How you met…
We met working in Sainsbury's, Will worked there as a part time job while at Uni (he’s from the south coast) and got stuck up here with me !
The proposal…
Perfect and intimate. Our favourite time of year. Christmas eve. Every year since we've been together Will gets me a 12 days of Xmas bauble. 1- partridge in a pear tree, 2- turtle doves etc. That year it was the 5 gold rings bauble, which he gave me downstairs and told me to go put on the second tree in the bedroom (the nice tree safe from the dog). With what ended up being our aisle song playing in the background, I turned around and Will was on one knee, dog on the bed, and he asked me to marry him !
Why we chose Dodmoor for our special day…
Dodmoor was the first and only venue we viewed. We went in the January – I started planning quick !! and once we had been I know Dodmoor was our venue and cancelled the others. It was everything I was looking for, cosy, the staff showing us round were lovely, flexible, and all the fairy lights had me straight away, knowing we wanted a winter wedding. And knowing we could bring the dog !
The vision and theme for the day…
We had always said we wanted a winter wedding. Christmas but not too Christmas, so the 2nd December was perfect. We knew we wanted the dark greens and coppers, and it all came together perfectly with Wills suit, the bridesmaids’ dresses, flowers etc it all came to life. We were blessed with a beautiful (COLD) dry wintery day.
The outfits!
Will and his groomsmen had the inverse of each other which came together too well, Wills dark green suit and their ties and squares matched. The girls in the dark green infinity dresses worked perfectly because they could all tie their dresses to a style that they were comfortable in for the day. I knew I loved my dress straight away when I tried it on, I always wanted sleeves and I just felt amazing, and I can’t not mention the white converse that allowed me to party the whole night away.
Food…
What didn’t we feed them !
Lemon zest did our catering, we had sharing platters for starters, roast beef with all the trimmings for main and then a trio dessert- mini baileys cheesecake, lemon posset and a mini mince pie. They also did us toasties in the evening which went down so well.
Instead of canapés we had a pic n mix station, and in the evening we had a churro cart outside.
And the cake !! Chocolate bottom tier and lemon top tier.
Our favourite part of the day…
So many to choose from, but some that stand out are:
Before the meal, the violin duo played us a couple of our favourite songs, just to the 2 of us while everyone was taking their seats, that was really special
The speeches – I was just laughing the whole time, everyone absolutely smashed it
When we walked in for the meal the room just erupted - our friends got the memo!
Every time we looked around us in the evening, the dance floor was packed with all our friends and family having the best time
Will's are :
When I walked down the aisle and met him at the front of the ceremony
Sitting at the top table looking around the room at all our favourite people having a great time
How Dodmoor as a venue stood out to us…
A big part was Louise! She just made the day so seamless. Any worries I had she put to ease.
She is absolutely incredible at what she does. Nothing was ever too much, and we just felt too well looked after the whole time.
What was the plan/idea you felt really worked on the day?
Mulled wine and hot cider after the ceremony!! It was minus 3 degrees and our guests really loved a hot mulled wine it went down so well ! and just added to the wintery vibe that we wanted. Hand in hand with that, supplying our own drinks for the meal, knowing everyone’s glasses were constantly being topped up made us very happy!
The entertainment...
Other than the dog greeting our guests !
We had some little games in the other barn, photo booth guest book which I love looking through, and glow sticks on the dance floor!
Where we felt our budget was well spent…
Our photographer Ant was just absolutely fantastic and I couldn’t have asked for more. He made us feel incredible and the photos are just stunning and memories we can keep forever.
Personal touches that reflected us as a couple…
The songs we chose the violin duo to play, were all our favourite songs.
Our table names were city breaks we've been to with a photo of us.
Having our chaotic dog there to greet guests and for photos – all our friends and family are well acquainted to Toby!!
And I think the fact we were laughing, smiling, singing, and dancing the whole day was us to a tee.
Suppliers we used and would recommend!
Dress – Silversixpence – incredible ladies made me feel amazing through the process
Violins – Ariella Strings were perfect!
Catering – Lemon Zest – the food was AMAZING
Dog chaperone – Pamper my Poochie – Toby isn’t an easy dog, and they looked after him just as I'd wish
Flowers – Grace Florals – stunning flowers ! Also it was great that we could move the ones on the ends of the chairs in the ceremony to the dinner tables as centre pieces
Hairbyellisha and SJG makeup artistry made me and the girls feel beautiful- lovely ladies to spend the wedding morning with!
Our tip to other couples…
Just soak it all up, it really is the best day ever, have fun, stay with your partner, enjoy the food and make memories.
We want to thank Will and Kara for sharing with us their wonderful story, and also Ant Maxted Photography for the amazing photos which capture the wedding day beautifully !
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