Louise and William's Winter Wedding

How we met...

We first met at school, but our love story really started when we started working our first part time job together at KFC!

The proposal...

Will had proposed to me infront of the beautiful Clwedog Reservoir, we were on a walk with our dog Lola trying to find a beautiful spot to have a picnic. Little did I know we got there and there was a gorgeous set up with champagne waiting when he got down on one knee. As I’m sure a lot of brides will relate my favourite part was the debrief behind it all! He had my ring engraved with our names which made it even more special. 

What made you choose Dodmoor for your special day?...

We always knew we wanted a winter wedding when we walked into Dodmoor the way the lights sparkled all around on the beautiful greenery that was the moment we knew Dodmoor was the place for us. It was so important for us to have Lola apart of our special day so when we found they were dog friendly that was the cherry on top of the cake!

You could feel the level of care as soon as you walked in, when we left we both had a giddy feeling and that is how we knew it was the one!

Our vision...

Our vision was to have a relaxed feel for the whole day, all we wanted was good food, good vibes and a room filled with love! We personally did not want the formality a wedding tends to bring so we threw out the seating plan and allowed guests to sit where they wanted and instead of a sit down meal we had good food all evening long where they could help themselves.

For décor we wanted beautiful twinkling lights and candles everywhere we turned! With greenery throughout!

The outfits...

I got my dress from wedding belles of four Oakes, this was the first dress shop I went too and tried on all styles! The 3D printed leaf's is what won me over! I even added some more to the arms on my dress to really make it my own! 

Will had free range to pick his suit he went with a beige tone with dark green accessories to match with the bridesmaids, Will opted for a different waistcoat to the groomsmen and I gifted him a pocket watch on the wedding morning to really tie it all together! 

The food...

We fed our guests a hot pork rolls with all the trimmings by Ian! We then had a pizza van later on in the evening with lots of sides too by big slice! Of course not forgetting our treat wall which went down a storm! We had such full bellies and so did our guests! 

Our favourite part of the day...

It really is hard to pick just one! However we both agreed it was the isle walk, the warm feeling I felt when I saw my husband to be and my girl Lola was indescribable. Will loved watched our loved ones enter whilst he waited with sweaty palms then as I entered he felt the same way I did like it was just us in the room and then realising the love we had surrounded ourselves with on our special day. 

It really is the little things that warm the heart, another one of our favourite parts was we decided to have the gazebos up with Dodmoor heaters inside,  towards the end of the night everyone was snuggled up in blankets next to the heaters just talking about the day and the memories we have just made that will be unforgettable I am a sucker for some wholesome vibes.

What made Dodmoor stand out...

What really stood out to us when we went to view Dodmoor, the lead up and the day itself was the team at Dodmoor nothing was ever to much and you could tell they really cared about our day as much as we did and that made our hearts so warm and knew we made the best decision ever! 

Another standout was the diversity of the space and all the things you could do with it! That made it even more exciting planning out the day to make it so perfect. 

The idea that really worked on the day...

We opted for a later ceremony at 4pm, for us this was the perfect decision one thing that I really wanted was a relaxed morning with my girls stress free and that is exactly what we got!  Then Will got the same with his boys and Lola! They of course had a cheeky trip to Taco Bell before the ceremony! Nothing like a taco to calm the nerves.

We also had lots of kids at the wedding so we decided to make kids packs with personalised colouring books lots of fidget toys and sweets! These went down a treat and kept them entertained! 

The entertainment...

In the day we opted for Dodmoor to play their playlist then In the evening we had Rob Lawes Entertainments our DJ Justin was amazing! He read the room so well and the dance floor was full all night long! We also hired Pic Me Booths which went down a treat! We got an online copy of all the photos which was so lovely to look through! 

Having Dodmoor’s recommended suppliers was a life saver and helped us plan our day so smoothly!

Where our budget was well spent...

We had hired a good chunk of Dodmoor’s décor! They really had the most beautiful items and this for had just made the day even more stress free knowing they had it all in hand whilst making the venue even more beautiful then it already was! I don’t mind a little bit of DIY but Dodmoor really took that pressure off.

Personal touches...

We had decided to make personalised newspapers all about us, it had our love story, lots of fun facts about us, order of the day along with lots of little games to keep people entertained. We also decided to make personalised pens with our wedding date and names to go with them! 

I would say though the biggest personalised touch though was of course having our girl Lola with us, not many people can say you got to walk down the isle to your husband and your doggo! Everyone that knows us knows Lola is our world so they were not surprised we of course managed to include her in the day!

The recommended suppliers you used and loved...

We used many!

Firstly we had Ian Brodie do our hot pork rolls with all the trimmings so yummy our bellies were bursting! We loved that guests Could help themselves and keep going back for more! 

We also used Pic Me Booths which were great! We had an amazing setup which was so easy for guests to use along with their audio phone booth which was an amazing keep sake.

Then we had Rob Lawes with our DJ Justin he really brought the party! He even let me sing some Taylor swift on the mic! (Not sure if our guests appreciated that though haha)

For accommodation we used Staverton Park hotel, our guests complimented the hotel so much they even arranged for all our guests to eat breakfast together the following morning.

Emma Brooks was then our photographer! And what a Stella job she did! She was even helping us steam dresses in the mad rush of it all! Our photos are sensational and she captured our day perfectly.

I had then also had Sophie Duffy for makeup! She made me and my girls feel so beautiful! But she also helped me stay so calm throughout the wedding morning. 

So as you can see we really utilised Dodmoor’s list which helped our day be so perfect. 

Our tips to other couples...

Trust yourselves.

You know what you want for your day and that really really does not need to be the ‘norm’ you can do whatever you want the day is yours to enjoy so please remember that!  It is easy to get wrapped up into opinions and idea but ultimately yours are the ones that are the most important.

Thank you so much to Louise and Williams for sharing their magical day with us and to Emma Brookes for the lovely photos.