How we met...
We met in primary school! My school was visiting Cory's, and my friend fancied him so I asked him out for her , he said no!
The Proposal...
We had gone to Brighton as we did every valentines week. We had the best day at the beach and in the arcades, had a very romantic dinner out and Cory had actually planned on proposing on the beach, however this was February and the rain was torrential. It was also incredibly windy so that torrential rain went horizontal, right in your face, so last minute Cory arranged with the Grand Brighton Hotel to have flowers, chocolates, and petals to be set up in our room. We arrived back at the hotel after our meal, I walked in and saw the flowers and headed straight for them, when I turned around he was down on one knee.
What made us choose Dodmoor for our special day...
It fit us so perfectly. It had so much character, and was the perfect mixture of rustic and modern. Our wedding was on the smaller side, 60 max guests, and it was perfect for this amount. Most importantly, the staff at Dodmoor sold it to us within the first 10 mins of being there. They were incredibly friendly, relatable, approachable, all the above! There was nothing they could not do for you and ensured our day ran perfectly.
Our Vision...
Dodmoor is so beautiful already, we really didn’t need to do much to it in terms of a theme. We just knew we wanted a lot of flowers. Our vision turned real life on the day, with floral arrangements created by the amazing Florry Florals.
The Outfits...
I chose my dress on 9th August (incidentally our wedding date) 2020. It was also the anniversary of my Grandmas death, which I hadn’t noticed until after I bought my dress. My dress was nothing I imagined saying yes to, the floral lace was beautiful and had what looked like fairies in it. My Grandma, Christine, was famous for her love of fairies so I know for sure she was there and helped me make my decision on the day
Corys suit was specially selected from the famous Fogarty's. Cory has said for days since that he wishes he could wear it again! He went for tails for the special occasion. When else can you wear tails, if not your wedding day?
The Food...
We had canapés at cocktail hour, including mini burgers and halloumi fries from the great OliveHerb Catering. A sit down, 3 course meal for our wedding breakfast, by OliveHerb again which was amazing, we have had great reviews from guests. Then we had a retro Citroen food truck as our evening food, they served burgers, chips, halloumi and chicken Goujons. What was such a nice touch was that staff grabbed me and Cory a plate of evening food, and put it in the honeymoon suite for us to enjoy at the end of the night. We were very thankful for this at the end of a long day!! We were so busy we hardly ate!
Our favourite part of the day...
Our favourite part of the day was seeing each other for the first time. Cory, when he saw me at the top of the aisle about to walk down, and mine was when I met him at the end of the aisle. I remember being so so nervous but he smelt so good and it instantly made me relax. The first words we said to each other were “I missed you” at the end of the aisle🥹 We are with each other 99% of the time, so it was so hard being apart from 4pm the day before the wedding!!
What made Dodmoor stand out as a venue to us...
I’m going to sound like a stuck record, but the staff at Dodmoor made it for us. We had viewed 4/5 venues before coming to Dodmoor, and nowhere else did we get the personal experience we got at Dodmoor. The staff were so friendly, it was like talking to a friend. Other venues had been a bit pushy, whereas staff at Dodmoor wanted to know how you met, how he proposed, your vision for the day, it was just so refreshing to get the amazing, non pushy, non sales service!!
The idea we felt worked well on the day...
The cake cut being outside in the courtyard, where we had the ceremony, then followed by the first dance!
Entertainment...
There were so many spaces at Dodmoor for guests to explore so decided a DJ was enough. The courtyard, with the bar, was the perfect space for guests to converse, it’s so picturesque and beautiful in the evening. The garden games provided by Dodmoor were also a great hit, especially with keeping the kids entertained!
Where we feel our budget was well spent...
The drinks package!! We went for the emerald package which worked out perfectly. We loved giving guests the freedom of choice, at no cost to them.
Personal touches that reflected us as a couple...
We made all the signage for the day. It was lovely to take a ‘break’ from planning and create things for our day, spending time together! it also meant we could create everything personal to us. I also feel like Dodmoor reflected us beautifully. A perfect mixture of rustic and modern.
Recommended suppliers we used and loved...
We used Rob Laws Entertainment as our DJ and they did not disappoint. Scott DJ’d our day and could not of done a better job. It’s hard enough getting guests on the dance floor, let alone in a heatwave, but Scott managed great!!
Finally, if we could give a tip to other couples...
Make time for just you two during the day. Me and Cory took some time after the ceremony, after we spoke to everyone and before our photos. We were on such an adrenaline rush from saying I Do!!! It was our favourite time of the day. Take regular moments, just you two, as after all it is about all about the two of you!!
One other very important tip, choose a wedding day fragrance each. The day after our wedding, when we were packing for our minimoon, I got a waft of Cory's aftershave he wore on the day and the memories came flooding back of meeting him at the end of the aisle, I cried all over again!! Scent is so important with associating memories, where it for all wedding related occasions and when you smell it in the future, all the memories will come flooding back 🥹
Special thanks to Georgie and Cory for sharing their story, and Sophie Ann Photography for the photos x