Lucy and Jon's March Wedding

How we met...

At work, I spotted Jon across a rainy car park during a fire drill and thought he was rather handsome.  A few months later our football teams drew against each other during the fantasy football league so I pinged him a message “loser buys the drinks” … my team won so he ended up taking me out for a drink.  A few years later he confessed that he had rigged the league, so our teams got drawn out together as he fancied me too!   It was meant to be.

The proposal...

The proposal was a total shock!  We’d been together for 28 years and had two beautiful kids who were 10 and 7 at the time.  We went to the Maldives for my 50^th birthday for a lovely family holiday.  On the morning of my birthday Samuel came running into the villa asking me to go with him down to the beach to see something. I assumed it was a 3-legged crab or something odd.. so I went with him.  He then told me to shut my eyes (at which point I panicked as he was going through the prank phase and thought I might end up in the ocean), then he told me to open my eyes.  There was Jon down on one knee in the sand with the ring box.  Kids were jumping up and down behind me with excitement which Jon saw, and he then started crying.  Took me a minute to work out what on earth was going on, then the penny dropped.  Of course I said yes!

Why we chose Dodmoor for our special day…

Being a travel agent locally who specializes in honeymoons, I’d had a lot of clients over the years talking about their wedding venue of Dodmoor House and it always kind of stuck with me.  So once we got home from the Maldives we looked it up online and it looked perfect so made an appointment to go over to view.

What would we have done differently...

Just taken a moment every now and again to appreciate it all.  It’s such a whirlwind of a day and goes so quickly.  So glad we got a videographer to capture it all!

Our outfits...

Being a more mature bride (at 50!) I was quite nervous about the dress shopping.  So, I went to a large bridal boutique for a trying on session and ended up feeling pressured into buying a dress.  It’s my biggest wedding regret!  I never said I loved it nor had that feeling.  A few months later it was playing on my mind, so I decided to just take another look (to be sure) and took my 8 year old daughter with me this time who missed out first time around.  We went to a small local store and I told her to pick “anything” for mummy to try.  She came back looking very pleased with herself. She picked something very different to what I wanted, in fact everything I said I didn’t want!  Tried it on.. and guess what!  Fell in love with it... had my moment, so that was my dress!  Jon was a lot more straight forward.  We went to Moss Bros at Rushden Lakes and after trying a few different styles and colors on we found the one!  It needed to be a perfect fit for our 10 year old son who was now the best man and needed to look the part!

Our food...

Oh my days, it was simply the best food ever! Lemon Zest were outstanding as our caterer and my guests are still talking about our food today!  We opted for Brixworth Pate to start, bangers and mash for main and a divine trio of deserts including Baileys cheesecake and lemon posset!

Our favourite part of the day...

Having a bit of OCD I was worried about handing the reigns over to someone else and hoping that they would make my vision come true.  The best bit of the day was not having to worry about a single thing.. everything was totally perfect and the Dodmoor team (who are unbelievable by the way) just made everything work.  No stress at all.

What made Dodmoor stand out to us...

It’s such a beautiful venue, small, intimate yet stylish with the ability to make it your own on the big day.  Its just so versatile and could work for any occasion.  That and the fact the staff were so friendly and welcoming. From the first meeting with Mark to view the venue, to having everyone coordinated perfectly by Chloe and the team, we knew we had made the right choice.

An unexpected moment we loved...

Not unexpected to me as I organized it but certainly for the guests.  Just prior to my walk down the aisle the music stopped and my daughter’s beautiful voice came over the speakers.. with a message to her Daddy about our special day and to make sure he was ready to marry mummy.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the house, it was so magical.

The aisle walk song...

A Thousand Years by Christina Perri

Where our budget was well spent...

I made savings by getting lots of my décor and bits from Vinted but I blew a chunk on the budget on my evening entertainment which again no-one knew about!  Except my amazing Dodmoor planning team.  Halfway through our first dance the music cut out.. everyone thought it was a power failure.  Gareth the choir master (from the incredible Northants Sings Out choir) burst into the room with his 30 piece strong gospel choir who belted out some Ibiza Club Classics and nearly took the roof off the Catesby barn! It was incredible, our guests (and my husband!) were totally shocked and it was a great way to get the party started!

Our personal touches...

Our 7 year old daughter actually designed our wedding invitations and menus for the table which was a special touch.  We kept the décor simple but elegant, we just enhanced the beauty of Dodmoor. Emily’s pre aisle walk message to Daddy was another highlight and having our 10 year old Best Man take to the floor with the most incredible speech was simply amazing.  Having our kids so involved in our day made it perfect for us.

The recommended suppliers...

Lemon Zest – the food and service was second to none.  Simply outstanding.

Latzo Photography – some of the shots he captured were mind blowing, worth every penny.

Abigail Maynard Make Up – being so local to the venue she even popped back over before my evening reception to touch up the makeup.  A very natural look and amazing service and communication.

A Floral Adventure – this florists communication and attention to detail was simply amazing. She managed to pull this vision I had out of my head and make it a reality.  I got married mother’s day weekend which meant the flower prices were double but they managed to give me exactly what I wanted within my budget and kept in constant contact with me throughout. Highly recommended.

Gowns & Garters Thrapston – for finally making me feel like a bride with zero pressure and ensuring I got the dress of my dreams.

Our tips for other couples...

Errr don’t get married on mother’s day weekend and make sure you take some time together during the day to appreciate it. Book Dodmoor House.. you won’t be disappointed!  And finally don’t feel pressured to follow the norm for your big day.. take your time to plan and choose what you both want to make the day your own.

Thank you so much to Lucy and Jon for sharing the details of their special day with us. Another big thank you to Latzo Photography for sharing their wonderful photos with us!