How we met...
We met during our GCSE’s on a trip to Wales where I was trying to hook Ben up with one of my friends. We ended up playing badminton together, talking a lot and going on lots of dates. Eventually Ben realised our feelings were mutual and Ben asked me out on our first proper night out in 24th February 2012.
The proposal...
The proposal was a very long time coming. It felt like everyone was expecting it but me (Jordi)! We were on holiday in Devon and had spent the day paddle-boarding in the rain. We had planned a picnic meal on a beach. I had suggested getting some prosecco as we love a glass; however, Ben thought I knew what was going on and began to panic. The journey to the beach was an interesting one: there were many windy roads to go down and my heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest so who knows what Ben’s was doing! When we finally arrived, the beach was empty and we set up our picnic. It was at this point Ben got down on one knee and proposed. We spent the night celebrating with ice-cream!
What made us choose Dodmoor for our special day...
We wanted a barn style venue to get married at and had been to visit a few. They were either too small, far too large or a bit too ‘barn-like’ whereas when we arrived at Dodmoor we fell in love instantly as it is such a naturally beautiful venue.
Our vision for the day...
Initially, we didn’t have a theme. We had spoken about getting married lots in our 10 years together but had never really discussed the theme. However, when we booked our date on 8th October, we knew instantly that we wanted an autumnal themed wedding with burnt orange and greens throughout. I (Jordi) made lots of the decorations as I love crafting and the theme evolved as the decorations did.
What we wore...
Dress shopping for me was a dream despite the fact that I was dreading it. I booked in to WED2B a year before our wedding date, took a whole squad with me and tried on 4 dresses in total. I showed the lady some pictures I’d saved on Pinterest and she worked her magic. The dress I chose made my mum, nan and sister cry so I knew it was the one. I decided against a veil and instead had dried flowers matching the theme in my hair. I even bought some slippers for the evening!
The bridesmaids wore stunning dresses from David’s Bridal in Birmingham which had a bow tied at the back (and pockets!!) in a cinnamon and dark olive colour. Each dress was slightly different but also complemented each other and they got so many complements!!
Ben wore a checked blue suit with an orange check line which we bought very last minute after he changed his mind and the rest of the groomsmen wore a tweed blue suit.
The food...
Food was one of the most important parts of our day! We hired the incredible Passion Food Events who we could not recommend enough – they designed our menu alongside us making sure the things we loved most were included. We had cheese souffle, arancini balls and smoked salmon bellinis for our canapes.
For our starter, it was a sharing camembert baked with rosemary and garlic with a selection of breads and chutney. The mains were sharing platter style. There were chicken, chorizo and steak skewers for the meat eaters; Mediterranean vegetable skewers for the veggies, halloumi and tomato bake, a roasted squash and feta salad, rainbow slaw, flatbread, couscous and salad.
Dessert was a trio of desserts made up of a white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake, chocolate brownie and salted caramel ice-cream. For the evening, we had Fraser’s famous dirty fries which went down a treat! Guests had the choice of pulled pork, beef brisket and vegan jackfruit curry as their toppings. The food was honestly incredible.
Our favourite part of the day...
Jordi - Walking down the aisle with my dad towards Ben and taking hold of Ben’s hand knowing this was it!
Ben - Obviously seeing Jordi walk down the aisle, but if I was going for a different answer, the sparklers in the evening were loved by everyone and were a real enchanting way to start the evening.
What made Dodmoor stand out as a venue to us...
It’s natural beauty and the feel of an intimate venue.
The idea we felt worked well on the day...
We bought sparklers for the evening when the guests arrived and had a sparkler arch. It was so much fun and the pictures look great.
The entertainment...
We hired 1Entertainments for our evening entertainment. We were able to tailor the music playlist to our liking and choosing the final three songs was very special to us. Our DJ finished the night with a mashup of our first dance song and the original version of it which was just amazing. We also hired a photo booth from PicMeBooths which was available from around 6 till the end of the night. The guests loved getting dressed up and taking silly photos and got a copy to keep and one to put into our guest book. We loved looking back at these photos after the evening and having a good laugh.
Where we feel our budget was well spent...
Food- without a doubt a great decision we made.
Personal touches that reflected us as a couple...
The music that played throughout the day was selected by the two of us and was comprised of songs we used to send to each other during our time long distance at uni.
I (Jordi) made a lot of the decorations for our day which looked incredible once they had been set up in the venue and everyone commented on them.
Suppliers we used and loved...
1Entertainments – Great DJ set up, kept the music going all night and mixed an acoustic version of our first dance song with the original which we loved!
Passion Food Events – tailored the menu to reflect us and were just phenomenal.
Finally, if we could give a tip to other couples...
Remember that the day is about you and your best friend getting married in front of everyone you love. Don’t stress over the fine details and just enjoy every moment of the day as it really does fly by!
Special thanks to Jordi and Ben for sharing their story, and Lauren Collins Photography for the photos x