How we met…
We met at university. We both attended the University of Nottingham, both studied History, were in the same halls, and both from Northampton, so there was a lot of common ground right from the get-go. We actually met during fresher’s week, on toga night!
The proposal…
We were on holiday in the Wye Valley, and we were at the end of a long walk which had involved a mid-way pub stop and some wrong turns (which made it even longer!).
It was really quiet, and we’d barely passed any other walkers, so when we got to an opening that looked onto the valley Alex got down on one knee and asked the question!
Why we chose Dodmoor for our special day…
Dodmoor House was the first venue we saw, and we absolutely loved it straight away and both said we could see ourselves getting married there.
We were already booked in to see several more places, so we went along to those, but nowhere else seemed to fit quite so perfectly! Every interaction we’d had with Dodmoor had felt really easy and relaxed, that we just knew it was the right venue to choose. Plus, it is absolutely beautiful!!
The vision and theme for the day…
We didn’t really have a specific vision; we just knew we wanted everyone to feel relaxed and just have fun! Our colour scheme started as sage green but sort of evolved into a more general green, but we weren’t super strict about this. If there was something we wanted to add outside of the theme we didn’t worry too much about it. We just wanted the day to be filled with all the things we loved!
The outfits!
Eden got her dress from a lovely wedding dress shop called Whitelace and Butterflies. The team there were so friendly and lovely, and made the process very easy. Eden didn’t really have a specific dress or style in mind, so went in pretty open-minded, and ended up falling in love with the first dress she tried! The dress was fitted perfectly by Dawn Bird Bridal Alterations, who is just amazing at what she does, and such a lovely person too. Along with the dress, she got some sage green heels to go with the colour scheme, a veil, and a beautiful headband from Vivi Embellish.
Alex wore a navy suit with a sage tie and brown shoes. The suit itself was lightly textured with a bit of added thickness to counter the November temperatures! An orange flower in the button hole worked really nicely within this colour scheme, too.
Food…
We used recommended supplier Lemon Zest for our wedding breakfast, evening food and canapés. When we first went to our food trial, we weren’t really sure what to expect but were blown away by how delicious it was! For the canapés we chose sliders, mini toad in the holes, and veggie tortilla spoons. For the wedding breakfast we went with Lemon Zest’s BBQ platter option, which included burgers, salmon parcels, and veggie burgers, plus sides, with brownies for dessert.
We then had pizzas for the evening. We’d highly recommend Lemon Zest; they were so flexible and gave us a great range of options. We changed our minds several times and they just went with it and provided us with any info needed! We worked a lot with Emily, who was amazing!
Our wedding cake was from El’s Bakes, and she baked us a three tier chocolate cake. It was honestly one of the nicest things we’ve ever eaten! Eleanor was so easy to communicate with, and we will definitely be getting back in touch for future cake needs!
Our favourite part of the day…
It’s so hard to pick a favourite part of the day, as we loved every moment of it. However, probably our favourite was the ceremony itself. You have so much nervous energy building right up to that moment, but the second we walked into the ceremony room (Alex and Eden walked down the aisle together), and we saw the faces of all of our favourite people in the world, that nervous energy sort of changes to this excitement that this is really happening, and you’re surrounded by the best people! You’re still very nervous, of course, but it’s a more excited nervousness than a terrified one. It’s such a unique feeling, but you can just feel the happy energy radiating from everybody in the room - it’s really special!
How Dodmoor as a venue stood out to us…
Aside from the fact that it is simply a beautiful venue, the people that work there are what make it. The communication from day one was just amazing. They were able to answer any and all queries we had, no matter how random. They made us feel completely at ease and as though everything was fully in hand the whole way (which it was!!), and that is just such a great thing when you are hearing so many people telling you how stressful it’s going to be.
I don’t think we ever got particularly stressed about anything, and if we ever did Dodmoor sorted it out.
We also want to make a special mention here to our wedding co-ordinator, Kara. Kara was simply the best! She made the day run so smoothly, even when rain interrupted things. She is such a genuinely friendly and lovely person that it just made all communication so easy.
She worked so hard to make the day perfect, and we think she absolutely succeeded in doing that. We can’t thank her enough for all of the work she put into the day!
What was the plan/idea that you felt really worked on the day?
Walking down the aisle together. Eden had been very indecisive about who would walk her down the aisle, as sadly her dad was no longer around to do this with her. It was actually Dawn Bird (who fitted the wedding dress) who mentioned that her and her husband had walked down the aisle together, and we immediately loved the idea. We had been together for 10 years, and it felt like the most natural thing for us to go into the day from the beginning together, rather than separately. It also helped the nerves A LOT getting to see each other away from the crowds before walking down the aisle!
The entertainment…
We had two bands, one in the day and one in the evening. Music is a big part of our lives, so we knew this was where we wanted to spend our entertainment budget. Our evening band, Cedar Grove (who we booked through Entertainment Nation) were great at setting a really fun atmosphere for the party. They played tons of our favourite songs, and we enjoyed it so much!
In the daytime we had the Snap Chaps, who are a strolling band who take requests on the day. We saw them at a wedding fair and knew we wanted them to be part of our day! They were definitely a standout in the day, so many people have told us how much fun it was watching them perform. They were really helpful in the build-up and offered suggestions on timings for when they might best slot into the day (which did work perfectly - they came out as a surprise to the guests right after desserts!). They had everyone really involved and we’ve now got some great pictures of everyone dancing and singing along! We really hope we get to see them again at someone else’s wedding in the future.
Where we felt our budget was well spent…
As mentioned above, we dedicated a large proportion to the music, and we feel this went down really well!
Personal touches that reflected us as a couple…
Walking down the aisle together and doing our own vows were probably the most personal touches to the day. It felt like a continuation of us going through life together, and a celebration of that, rather than it being this big scary change!
Suppliers we used and would recommend!
Every single supplier we had on the day was incredible. We couldn’t fault any of them and would book every single one all over again! We’ve already mentioned a few, but below are the others who were truly outstanding and made the day extra special for us. They are all incredible at what they do, and anyone would be lucky to have them as a part of their day!
Also a special mention to:
Luke Hardy - Photographer: https://lukehardyphotography.co.uk/
Gabby Caswell - Makeup: https://caswellbeauty.co.uk/
Natalie Donohue - Hair: https://www.thehairbook.co.uk/
Jo Clarke - Celebrant: https://myperfectceremony.co.uk/
Julie Anna - Florist: https://www.julieannaflowers.co.uk/
Our one tip to other couples…
Don’t worry about the weather! It rained all day, and we still had the perfect day. We can honestly say that the rain had zero impact on the day. We were obsessively checking weather forecasts in the build-up, but when the day came, and it was pouring down with rain, it just didn’t matter.
A massive thank you to Eden and Alex for sharing their magical day with us! Also a big shoutout to Luke Hardy Photography for the fabulous photos!