How we met...
We worked as teachers at the same school. We’d worked together for a year and never really noticed each other, and then we went to France on the year 6 residential and got talking, and realised we really liked each other! Nearly 9 years later we are married and have a 2-year-old called Freddie.
The proposal...
Alex got Freddie to propose to me! He had a t-shirt made for him which said ‘Mummy, will you marry Daddy?’ How could I say no to that!?
What made us choose Dodmoor for our special day...
We loved that we could do whatever we wanted to make the day our own. There was no expectation to use certain caterers or have a particular style. We were able to tailor the day to exactly how we wanted it to be.
Our theme for the day...
No theme, we just wanted some drinks, good food and lots of music!
The outfits...
I had two dresses, but neither were expensive! I didn’t want to spend a fortune on my dresses so they were both from Asos and I loved them! I wanted something that wasn’t too ‘bridal’ and was my still my style. Alex’s suit was from Suit Culture and he looked very handsome indeed!
The food...
We didn’t want a traditional three course meal so we had huge sharing platters from Mange and Melange. The platters were full of meats, cheeses, breads, veggies and fruit. In the evening we had a pizza van from the The Wedding Pizza Company. We didn’t do a wedding cake either – we had a cookie tower!
Our favourite part of the day...
Surprisingly, the ceremony! I didn’t expect to enjoy that part as much as I did. It was just so special and emotional.
What made Dodmoor stand out to us as a venue...
It was so beautiful and calm, and also really flexible to allow us to have the day we wanted.
The plan we felt worked well on the day...
Everything worked well! Our wedding coordinator Vicky was so helpful in putting together the perfect timeline and plan.
Entertainment...
We had Smoke and Bear who are an acoustic band and they played during our drinks reception, and then we had Wildcard who are a rock band and they played during our evening reception.
Where we feel our budget was well spent...
Drinks, food and music. We didn’t spend loads on decorations because the venue is already lovely.
Personal touches that reflected us as a couple...
We had beer bottles filled with flowers, and polaroid photos of us through the years on our tables.
Suppliers that we used and loved...
Mange and Melange – huge sharing platters
Smoke and Bear – acoustic band
Wildcard – rock band
The Wedding Pizza Company – pizza van
Finally, if we could give a tip to other couples...
Do what you want to do! Don’t feel like you have to follow traditions for the sake of it.
Special thanks to Maddy and Alex for sharing their story, and David Swailes for the photos x