Ellie and Lawrence's Summer Wedding

How we met...

We met in a WhatsApp group in September 2018. Everyone else that was in the group left the chat and it was just us left, so we started chatting from then. Ellie kept saying “I swear I have seen you before somewhere?” Until last year when she recalled that she had seen me in a club in Kent, this was around 2016/17 and she claims she stared at me for a long time. She believes fate brought us back together because she did not speak to me then and we were random strangers, but now we are married.

The proposal...

It was a very romantic intimate proposal on the 24^th of December 2023 at Ellie’s sister’s house. She had no clue the plan of the day was to propose, I dropped her off at church and she was questioning why I wasn't coming in. Little did she know she was about to be proposed to, her sister decorated her apartment in Loughborough, and it was just her and her two sisters there.

What made us choose Dodmoor for our special day...

We enquired and looked around a lot of venues but we felt like they didn’t want us at all. As soon we got to Dodmoor House we felt welcome and the smiles on their faces made us feel like we could really trust them. Ellie fell in love with the venue from the entrance because it’s a very relaxed place to be, and there is no need to decorate because nature is doing a great job already.

The staff at Dodmoor are very cheerful and they give you all the information you need from the get go. We knew this was our place and it felt like home. The emails and replies were quick as well, and they are very well detailed in their preparations from what we saw on social media.

The outfits...

It took a lot of thinking because Ellie is very particular and she is so hard to please. Ellie bought her dress from wed2b, she was worried no dress shop would have her size but when she saw this specific dress, it's like it was waiting for her. Lawrence got his suit from a Nigerian tailor Deji and Kola. They were very quick and precise with everything.

All the bridesmaid dresses and the bride’s second dress were from Fashion Nova. They do really great dresses there. The groomsmen suits were from Moss Bros. The mini bridesmaids’ dresses were from Misspap and the flower girls and page boys outfits were from NEXT.

Ellie really thought this through as she wanted guests to wear brown but a lot of people didn’t want to, so she alternatively went for a “Wear whatever you want but not white, black or ivory”. This worked out well because no one wore that. She loved it and was very pleased.

The food...

We had an African buffet, selected by us and catered by Immaculate Catering services. They did the canapes and the main dinner as well as the fruit platter. The cake was baked by Chakala CAKES. She is a friend of Ellie and always bakes the cakes for our birthday as well. The drinks we bought and were served by the Dodmoor staff. Ellie is still in awe because the service was amazing.

Our favourite part of the day...

For both of us our favourite part of the day is when it started raining during our outdoor ceremony and it rained for 10 seconds. To us it was a symbol of showers of blessings from heaven. It was magical. The other thing is that the Dodmoor staff came running and handing out umbrellas to everyone. Even though the forecast said no rain, it shows how ready they were.

What made Dodmoor stand out to us...

It’s amazing and relaxed atmosphere, the surrounding nature, the beautiful barns, the very friendly staff and the night time atmosphere. Everything about Dodmoor we love.

Unexpected moments that we loved...

The way the table layout came out, it was so amazing (we had an informal style day). Ellie could not believe that it worked out and people were ever so relaxed. However, we loved every bit of the day and we can't pick just one. Everything had a wow factor.

The aisle walk songs...

Ellie walked down the aisle to Huya by Sylent Nqo, the words in English means “come let me hug you, my love”. It's a romantic song about how a guy felt as soon as he laid his eyes on his girl for the first time ever. Lawrence walked down the aisle to Because you loved me by Celine Dion. This song was picked out by his mother because she expressed how the song speaks on both sides.

Where we feel our budget was really well spent...

We feel our budget was really well spent on the venue and what they include in it - we just could not believe it!

Personal touches that reflected us as a couple...

We had a touch of our Zimbabwean food and music. These personal touches really signified where we came from - we really wanted to have a fusion of UK and Zimbabwe and I feel we did that. Dodmoor House did not refuse to add a bit of an African touch, and we felt very accepted.

Suppliers we used and loved...

I would recommend Dodmoor House a thousand percent. Also our photographer (Zoe Milward), Videographer (Mike Msanu and team), Immaculate Catering services and Wowaka events Décor.

Finally, if we could give a tip to other couples...

I would advise them to have a moment to themselves in the Honeymoon Suite after the ceremony. They will need it. Also enjoy every moment and let the wedding coordinator take control - they are there to help you enjoy your day.

A special thanks to Ellie and Lawrence for choosing Dodmoor for their wedding, it was such a joy to be a part of their day and we were so happy to witness all the love between them and their families and friends. It was most certainly a party!

Thank you also to Zoe Milward for the beautiful photos.

Dodmoor House x