Kathryn’s Story

The Proposal

We met at university in 1995.

Mat proposed to me in Kerala, in South India, in March 2005. He was living in Mumbai at the time, while I was still in England, so we only saw each other every couple of months. So it was a surprise when he got down on one knee when we were on a romantic boat cruise in the Kerala backwaters. I thought he was joking, which ruined the moment somewhat!

The Outfits

The Bride – It was an off-white duchess satin column dress by Reem Acra, from Morgan Davies in London. It was strapless and very fitted, with beading and embroidery on the front and on the train.

The Bridesmaids – They wore dark burgundy full length dresses from Dessy.

The Groom and Groomsmen – They wore morning suits with grey waistcoats and burgundy ties.

The Ceremony and Reception Venues

Ceremony – Church was only a few miles from our wedding venue.

Reception – Trafalgar Park offers a beautiful setting, especially on a sunny summer day, as it has lovely grounds. It was within our budget (just!) and when we visited I could immediately imagine us having the reception there. Also, Carol, the manager was very helpful and friendly, and the venue worked in terms of our plans – we could have drinks outside in the grounds, then a sit down meal and then a disco, and we would have exclusive use of the house for the day. It felt a bit like having our own very large, grand house for the day!

Decorative Touches

Room decorated – The dining room had 8 tables with white table cloths and some floral decorataions on the mantlepeice

Table centrepieces – Glass bowls with white and burgundy roses

Favours – We didn’t offer favours, but gave every guest a booklet we had put together – a ‘Whos Who’ of everyone at the wedding and how we knew them. We’d been to a friend’s wedding in Sweden the year before, where this is a tradition and so we decided to copy it.

The Cake

The cake was three layers, of plain vanilla sponge, lemon sponge and chocolate sponge. It was decorated with white icing, with burgundy piping and had a small floral arrangement on top.

The Transport

We had a dark blue Bentley Arnage to take me to the church and then to take us to the reception. A big advantage was that it was air conditioned, as it was over 30C on the day.

To take the guests from the church to Trafalgar Park we hired an old red London double decker bus.

Advice to other couples

To give your ushers, bridesmaids etc instructions about what’s happening on the day so that you can relax and enjoy it, and to try and remember as much of the day as possible, because it goes so quickly. If possible, video the speeches. We did not and to a degree, we regret not capturing this part of the day on film.

Suppliers

Wedding Reception Venue – Trafalgar Park

Venue found through Country House Wedding Venues

Bride’s dress – Morgan Davies, Islington, London

Bride’s accessories (veil, tiara, shoes) – Veil from a friend, tiara from Morgan Davies, shoes from Bridal Rouge Gallery, London

Groom’s suit – Hired from Chas H Baker, Salisbury

Bridesmaid’s dresses – Dessy, from the Wedding Outlet, Orpington

Other outfits – Ushers outfits hired from Chas H Baker

Wedding rings – Autumn and May, Greenwich Market, London

Wedding cake – Beverleys Cakes, Downton

Flowers – Rachel Phillips

Cars – Premier Carriage Company, Bournemouth

Invitations – The letter press, Cheltenham

Wedding list – John Lewis and a charity list at weddinglistgiving.com

Music – Brass quartet from Orangements

Wedding favours – we made them ourselves

Photographer – Paul Roland Williams