How we met...
We met through a friend. Both having gone to the same secondary school, and then University, when Holly was 18 they met on a night out in Corby and the rest is history.
The proposal...
Was extravagant! Jonathan - who is usually super busy running multiple businesses - hired a videographer, made a short film, hired a cinema screen, and managed to get me there to show me the film, and there he was on one knee proposing. Long story... the film was about a guy asking his father in law to be to marry his daughter and the obstacles he faced. The film included Jonathan, Holly’s Dad Andrew, brother Thomas, and best man Brett. How did he get holly to the cinema I hear you ask; Jonathan recruited Holly’s bridal squad and arranged a “bridesmaid get together” all orchestrated by Nikki (MOH). The bridal get together included all bridesmaids, both Mums and good friends Rachel and Maddy. The get together was sold to Holly as a film and lunch. The film came on, in a private viewing of what should have been Aladdin, but the film wasn’t Aladdin, it was Jonathan’s proposal film, and at the end of the film Jonathan came in, with a black box in hand, got down on one knee, and asked the all important question… he was shortly followed by Dad, brother Thomas, his stepdad Eric and our little Nova. It was so lovely that all the important people in my life were with us on such a special day.
Our vision for the day...
Simple, sleek and elegant. For years I (Holly) had wanted black watch tartan as a theme, and with us booking a winter wedding it was easy to tie it all in. The men had the black watch tartan ties, that tied in with the eucalyptus bouquets and table decorations, and the navy table linen and stationery.
What we wore...
After booking our wedding within six months, my main concern was “Would I have enough time to get THE dress?!” so after booking our wedding at Dodmoor, the following Saturday I was booked in at Serendipity Brides in Weedon, and there she was, MY dress in the window. As soon as I saw it in the window I knew I wanted to try it on, and got very protective when I heard another bride requesting to try it on too. Lauren the consultant advised me not to try it on first, but it was the 4th dress I tried on (ever!) and I knew it was the one… I cried, and then my bridal party cried - it’s the one! It was an Essence of Australia dress, Charlotte Mills Bridal shoes (highly recommended and sooo comfy!), and ivory and co headband purchased in Serendipity Brides.
Jonathan and his groomsmen; I knew they had to be in a three piece, it had to be the RIGHT shade of navy and the waist coat HAD to be double breasted. After lots of shopping trips, and trying on what feels like 100's of suits, we found the best fitting suits were from Next. The different fits that Next provide made it easy to get suits that would fit all of the groomsmen and their individual shape too. That was the suit sorted - check - well once we personalised them by swapping a couple of buttons around to matching green buttons for the colour theme. Then the shirts, we wanted the shirts to be all the same, and textured rather than plain. We finally found some that fit our criteria, and again came in different fits from Marks & Spencer. We had all the men’s shirts embroidered with their initials on the cuff to make them that little bit more special. Jonathan had a black watch tartan bow tie, and his groomsmen had matching ties - check. Then we needed to find shoes… brown shoes, but the right colour brown, found them on asos. I then made sure all the men had a pair of socks too (just in case someone forgot their socks, or had white socks on!).
Nova & the flower girls - I think my favourite outfit - emerald green tutus, ivory leotards, ivory fluffy cardigans, glittery ivory tights, glittery converse trainers… teamed with a eucalyptus halo and small bouquet. They looked amazing and exactly how I envisioned. The tutus and leotards were made to measure by a lady on Etsy.
The food...
Food was one of our most important decisions, and we were sure we had to have enough, and have a menu that would be “us". For canapés to start straight after the ceremony we chose meatballs, salmon Blini’s, pork belly, chicken terrine, vegetarian frittatas. Then Brixworth pate (our favourite) to start, a hearty Sirloin Roast Beef dinner for the main, and Sticky toffee pudding for dessert. We picked a three-course meal provided by Portfolio Events, suitable for a winter wedding and also what represents us and our favourite dinner. In the evening we had a meat feast BBQ provided by Ian Brodie.
Our favourite part of the day...
Jonathan - Walking into the barn as man and wife, with all our guests applauding and cheering, and dancing to Chris Brown's 'Forever'.
Holly - Having a sneak peek out of the window in the bridal suite seeing Jonathan arrive all suited up, there’s no feeling like it. So excited to finish getting ready and marry the love of my life.
The idea we felt really worked on the day...
We wanted to ensure that our day was very “us”; having lots of fun, lots of laughing, lots of love… lots of food and lots of drink, and that is exactly what we achieved. Great food, great selection of drinks, lots of entertainment - even the surprise of singing waiters during the meal.
The entertainment...
The plan for entertainment was a saxophonist and Ibizan DJ, with a playlist of all our favourite songs throughout the day. Jonathan teamed up with Vicky (our coordinator) to surprise me with singing waiters. Jonathan knew I wanted something else but couldn’t find that something else, so in between our main meal and dessert, one of the “waiters” decided to make a speech to my utter confusion (“what on earth is going on - it’s MY wedding?!”) … until he broke out in song, and Jonathan had the biggest smile on his face, the penny dropped - how amazing!
Where we feel our budget was really well spent...
All of our budget was well spent (we actually came under budget!). Everything we spent our money on was well worth what we spent. Drinks, food, entertainment, decorations, outfits, flowers - everything! Where we saved on some things, we spent on others. Thinking outside the box, and making decisions really helped; rather than continually looking around. Once I found what I wanted I stopped looking, I think that was key to stop spending on things we didn’t want or need.
Personal touches that reflected us as a couple...
We wanted to ensure that our entire day was very “us”; having lots of fun, lots of laughing, lots of love… lots of food and lots of drink, and that is exactly what we achieved. Great food, great selection of drinks, lots of entertainment. We wanted to do things our way, and have what we wanted.
Suppliers we used and loved...
All our suppliers - spot on!
Drinks - Dodmoor House - the range of drinks on offer, and the value for money of the drink’s packages. Superb! Also loved that Jonathan and I could have our own drinks that may have not been on your list - Aperol spritz being my fave!
Food and table linen - Portfolio Events - the quality of the food, and how easy Charlotte made it for us right up to the end, even when relatives couldn’t make it last minute, so accommodating. Value for money too.
Evening BBQ - Ian Brodie Catering - let us choose exactly what meats we wanted, and very easy going with our requests.
Evening entertainment - Jonny Ross Music - fun on Facebook, and fell in love with the idea of a saxophonist and Ibizan DJ, and that’s exactly what we got. They were easy to speak to, and very communicative throughout the booking process.
Photographer - Daisy Dots Photography - we knew Nicola from Nova’s baby photoshoot, and when we found out she was available on the day of our wedding too, we were over the moon. She already knew us, and we explained the style of photos we wanted, and the special shots we wanted, and she captured everything! She even came with us to an open evening to get a feel for Dodmoor before our wedding. She was amazing on the day, and captured it exactly how we wanted.
Videographer - D&I Weddings - the videographer used to make Jonathan's proposal film, it was only right we used them for our wedding too. We love our video, everything is captured from different angles, even shots captured with a drone, the fun, the love and all the laughter. None of our requests were too much, and they were so supportive throughout the lead up and on the day.
Flowers, bouquets and table decorations - Eden Flowers, Thrapston - Michelle at Eden is amazing! She brought my vision to life, I wanted green, and lots of it! Michelle knew exactly what she was talking about, and understood our vision, and put together our beautiful bouquets and table runners - incredible!
Judy at Cherish Ceremonies - Judy was amazing from the first time we spoke on skype. Listened to exactly what we wanted, and gave us ideas to personalise our ceremony. Judy took the time to get to know us as a couple, family and individually and incorporated this into our ceremony. Highly recommend Judy to anyone looking for a celebrant, fabulous from start to finish.
Our cake - Ingrid @ Designmeacake, all we wanted was something simple that could be enjoyed by everyone, and that’s what we got, amazing.
Finally, if we could give a tip to other couples...
Holly - Have your day how you want it, not how everyone else wants or expects it.
Jonathan - Capture everything, photos and videos (if your budget allows). There’s nothing better than being able to put your wedding video or photos on, just because you can - hours of laughing and crying happy tears.
Special thanks to Holly and Jonathan for sharing their story, and to Daisy Dots Photography for the photos x