Hi all
I used to be an avid member of the boards but for various reasons dropped off and have recently been a lurker; however we got married on the 17th April and feel maybe our experiences would be helpful.
We decided to get married last April but didn’t really do anything until August when we gave notice and then in October when we found my dress after trundling off to Brighton and visited two shops. I tried on a handful of dresses and one of them Lorna by Sarah Arnett (sold by Leonie Claire) had the wow factor.
We went back in March for my second fitting and despite my best intentions purchased a veil and found my Maid of Honors dress which we got as a rush order from the States (arrived 2 weeks before the wedding when we went for my final fitting).
We decided to have the reception at home and purchased two marquees (and all the bits for them) as it was cheaper than hiring them. We got a 6 x 6m and a 12 x 4m both from Gala Tent. Decoration wise we bought bolts of gold, silver and purple velvet which we cut up and using bungees attached as pole covers / curtains, swags and roof drapes.
The marquees went up Easter weekend and we finished decorating the day before when the tables, chairs, tableware and dance floor arrived from Speedwell Catering. My dad finished it off which a massive balloon net over the dance floor.
The alcohol was from Tesco and Majestic (who also loaned us the glasses); the evening buffet we collected from M&S.
We hired Mercedes E class for Aiden to drive himself and best man to the venue and booked another Mercedes just for fun to get the bridal party to the registry office on the day.
We had a family and friends meal the night before and then sat in the hot tub till 1am!
In the morning my intention of having a calm big breakfast disappeared – I think we ended up having toast in between people arriving; collecting the Maid of Honor and being told I needed to get ready (at 10 – we were leaving at 10:50).
I did my own makeup with the products I usually use and know will stay put; my hair having been dyed a week or two before just needed some gel and a hairdryer before my friends clipped in my fascinator and veil. I know a lot of people are not keen on veil’s over their faces but I really liked it. I also at the last minute ditched my plans to wear knee high white boots and wore my 6inch platform red glitter Dorothy shoes which proved very popular!
We had planned for me to walk down the isle to the opening of Whisky in the Jar (Metalica), get married to Everlong (Foo Fighters) and walk out to Nice Day for a White Wedding (Billy Idol) but the CD failed to work so our Master of Ceremonies had me walk down to You Give Me Fever.
The ceremony was as given by the register but suited us really well and we exchanged my late grandparent’s wedding rings which by chance fitted us both.
After the service we had photos on the balcony and then left the party to return to the house for champagne and canapés whilst we had photos taken by Dave (Lucky Dog Photography) in Goff’s Park, we had an especially warm welcome from a random lady’s dog who obviously thought we wanted to play ball!
Back at the house we got our entrance song and walked into Whisky in the Jar which was a lovely feeling, we had 35 for the day time event and another 30 or so booked for the evening.
We ate at 3ish and had a lamb spit roast with accompanists – which was honestly some of the best food we’ve eaten (had leftovers for 3 days!)
Our cake was 3 tiers of chocolate cup cake made by a friend which was delicious.
Speech wise; my dad and Aiden did theirs off the cuff which I think leant a really lovely in formalness to the proceedings. The Best Mans was prepared and was very well received. One of our guests turned 40 on the day so she also got a mention and in turn said a few works, as did I.
Evening guests arrived around 6pm and at 7:30 one of our friends gave a blessing for us – we is a philosophy lecturer and I was a highlight of the day – he held everyone captivated for about 20 minutes before we had our first dance to Nice Day for a White Wedding.
The dance floor was not empty at any point and we finished to Won’t do what you tell me by Rage Against the Machine at 12:30. Aiden also got an ovation for managing to pick me up and keep me up for most of the song.
We had a free bar (tended by a bar lady) fun thought the entire day and I can honestly say considering our friends are known to drink and considering the day ran fro just over 12 hours to have to send I was surprised at how much we had left – loads!
I will admit I was not the typical bride; I didn’t obsess over my dress (although I adore it); or fret over in-law participation. In fact I only had two stressful days – one where everything went wrong (boiler broke, dad couldn’t find his driving license, had to organise a courier to bring my dress from the shop) and the other when I work up fretting about spoons which I hadn’t ordered (because we didn’t need them).
Aiden had a hand in all the preparations and we had a lot of fun; especially on the day.
The day after we left the house and marquees in the post wedding state and went for a massage and lunch.
In terms of costs the total tally is around 7k but we have just sold the marquees and most of the stuff for 1.3k so £5700 which in summary included:
- Giving notice + venue hire
- 2 marquees (inc flooring and lighting)
- Velvet drapes
- Balloons on each table + at the doorways
- 5ft balloon heart
- 2 x floral table decorations + 2 x ceramic heart table decorations
- Table, Chair and tableware hire
- Parquet dance floor hire
- Top end designer dress for me and MoH.
- Veil and hair accessories for both me and MoH
- Suit hire x 5 from Moss Bross
- Tulip and Rose bouquet for me; tulip bouquet for MoH
- Rose buttonholes x 5, Rose corsages x 2
- Hire of Merc for 3 days
- Hire of Merc with driver for trip to registry office
- Lamb spit roast lunch for 35
- Free bar throughout the event
- Bar lady throughout the event
- Evening buffet for 60
- DJ for the evening
