Alice & Tom: Real Bride Story
We got married on a very rainy and wet day, but it was the most amazing day! The venue was at my local church, followed by a marquee reception at my family home in one of my grandparents’ fields. It was lovely having it there, it meant so much being able to go back home after moving away and it meant we could make the wedding so personal.
We didn’t have a set theme. We just wanted the wedding to really represent us both. Tom enjoys game keeping and my favourite flowers are roses, so pheasant feathers and roses both played a key focal point which we tried to incorporate them in the wedding as much as we could. They were on our invites and stationary, all flower arrangements and bouquets and even our button holes.
We wanted to do a lot of the work for the wedding ourselves. We spent numerous Sundays painting old cart wheels, restoring wooden beer barrels, modernising milk kits, painting old wooden ladders and messing with a lot of pheasant feathers. My uncle even made us the bar from scratch. It was a lot of work but so worth it.
We had a lot of help and support from our family and friends who we wouldn’t have managed it without. Nearly all of the suppliers from start to finish were people we knew so it felt really personal having people close to us so involved with the making of the day. I am a bridal hair stylist myself so even that was lovely being able to style some of my bridesmaids’ hair as well as my own on my wedding day. One of my closest friends sung for us, a family friend did the flowers, my uncle drove me to the church and another friend made us an amazing video which we watch repeatedly.
Dress shopping was one of my favourite parts of the wedding and like most girls, I have always imagined my wedding dress. When I went wedding dress shopping I tried to go in open minded, as numerous people told me that you always go for a dress that you never thought you would. I knew I wanted lace and for it to be fitted but they were my only specifications. I tried on quite a few and I found it really hard to pick one. There were so many beautiful ones to choose from. I thought I had narrowed it down to two but then on the off chance I visited The Dressing Room and it was in there that Cathy, the lovely shop owner, picked one out for me that she thought I would suit and love and she was right. I was starting to believe there was no such thing as that feeling everyone talks about when you find “the dress” but those first dresses obviously weren’t the dress for me. The dress I chose was Ronald Joyce Liberty (Style number 18166). I absolutely love my wedding dress and the team at The Dressing Room were so amazing with helping me put together the rest of my outfit, nothing was too much trouble. My Mum came on every trip with me. I felt I needed someone else’s opinion and there was no one better for that than my mum. My grandma was also with us when I found my dress, it was lovely to share the moment with them both. I did however have to get the final seal of approval from my two sisters.
Everyone has a different idea of their perfect wedding day no matter how small, big or fancy. I think the most important thing I would say to future brides is to make your wedding how you and your partner want it. Weddings can be stressful but only if you let them, I do think the best advice I could give is to make sure you try to enjoy every aspect of the planning, the build-up and the day. I think being organised and having an amazing bridal party behind you is so helpful but just remember why you are getting married in the first place... to share your life with the person you love. It all flies by, so just make the most of it.
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