I thought as we have just celebrated our 7 year wedding anniversary it was a good time to re-publish this post with updated supplier links… Hope you enjoy reading the story of “Our Perfect Day”…
We met on a night out in Milton Keynes back in December 2001… Just 11 years and 6 months later (on 1 June 2013) we got married! Here is the story of our perfect day…
The Proposal
Adam proposed to me on a walk in one of our favourite pieces of woodland round the Milton Keynes area at Bow Brickhill. It was a complete surprise. In fact I spent the following half an hour after he did it just saying “oh my God” and then looking at my finger (+ new ring) and then “oh my God” again!’
The Venue
Some of our close friends got married in a barn conversion in Gloucestershire and we fell in love with the idea of a barn. When I found Dodmoor House more locally to us I knew it was our venue. I took Adam along on the open day and he fell for it instantly, it ticked all our boxes. The level of care and individual service which all the wedding planners gave was wonderful and in turn made our day magical and the greatest day of our lives so far. Literally felt like I was floating the whole day. It was perfect.’
The Dress
It was important to me to get a dress made in Europe as I wanted to feel good about the conditions in which the dress was made, and knowing it was made in Europe meant that manufacturers must meet certain standards in their factories conditions. When I found this Belgian made dress in House of Fraser on Oxford Street in London, I knew it was the dress for me. In fact I burst in to tears, as did my Mum, as soon as I had it on and looked in the mirror; it is a very emotional purchase. It was a pivotal moment in the wedding planning process, sometimes you get caught up in the administration of the organisation, but when I looked in the mirror it was that stark realisation that I was going to be a bride and a Mrs thereafter, it was a magical moment.
I wanted to stick to the something old, something new tradition, so this was my list:
- Something Old: Great Grandma’s pearls
- Something New: Earrings – wedding gift from Adam
- Something Borrowed: Mum-in-law’s veil & friend’s tiara
- Something Blue: The ribbon in my garter & a lovely label which I had custom made and stitched in the dress with our names and the wedding date, bought on Etsy’
The Bridesmaids
My sister-in-law Nikki, and my best friends Anna & Marie were my adult bridesmaids & my two nieces Amelia & Phoebe were my flower-girls and came all the way from America for the wedding. These were the cards I sent them to ask them to be my bridesmaids.’
The adult bridesmaids wore dresses from Coast and shoes from Deichmann and the flowers girls wore dresses from Monsoon.
The Theme
I wanted to go for a rustic shabby chic but not too pastel look with a bit of a Californian vibe – which is why I used coral as a signature colour. Pinterest was my addiction throughout, and was such a useful tool for sourcing individual ideas which I would recommend to any bride to be.I also got the nickname “Jam Jar Gill” through the wedding planning process as I had a bit of a jam jar theme going on.
It started with the stationery design which I found with a wonderful stateside graphic designer who I met through Etsy. I bought an artwork only package from and then printed myself and went on to link all my decorations together.
The Tables, Flowers and Favours
I found this image quite near the beginning of my planning process and knew that this was the colour pallet for me. We used the wonderful Rebecca Marsala Flowers of Leighton Buzzard who was recommended to me by several friends and I would definitely recommend again. The flower combination which Rebecca produced for the day was simply stunning – I couldn’t have been happier. And she used 45 of my own jam jars for all the table decorations!
I asked my caterers to source hessian table runners and bought slices of logs from a rather bemused man at a timber yard just outside Leighton Buzzard. There were then jam jars of flowers on the table and pom poms hanging from the ceiling.
The favours were pick and mix sweets along with stripe candy bags and activity books for children guests.
I just cried when I entered the room and saw it all together – it was just as I had pictured it <3
The Wedding Breakfast
Hart Events Catering from Leighton Buzzard catered the day. ‘We wanted a relaxed but classy feel and lots of yummy food which everyone would want to eat. We did a “bring a cake” buffet along with finger sandwiches and afternoon tea for the drinks reception, and of course Pimms and a very nice specialist cocktail alternative.
For our main meal we went for a posh BBQ with salad and fresh bread and then strawberries and cream for dessert.For the evening reception we did sausage and bacon baps as we had seen it at several other weddings and knew how well it worked.’
The Cake
My amazing friend Claire Brook, a graphic designer turned cake decorator made our stunning wedding cake as a wedding gift – we were so blessed to have this. It was a small top cake with a variety of cupcakes below with tons of sugar flowers in all our colours – it was just beautiful – a real piece of art.
Music and the First Dance
We had my favourite DJ – Bret Gilman of Hybrd Entertainment for the evening entertainment. He was amazing – and we shared a very similar music taste – I’d highly recommend him to anyone. Every track he played was a tune! We went for the Lumineers – Ho Hey – we wanted something modern but with lyrics relevant to us as a couple. “I belong with you, you belong with me, you’re my sweetheart” was perfect – will always make me smile forever more.
The best part was…
‘It was all amazing – but for me walking up the aisle and seeing my love at the top and all my friend and family there to celebrate with us was an incredible part of the day and very emotional.’
One tip I would give other brides is…
‘Plan, plan, plan as much ahead of time as you can – but when it comes to the day – relax and enjoy – let go of plans and soak up the best day of your life.
Photographs
Turner and Moss did the photography on a friend’s recommendation. We loved all of our photos but here are a few of our favourites…
Our amazing friends/family Randy & James along with my bro-in-law Anthony set up and took these amazing sparkler photos at the end of the night! Such a wonderful surprise!
