Better late than never! Sorry it took so long - I waited ages until we got our photos from our TOG only to find most of them are too big to upload!! So the flashes are a mixture of professional and ones our friends took. Enjoy...
Background:
P and I got together in 2003 at Nottingham University when we were both members of the archery club. We were both on the club’s committee so we ended up spending lots of time together. A few (ok more than a few) drinks and a night out later and we became inseparable. After university we moved to Reading to do postgraduate studies and then moved to Plymouth in 2010 when P got a job here.
The proposal:
After 7 years together I’d almost given up hope of getting married! But he proposed over a cream tea just after we’d moved into our new house in July 2011. We decided to get married in Surrey as this is where I grew up and where my family live and as P’s family live abroad Surrey would be easy for them to get to as well. We wanted a historic venue, and my parents suggested Clandon Park which is a National Trust historic house. I wasn’t sure after the first viewing first but they had availability for summer 2012 so we booked a date, as I really didn’t want to wait until 2013! Once I saw the house set up for a wedding I knew we’d chosen the right place! It was also lovely to find out that our date, 25th August, was also my Grandma’s wedding anniversary, so it was extra special. Planning was hard work and stressful at times, but well worth the effort in the end!
The week before:
We headed to Surrey on the Wednesday before the wedding, and got to meet my week-old niece for the first time! So glad she arrived in time for the wedding! On Thursday we took everything to the venue, and then spent the afternoon with some friends who had come over from Finland for the wedding. On Friday, with everything done I was finally able to relax! P went off with his best man to their hotel and I met up with my oldest friend, who had travelled from Kuwait to be our witness and do a reading for the wedding, and my bridesmaid C. We all got our nails done and then went out for a glass of bubbly. C and I were staying at my parent’s house the night before the wedding, so we had a nice quiet dinner with my parents and then watched Pride & Prejudice with a box of chocolates, before attempting to get an early night.
Our wedding day!
I managed to get a few hours sleep but got up fairly early – it felt almost unreal that the big day we’d spent so long planning was finally here. I managed a small breakfast, and soon afterwards our florist arrived with the bouquets which were gorgeous! Then Katy arrived to do my hair and make-up (she was amazing and I couldn’t recommend her enough). I spent the next hour and a half having my hair and make-up perfected, while C and my parents had a cooked breakfast! I took a break when my other bridesmaids, my best friend from school and P’s two sisters, arrived to give them hugs and their presents and they all looked amazing in their dresses and jewellery.
I panicked a bit when our photographer was late, but he was just stuck in traffic and arrived in time to take the photos we’d discussed. While my Mum had her make-up done two of my bridesmaids helped to lace me into my dress. It took a while, but despite my earlier dress wobbles I had definitely chosen my perfect dress. My mum and my bridesmaids headed off first and then my Dad and I had a lovely leisurely journey in the vintage Rolls Royce called ‘Angela’ that we had hired.
We arrived at the venue and I started to get a bit nervous about walking down the aisle. The music started playing (a string trio playing Canon in D) and it was just what I’d always hoped it would be! My bridesmaids went in first, then I followed with my Dad, trying hard not to walk too fast and to take it all in, I was so pleased when I saw my soon-to-be-husband looking extremely handsome at the other end of the aisle – apparently the registrar had told him off for turning around too soon! The ceremony was my favourite part of the whole day, it was absolutely beautiful; and I didn’t even notice the crying children! My friend did a beautiful reading of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, and then we said our vows. P’s sister then did a reading of The Future by Emma Salmon, which made everyone cry, including me. We then exchanged our rings and signed the register. I couldn’t believe that after nearly 9 years together I had finally married my best friend!
We were greeted with a glass of champagne in the spectacular Marble Hall and spent a few minutes receiving lots of congratulations before herding everyone out to the front steps for photographs. I have to say that, although I’m glad we got some formal photos, it did take ages and wasn’t the most exciting part of the day! Then my new husband and I abandoned our guests for about 20 minutes to be taken for a drive (with more champagne) in the Rolls-Royce, while our guests had canapés and drinks. It was lovely to have a few minutes just the two of us to catch our breath and take it all in. On our return we had some photos taken of just the two of us – unfortunately it rained a bit, but not for too long and we got some lovely photos. Afterwards we had a chance to take part in the activity we had arranged – archery! Lots of guests of all ages had a go, and it great to be able to share our hobby with them. It felt very glamorous shooting in my wedding dress! We then returned to the Marble Hall to chat to more people before heading downstairs to The Undercroft for the wedding breakfast. The room looked amazing with our beautiful floral centrepieces, and everyone liked their favours which were cookies with guest’s names on so they doubled as place-cards. The food was delicious, but it was so good that I had to have my BM loosen my dress so that I could finish my meal! My Dad, P and his best man all did lovely speeches between the main course and dessert; then P and I cut the cake so that they could start preparing the room for the evening.
At this point I started to feel a bit tired – the only downside to our venue was that it didn’t have accommodation, which at this point would have been nice as a few minutes to rest away from everyone would have been nice. I was also a bit nervous about our first dance (neither of us can dance well at all) and wanted to get that over with. On the plus side they brought out the ice-cream cart which everyone loved despite having just had a large meal! It took a while for the band to set up, and then we had our first dance played (Reeling by Jake Morley which P chose as we both love his album), and I don’t know why I was so worried. It was lovely and romantic and we didn’t even tread on each others’ toes. Once that was over we treated ourselves to some of the yummy ice-cream and then went around chatting to everyone. Zephyr, our band were excellent and after a few drinks lots of people were dancing. They brought out the evening buffet but I was still too full from dinner – I did however manage some of our cake which was delicious! We finished the night with Monty Python’s Always Look on the Bright Side of Life – quite a lot of people had left by this point, but everyone who was left got together to dance. It was a great way to end the evening. At last we headed off to our hotel, a nearby Hilton, which my parents had generously booked for us. It was an amazing day, and I only wish it hadn’t gone so quickly!
There wasn’t anything important I would have changed with hindsight. The planning did get stressful at times, but it was worth all the effort in the end. The most important thing was that I got to marry the man I love and share the day with our friends and families.
