How did you personalise your day?
We both wanted an English garden theme, something very sophisticated and elegant. We hired a large sperry tent at Swinton to hold our reception and evening ceremony which looked out onto the beautiful Swinton Estate.
The bridesmaids were in steel blue dresses, a gorgeous subtle colour and our main theme was all about flowers. Our florist, Twisted Willows Florist, were amazing at picking out natural and beautiful colours to compliment the color theme. We also had amazing blossom trees at our church, St May's Church Masham, and on our wedding tables.
All of our stationary was designed by one of our groomsmen who owns his own magazine company, it was all very simple and elegant with just a hint of the steel blue colour running through.
Now about the dress… did you have any idea of what style or shape of dress you were looking for?
Yes! I knew I wanted a corset style bodice and flowing skirt to flatter my body shape. I also wanted the real princess feel! When I saw the Ronald Joyce ‘Hope’ wedding dress, I instantly fell in love and knew that was the one for me. It was the first dress on the first page of the first bridal dress magazine I picked up!
Did you try a lot of dresses on before you found ‘the one’? Although I knew the one I wanted, I also wanted to have the true shopping experience with my mum and my mother-in-law so we did end up going to a few stores to have that gorgeous girly day out together. It was also just confirmed for me that Hope was definitely my wedding dress.
How did you feel when you put the ONE on?
In love! It was the most amazing feeling to know that this was going to be my wedding dress. It was everything I dreamed it would be and more. I felt like I was floating on air when I was practicing walking around. I remember just looking in the mirror at this magnificent gown and thinking wow I cannot wait for Ben to see this, he's going to love it!
Anything else that you would like to share about your dress?
The quality of the dress was out of this world, every time I went for a fitting, I fell in love with it more and more. I received so many beautiful comments about the dress. I had a simple long veil made just to cover the back for church, I was very conscious that I didn't want anything to take away from the stunning pearl bodice.
For us our wedding was perfection. It was everything we had ever dreamt of and we were so lucky that we got to share it with the people that mean the most to us in this world. I truly was a real-life princess for the weekend, from Swinton's sensational castle and grounds, a wedding dress fit for royalty and my very own prince charming. I still don't think I've got over it all yet or can believe that was our wedding. I feel so extremely blessed.
Anything else that you would like to share about your day?
After getting married at the church, we were driven back up to Swinton Park (In Ben's land rover defender that we had ribbons put on - very fitting for a countryside wedding and went perfectly with our theme). As soon as we pulled up, we were whisked away to a private room where there was champagne and canapes waiting for us. This time alone together was perfect and just what every couple should have after the ceremony. We were feeling very giddy and couldn't believe that we had just got married so it was lovely to share that private moment together. Reflecting on the church ceremony, wanting to know all about the other one’s morning getting ready, did you have any drama's? Did the parents behave? All that good stuff before all the madness of the wedding party begins was important for us particularly before you’re thrown in to all your guests who so naturally want to extend their love and congratulations to you both.
After a couple glasses of champagne and saying 'hi' to our guests we went and had our photos taken, just me and Ben and then some with our immediate families and bridal party, however later on after the speeches and meal we managed to sneak off for some more alone time with our photographer. This time was fantastic. Again, it meant that we had some more time to ourselves and we got some sensational pictures where we were so much more relaxed and comfortable around the camera. The lighting at this time was so different so created some fab colours. We wandered through Swinton's gorgeous grounds looking back at the stunning venue and all our loved ones celebrating and just took it all in. It was a perfect moment.
Any tips for future brides?
Don't feel too stressed thinking you have to get round all of your guests to thank them for coming, it's your day, the day you've worked so hard planning down to the last perfect detail... so relax, let go and enjoy every second. You won't regret it I can promise you and besides that's what your thank you cards are for!
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