Graeme and I met through work, when we were social workers in Dover, and started dating end of 2000. Graeme proposed December 2005, when our son Alex was 6 months old, in the hallway! He was late home and I couldn't contact him, and when he finally arrived (he'd been stuck in awful traffic), I was so relieved he was ok that I started crying! He vanished into the coat cupboard and very unexpectedly, proposed! No bent knee or romantic location, but it was spontaneous and loving. I think he'd planned to do it differently, but seized the moment!
Best tip for planning a wedding? Pinterest is great for ideas! Magazines are great for real life stories and wedding dress porn! Wedding fairs are great for meeting local suppliers - that's how I met Frida & Sophia, at Bluewater earlier this year!
The theme/colour scheme all fell into place when we decided our venue, Mount Ephraim, a beautiful Edwardian house and gardens near our home. My wedding dress was quite 'Jane Austin', and as the venue had lots of pictures, ornaments and the decor of a past era, a modern style would have been wrong.
I wanted blush pink flowers with lavender, in low vases and jars tied with vintage lace, and also had a long, low floral display for the registrar/top table, and a big, tumbling display for the bottom of the staircase. They all looked amazing.
The buttonholes of lavender looked great with the mens' pale forget-me-not ties, and Flynn's buttonhole had a music paper flower, also, specially for him!
The buttonholes of lavender looked great with the mens' pale forget-me-not ties, and Flynn's buttonhole had a music paper flower, also, specially for him!
The table decorations came from looking on Pinterest and Etsy, including the cream wooden heart pegs and cream cards that were pegged onto wine glasses as place names, and the vintage book heart confetti.
Most memorable parts of our day...
For me, there were a few through the day.
Getting ready with my best friends, and their faces when they saw me in my dress was the first. Magic.
Walking down the sweeping staircase with my son Flynn, who gave me away, was nerve-wracking but improved when he lightened the mood by taking a selfie of us! Only a 16 year old could probably have pulled it off, and he sure did!
The ceremony was beautiful, and Flynn played Debussy's Arabesque, Glasgow love song from the film Love Actually, and The Swan by Saint Saens) while we signed the register. So proud, he's a very talented musician.
Alex (9) stood with Graeme throughout, and it was quite overwhelming at times.
The wedding speeches were just brilliant, every one! Flynn did a 'son of the bride' speech, and everyone was in good spirits! This was followed by Graeme, my 5 best friends 'the pink ladies', who did a tag speech, and Graeme's best man Mark. Mark's speech included a game of Mr and Mrs, complete with giant A B C cards on each table, brilliant! Many tears of love and laughter throughout the speeches!
Graeme and I were whisked off for some photos just before the evening guests arrived, and the sky was epic - it was amazing to be alone, just the 2 of us (plus our lovely photographer, Irma-Jane Caggiano) and take it all in!
Finally, the disco.... I totally love a disco, and the dance floor was packed all night, and included 2 dance offs, and a couple of very funny drunken incidents (not us, friends!). It was ridiculously hot and sweaty, and the best fun!
Our first dance was this year's most popular wedding song, All of Me by John Legend. We loved that he wrote it for his own wife and it's 'real', but it always makes me cry! We very nearly chose a different song for that reason....and yes, I cried on the dance floor!
Our plans for the future?
We've kind of done things in reverse! Moved in, children, long engagement, marriage after nearly 14 years together - I think we'll just relax and take it easy for a bit!
Thank you to Vicky and Graeme for allowing us to have some inside information and you were a lovely bride to work for - thank you too to Irma Jane Caggiano for the lovely photos.
Thank you to Vicky and Graeme for allowing us to have some inside information and you were a lovely bride to work for - thank you too to Irma Jane Caggiano for the lovely photos.
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