How we met...
We knew each other from secondary school!
The proposal...
Felt like a long time coming, having been together for six years! We had been up to the Lake District for a few days before my (Meg’s) birthday and came back with no proposal, so I never thought it would happen on my birthday! On the day of my birthday, Tom gave me my presents from my family etc. first (“so they didn’t get overlooked!"), then said he was going to get the present from him. He left me sat on the sofa and popped upstairs, then came down telling me to close my eyes. As I did, I heard some music starting and immediately recognised the opening of our song – Out of Control by Miles Kane. I then remember shouting “that’s you singing!” as the lyrics started and heard him come in the room. He then told me to open my eyes and he was there on one knee. He said the four most amazing words and I just squealed, covered my eyes and cried! We laugh about the fact that I didn’t actually say yes for ages (I forgot that part!). It made it even more special to find out he had been to my Mum and Dad to ask their permission a few weeks before – which was something so important to me!
What made us choose Dodmoor for our special day...
We had visited a few different venues, but immediately from the drive over the bridge, we knew Dodmoor was the place for us. It felt full of love, it felt safe and it felt like us! The fact that I cried was a big sign and we couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Our vision for the day...
Our vision was ‘us’. We wanted every touch to represent what we loved and for people to look at everything and see us. We toyed between more concrete themes, with our love of books, film and music – we were thinking about old books for table centrepieces, film or band names instead of table numbers. We had so many ideas. In the end, we focused on simple, rustic and homemade – we wanted more focus on the experience and the memories. We had touches of our interests, like signing records for our guestbook, me and my mum making a lot of the decorations (as I enjoy crafting, calligraphy etc.), and the gin bar (!).
The outfits...
My dress was from Serendipity Brides in Weedon. I was dress shopping during Covid, so part of me feels like I missed out on having the whole ‘entourage’ thing, but in the end it was perfect. Two of my bridesmaids came with me initially to a Wed2Be store, just to get an idea of styles and they spoilt me, with bride squad glasses, a sash etc., to make the event memorable. I then went to Serendipity with my mum and fell in love with my dress. From then on, no one else saw it in person – I made the conscious decision to not have anyone else come to fittings etc., it was my thing with my mum. Obviously bridesmaids saw photos, but they don’t do it justice! My bridesmaid dresses were initially going to be from Wed2Be, but I then decided on the multiway dress styles. We had fun (and stress!) trying to work out how we were going to wear them, but they looked perfect in the end! The boys’ outfits were as much a surprise to me as my dress was to them! I was involved in tie colour but that was it, and although it was a bit nerve wracking, it was a nice surprise for me on the day! Tom and Joe (his best man) got theirs from Albie and Lonnie’s and the ushers (plus Tom’s dad) had a Next suit. They all tied in with matching waist coats.
The food...
We used Lemon Zest who were perfect! Our main course was a beef brisket (Tom’s favourite) with dauphinoise potatoes, which was amazing. Pudding was a trio of our favourites – I am such a pudding girl so this only felt right! (As proven on the day when I had several Eton Mess’s). Probably our highlight was the evening food – we went for toasties because we just love them. However, we were so pleased with this choice when we went to my brother’s wedding a year before and loads of people ordered toasties from the bar – clearly a great idea!
Our favourite part of the day...
Tom: “Marrying the love of my life”
Meg: How do you choose?! Walking back down the aisle with my new husband, seeing everyone who loves us looking so happy, seeing Tom waiting for me at the end of the aisle, the first dance with my best friend!
What made Dodmoor stand out to us as a venue...
The emotional connection as we first visited and how much everyone seemed to genuinely care about us as an individual couple!
Entertainment...
We had a band called Parallel Lines. Tom was in a band that played weddings and he loves his music, so this was something we wanted to get right. We travelled up to Sheffield to see them and we loved them – songs everyone would know but done in different ways. They performed as a two piece in the drinks reception then the full 3 piece band in the evening. They were a big hit!
Where we feel our budget was well spent...
Food – it was amazing! And my dress – paying slightly more than I anticipated, but feeling beautiful was worth it!
Personal touches that reflected us as a couple...
One of my dreams for my wedding before I saw Dodmoor was having photos taken in bluebells – they are a flower that my family remembers my late Great Nanny with and this was partly why we picked this time of year for our wedding. My love for Dodmoor was increased by seeing some bluebells in the grounds, so I was happy without travelling to more bluebells. Without my knowledge though, my Grandma had taken over a vase of bluebells to put in my room on the morning of the wedding so it was as though my Great Nanny was there. That was the thing in the morning that made me cry! Then, unknown to me, my florist had incorporated them into my bouquet and my photographer had taken a photo through the bluebells. That was so special. Another personal touch was all the handmade bits – I made all the signs, the favours etc. and my Mum decorated all the bottles for the table decorations, and the bunting for the table. We also had a record player for our guest book – people signed records that we are going to display in our house.
Suppliers we used and loved...
Hair and make up: Mack in Rugby – lovely upstairs private area for the bridal party. So relaxing and friendly and everyone came away feeling beautiful – it was a perfect start to the morning!
Amy Bennett Photography: For two people who hate having their photo taken, Amy was incredible. She put us at ease from the very first Zoom call where we ‘met’ her and our prewedding shoot was great for making us more at ease in front of the camera. On the day, she was just like another guest and fitted in brilliantly. She had great advice and came with a bag of tricks, like a crochet hook – you can tell how experienced she is and she was a great, calming help! The photos were all beautiful too.
Lemon Zest: We loved the look of their menus and really enjoyed our tasting session. On the day, the food and service was absolutely spot on and even the dishes we hadn’t tried (like the vegetarian ones) went down a storm! The fact that they knew Dodmoor was great too.
Green Room Flowers: Sofia was an absolute angel. I know nothing about flowers, so took some photos to our first meeting just as inspiration, and she took these and ran with it. She accommodated another meeting for me, to ease any worries and answer any questions, and I felt so comfortable then that I had picked the perfect florist. She brought my visions to life and added some beautiful personal touches – she had remembered that I had mentioned bluebells in our very first meeting as they are a flower that reminds me of a family member, but I had accepted that they were slightly the wrong colour and probably wouldn’t work. On the day, I picked up my bouquet and she had included bluebells. You can imagine how much that meant!
Parallel Lines: Just amazing! From initial contact they were so accommodating and friendly and on the day they were incredible! Something different, but enjoyed by all and we had so many compliments.
Serendipity: As I expected from the reviews, the experience was amazing. They were so helpful and accommodating and have been since, with organising to get my dress cleaned etc. I would recommend them to anyone!
Clare (the seamstress who works next door to Serendipity): She put me at ease and made my dress fit like a dream. I needed an additional fitting, which she got me in for and she made the whole experience enjoyable!
Albie and Lonnies: Great service! They found perfect suits and were really helpful with ordering in sizes etc and keeping the boys up to date. The suits were gorgeous.
Bake Me Happy: We had initially contacted another lady, who recommended Bake Me Happy (she was working alongside the other lady we contacted). Despite only baking properly for a shorter period of time, she was amazing and you would never have guessed. She accommodated our request to do a tasting of the specific flavours we wanted and they were incredible! The cake was beautiful on the day and so yummy.
Finally, if we could give a tip to other couples...
Take some time just you two to take it all in! Don’t worry about Dodmoor getting it right because I can promise they will do it right and better than you ever imagine – let go of any element of stress and enjoy your day, it goes so fast.
Special thanks to Meg and Tom for sharing their story, and Amy Bennett Photography for the photos x