Anna’s Story

The Proposal

Mark proposed to me in our lounge on Christmas Day 2006. Lights twinkling on the tree, carols playing in the background – idyllic! I had my suspicions that he had taken one of my rings to get it sized for an engagement ring but did not want to get my hopes up! We had already been together nearly seven years and had talked about marriage but I was not sure he would ever get round to it!

The Outfits

The Bride – Maggie Sottero dress (Riley) in ivory. It was sleeveless, with an embroidered bodice, train, side reveal and was laced at the back. Pearl necklace and earrings and tiara with a deep burgundy bouquet of roses.

The Bridesmaids – Long, deep burgundy dresses with wraps. Silver sandals and pearl necklaces with cream rose bouquets.

The Groom and Groomsmen – Morning suits.

The Wedding and Reception Venue

We live in London but wanted to get married in the Midlands, where I grew up. We began by searching for venues licensed for civil cermonies in Worcestershire and South Warwickshire and came up with a short list. We then made appointments to see four or five over a two day period in February. All the others venues we saw were hotels and didn’t offer such a unique location or personal service as The Curradine Barns. We wanted to have the ceremony and reception in one place and were pleased that we could have exclusive use of the Barns, which we could not afford to do at the hotels. We thought it would be beautiful for an autumn wedding, with candles and fairy lights everywhere. And Linda, who showed us round, was very capable, friendly and easy to talk to. We had no doubts she would do everything possible to make our day special.

The Decorative Touches

Room decorations – We tied flowers to the backs of the chairs in the barn used for the ceremony. There were lots of fairy lights and we had soft ruscus wrapped around some bars which support the walls of the barns.

Table centrepieces – The table centre pieces were candle arrangements (candles and plates from Tesco – recycled from Anna’s brother’s wedding!) surrounded by ivy. We also had rose petals on the table. Deep burgundy roses were used on the registrars table which were then transferred to the top table.

Favours – We did not have any favours as they were not important.

Invitations – Expertly designed and produced by bridesmaid, Rachel

Advice to other couples

Save money on what you don’t care about and spend it on things that are important to you. Don’t stress about the small stuff – pretty much anything can be overcome. Get your friends to help with things they’re good at!

The Suppliers

Wedding Reception Venue – The Curradine Barns

Venue found through Country House Wedding Venues

Bride’s dress – Silhouettes, Richmond

Bride’s accessories (veil, tiara, shoes) – Tiara made by best friend and chief bridesmaid, Nikki. Shoes were from BHS.

Groom’s suit – Moss Bros

Bridesmaid’s dresses – BHS for two of the dresses and one was made by Susan Gadsby for pregnant Nikki!

Wedding rings – Cornish Goldsmiths, Redruth

Wedding cake – Anna’s Mum

Flowers – Hunts the Florist, Malvern

Invitations – Expertly designed and produced by bridesmaid, Rachel

Wedding list – A small list with John Lewis and a list of experiences people could buy for our honeymoon, via a wonderful website designed by our good friend Paul Rhodes

Disco/DJ – Ian, via Speaking Volumes. We also had a saxophonist, Alvin, via Platinum Live.

Photographer – Jon Rogers