That's 'Rule the World' - when we were first seeing each other (but not officially), we were at a New Year's Eve party, watching the New Year's Eve show from the O2 and this was on the show, so it always reminds us of that night.

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    The rest of the night was a bit of a blur of mingling, drinking, dancing and having a damn good time. The band were awesome - the dance floor was a little quiet between sets where they just played music from a laptop but they soon got people back up again. I danced with my parents to Wonderwall, which was lovely, and it really was a fabulous evening, that went far too quickly. We finished the night on another Take That song - Never Forget, which was emotional and brilliant all at the same time

    *Photos not by Julia and You!






    My husband and I said our goodbyes and headed up to our suite, armed with champagne and smiles. We had a lovely hot bath in the old fashioned roll top bath, 'sealed the deal' and then had breakfast the next morning with our family and friends who'd stayed at the venue (plus my bridesmaids who'd not stayed but came back in the morning). It was a lovely end to a brilliant day and night.
    In summary, despite the rain and the stressful morning, it really was the most fantastic day. It really is true what everyone says...things won't always go perfectly, and sometimes the planning is hard work but it is all worth it in the end. My only decent bit of advice is, if you can help it, don’t scrimp on a decent tog and if you can squeeze the budget, I highly recommend a vog – M was dubious when I said I wanted one but they were utterly immense on the day and the DVD is such an amazing memory to have.
    So with that, I leave you with one more thing (well two, really). You can watch a vintage montage of our video here (this is what the guys created for the menu of the DVD)
    https://youtu.be/BHelSYw3zfU
    And our highlights video here.
    https://vimeo.com/77721817

    My husband and I said our goodbyes and headed up to our suite, armed with champagne and smiles. We had a lovely hot bath in the old fashioned roll top bath, 'sealed the deal' and then had breakfast the next morning with our family and friends who'd stayed at the venue (plus my bridesmaids who'd not stayed but came back in the morning). It was a lovely end to a brilliant day and night.

    In summary, despite the rain and the stressful morning, it really was the most fantastic day. It really is true what everyone says...things won't always go perfectly, and sometimes the planning is hard work but it is all worth it in the end. My only decent bit of advice is, if you can help it, don’t scrimp on a decent tog and if you can squeeze the budget, I highly recommend a vog – M was dubious when I said I wanted one but they were utterly immense on the day and the DVD is such an amazing memory to have.

    So with that, I leave you with one more thing (well two, really). You can watch a vintage montage of our video here (this is what the guys created for the menu of the DVD)

    https://youtu.be/BHelSYw3zfU

    And our highlights video here.

    https://vimeo.com/77721817

    • Reply
  • *gnashers*
    Beginner October 2013
    *gnashers* ·
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    Finally, I would like to thank all of the suppliers that helped make our day so special We have a lot of people to thank, so prepare for an almighty list!

    Venue - Great Fosters https://alexanderhotels.co.uk/great-fosters/
    Tog - Julia West from Julia and You http://www.juliaandian.co.uk/
    Vog - One Take Media http://one-take.co.uk/
    Band - The Bears https://www.thebears.uk.com/
    Car - Clover Care https://markcloverweddingcars.com/
    Massive letters - Vowed and Amazed https://www.vowedandamazed.co.uk/
    Fairy lights - Oakwood Events https://www.oakwoodevents.co.uk/
    Chairs - County Marquees https://www.countymarquees.com/
    Florist - The Fine Flowers Company https://thefineflowerscompany.co.uk/
    Make Up - Juliet Cunnington https://www.bridalmakeupbyjuliet.co.uk/
    Cake - Flow's Bakery https://www.facebook.com/FlowsBakery
    Cheese Cake - Caws Cenarth https://www.cawscenarth.co.uk/
    Cake toppers - Love on Top and Urban Fairy https://www.facebook.com/loveontopweddings and https://www.facebook.com/urbanfairydesigns
    Dress shop - The Bride, St Albans https://www.the-bride.co.uk/
    Suits - Couture pour Homme, Hornchurch http://www.couturepourhomme.co.uk

    And I’d also like to thank all the amazing friends I made on here and the Facebook group, some I’ve met (a lot) and some I haven’t (yet). Now the wedding is over, I’ll still be over on OT, and won’t be going anywhere (where work allows) because you’re all far too awesome ?

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  • *Funky*
    Beginner January 2001
    *Funky* ·
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    Ha I've just been putting the finishing touches to mine and was worried it was a bit long but after seeing all your place holders I don't think I have anything to worry about. Smiley winking

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  • *gnashers*
    Beginner October 2013
    *gnashers* ·
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    I hope there is an entry in the awards for longest report in the world!

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  • *Funky*
    Beginner January 2001
    *Funky* ·
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    I'll let you have that one as a consolation for losing best shoes ?

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  • alyj66
    VIP August 2014
    alyj66 ·
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    Ooh, I like a good read but a good read with friendly competition...even better! Looking forward to the finished article(s)

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  • *gnashers*
    Beginner October 2013
    *gnashers* ·
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    It's never friendly with Funky ?

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  • Trish2014
    Beginner June 2014
    Trish2014 ·
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    Love it so far and I didn't even skim! Your side tiara is gorgeous!

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  • Ohwhatatuesday
    Beginner May 2014
    Ohwhatatuesday ·
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    Ooh Looks amazing so far just beautiful! And gnashers you're gorgeous!

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  • kharv
    Beginner March 2012
    kharv ·
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    Lovely jubbly so far, love!!

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  • *MM3*
    Beginner June 2014
    *MM3* ·
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    Loving this so far!! Smiley smile

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  • *Funky*
    Beginner January 2001
    *Funky* ·
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    We found our TOG before we even set a date/found our venue and would have changed our date around their availability too.

    I also think you are less crazy now I know the full story behind your bridesmaids dresses.

    I hope flows cake was worth the stress ?

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  • *J9*
    VIP March 2014
    *J9* ·
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    Looks great so far. Can't wait to see the rest

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  • L
    Beginner October 2014
    Liz210284 ·
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    Fantastic! You looked amazing :-) looks like you had a fab day congratulations

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  • Feb2014Bride
    Beginner February 2014
    Feb2014Bride ·
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    Fantastic report!! I love reading all about the build up as much as the day itself. Wonderful pictures, looks like a fasntatic day.

    Congratulations.

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  • miss pickle
    Beginner June 2014
    miss pickle ·
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    Fantastic report, looks like an amazing day, congratulations ;-)

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