How we met....
We both joined meetup.com to meet new people. We first met on a night out in a pub and hit it off very quickly, going on our first date later that week.
The proposal....
On a trip to Florida for Christa’s 30th birthday, we watched the fireworks at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. When the fireworks finished, Jonny decided we had to go and look for a hidden wishing well. When we got there, he produces a t-shirt saying ‘I’ll be your Mickey’ and asked me to be his Minnie. After a bit of shock, I eventually said yes!
Our vision for the day...
We were just really keen to have a relaxed, upbeat day. We didn’t have a specific theme, but as it was Easter weekend, we had a few nods to this throughout the day. Ultimately, we didn’t want to be stressed at any point!
Our outfits...
I wore a Wtoo by Watters Pippin dress from Tilly Trotters Brides in Leamington Spa. It had beautiful, unusual lace on it which I just fell in love with! I had straps of the same lace added which made me feel like I had a completely unique dress!
Jonny wore a suit and tie from Next, nothing too fancy.
Food...
Our day time caterers were Lemon Zest. We had ham hock terrine, pork belly and a trio of puddings (as we couldn’t settle on one!). The food was delicious and the service brilliant.
For our evening food, we had waffles from The Belgian Waffle Tuk. These were incredible and the tuk tuk was a great talking point!
Our favourite part of the day...
Jonny - The ceremony was amazing. We used the central layout and we loved the feeling of having everyone around us. The ceremony was great fun as we sang a few songs and everyone got involved!
Christa - Sitting on the mezzanine late-on in the evening, watching all our guests dancing and enjoying themselves. It was lovely to think everyone was there to help us celebrate!
The plan/idea that we felt really worked on the day..
We took full advantage of the incredible weather we had by having our speeches outside in the courtyard before the meal. This made them feel a lot more relaxed and informal, and meant we could move around to speak to and thank people more easily. It also meant everyone was able to fully enjoy their dinner without worrying about speaking afterwards.
Entertainment...
Due to Christa’s Scottish heritage, we had a ceilidh from The Tartan Trio. This went down incredibly well with all our guests - from people who had never ceilidh danced before to those with lots of experience. The dance floor was constantly full so we are pretty sure everyone enjoyed it!
Where we felt our budget was really well spent...
The three things which were most important to use were the venue, the food and the entertainment. We were thrilled with all of these things, but we think the venue is what really made the wedding. The setting and the staff really contributed to our relaxed, fun day.
The personal touches that made the wedding day reflect us....
It’s probably not a personal touch, but I think the simplicity and relaxed nature of the day was what we always set out to achieve, and reflected what we wanted. The Belgian beer added a personal nod to Christa’s heritage, and was something a little different.
Recommended suppliers...
Lemon Zest were brilliant, from the initial tasting and meeting, right up until the day itself. They were great at answering any of our questions, and the food was brilliant.
Our tip for future Dodmoor couples....
For us, the biggest thing was making the day what we wanted, not what others wanted or what tradition dictates. It’s probably easy to lose that with everything else going on!
Thank you to Christa and Jonny for sharing their special day with us, and Lacie Cox for the photos x