Joanne’s Story

The Proposal

It’s hard to write down exactly why I fell in love with Chris, he just made me feel special. From the beginning we were attracted to each other and enjoyed being together. We knew we had a future together from early days. To me he’s everything I’ve always looked for in a man.

I have asked Chris to give me a brief sentence to why he fell in love with me but he cannot sum it up so simply.

Christmas 2005 Chris surprised me by treating me to a weekend away in Paris as a present with a show at the Moulin Rouge. The whole weekend was so romantic, walking around in the snow with the Christmas lights on everywhere. After the meal at the Moulin Rouge he told me the real reason why he had brought me there and then brought a diamond solitaire out of his pocket and proposed.

The Outfit

The Bride – My dress was a two piece by Helena Marina Infinity ‘Augusta’. The dress was ivory duchess satin with a boned corset style top which was then very figure hugging until the hips then fluted out at the bottom with a small train. The dress was plain except for some embroidery and beading at the bottom on the front and back. The second piece to the dress was a lace overcoat with princess sleeves and fairly long train.

The Bridesmainds – Amy wore an ‘apple’ red dress, which we bought when we went to visit them in America. Abbie and Charlotte wore white dresses with white cardigans.

The Groom and Groomsmen – An Edwardian style black jacket and trousers with a dark red cravat and handkerchief, white shirt and ivory/gold waistcoat.

The Wedding and Reception Venue

We had our wedding and reception at Dodmoor House. It was ideal as the bridal suite was there and we had full use of the two barns – one for the ceremony and the other for the reception. By having it all at the same place we felt as though it flowed much easier without the hassle of having to travel to separate places and be able to chat with all our friends and family.

The Decorative Touches

Room decorations – In the Courtyard Barn where we were married we had two bay trees outside of the barn doors to define the entrance. We had some fresh flowers on the back walls of the barn which we were facing and a flower arrangement on the registrars table. There were also candles in the windows and around the room.

In the Catesby Barn for the reception we had the hanging baskets from the ceilings, the table decorations, a foliage swag along the balcony to the mezzanine floor and lighted candles in the holders on the walls.

Table centrepieces – We had round clear goldfish bowls which were filled to overflowing with red flowers and green foliage. These were sitting on round mirrors with scattered petals surrounding.

Favours – We didn’t want to go down the usual route of sugared almonds so we decided on lottery tickets. Our stationers made some envelopes to match the stationery we had sent out and what was on the tables. On the back of the envelope we put a good luck message.

The Cake

The wedding cake was never a priority for us and we didn’t want to spend hundreds of pounds on something that we would probably never end up trying! We went to Marks and Spencer’s and ordered 2 fruit cakes and 2 sponges in the different sizes to make four tiers. Between each tier we filled the gap with fresh red roses so all you could see was cake-flowers-cake-flowers etc. We finished the top with roses again.

The Transport

I drove myself to the venue to finalise getting ready at the bridal suite. Chris drove himself from the local hotel where he stayed the night before.

Advice to other couples

I would say that you shouldn’t look through all the bride magazines etc as these can worry you with the extent of the organisation required. From the beginning you need to decide the type and size of the wedding and stick to it together. At the end of the day it is your day not anybody else’s and you have to keep telling yourself and to a certain extent be a bit selfish about it, after all you only do it the once! Above all don’t let mothers get involved.

The Suppliers

Wedding Reception Venue – Dodmoor House

Venue found through Country House Wedding Venues

Bride’s dress – Serendipity, Weedon, Northants

Bride’s accessories (veil, tiara, shoes) – as above

Groom’s suit – as above

Bridesmaid’s dresses – David’s Bridal in California

Other outfits – (Men’s) Serendipity & (Flowergirls) Debenhams

Wedding rings – Hallmark Jewellery, Milton Keynes

Wedding cake – Marks & Spencer’s

Flowers – Florist of Eden, Towcester

Invitations – Libra Designs

Wedding list – John Lewis

Disco/DJ – Stray Horns

Wedding favours – Lottery tickets and envelopes from Libra Designs

Photographer – DNC Photography