How you met…
We met at the gym.
The proposal…
I am a huge Harry Potter fan and Tyronne had taken me to see the Glenfinnan viaduct in Fort William back in 2018 as a birthday trip for me. This is where they filmed the flying car scene in the movies. Tyronne saw how much I loved it there and thought it would be perfect to propose there one day.
Tyronne then booked another trip back to this location in 2021 where he then proposed. I was posing for a photo, and I turned around to see Tyronne down on one knee. It was truly a surprise!
Why we chose Dodmoor for our special day…
We had a look at a few different venues, but Dodmoor was the only venue which gave us that ‘feeling.’ We had butterflies and felt quite emotional when we visited for the first time, we just knew this would be the venue where we would get married. The staff at Dodmoor were also so helpful and welcoming, so we knew we would be in safe hands.
The vision and theme for the day…
Our vision was to have a traditional rustic wedding, which encapsulated Tyronne’s passion for farming. Our colour scheme was olive green which we felt matched the theme well.
The outfits!
Tyronne and the ushers wore tweed and flat caps which suited the farm theme. I wore a traditional, ivory A-line wedding gown accompanied by a gorgeous cathedral length veil.
Food…
We fed our guests canapés during the drinks reception and a Caribbean platter for the wedding breakfast main. It contained jerk chicken, macaroni pie, sweet potato wedges, rice and peas, sunshine salad, corn on the cob and corn bread. The main course was what everyone was talking about! They absolutely devoured it and even had seconds! We then served our wedding cake for dessert. For evening food we served bacon & sausage baps and meat & veggie pizzas.
Our favourite part of the day…
The ceremony. I lost my dad when I was young, so I asked my two brothers to give me away. It was so emotional and heart-warming to walk down the aisle with them on either arm, and to see Tyronne waiting at the other end. We had some fun reading our vows to each other as we made a few mistakes with pronunciation, probably due to nerves! But it made the moment completely us and we laughed through it with our guests.
How Dodmoor as a venue stood out to us…
The staff as they were so supportive and organised. They went above and beyond for us throughout the whole process. From viewing the venue, planning the wedding all the way through to the wedding day itself.
What was the plan/idea you felt really worked on the day?
We had planned to cut our cake after our wedding ceremony as we wanted to serve our wedding cake for dessert. This was a great idea as it meant that we didn’t have loads of cake leftover to take home, which would probably inevitably go to waste.
The entertainment…
We had Rob Lawes as our DJ for the evening. We also created our own Photo Booth by using the wedding arch from our ceremony and bringing in some homemade props and a tripod.
Where we felt our budget was well spent…
The catering. The food was worth every penny, and it got devoured by our guests. The guests loved that we didn’t do a traditional wedding breakfast and felt that they had never been to a wedding where they felt so full of so much good food!
Personal touches that reflected us as a couple…
The first dance. Tyronne and I are both quite shy and introverted people, so the first dance was something that we felt rather nervous about, particularly being the centre of a room full of people! I love 90s club classics and I decided that I really wanted to perform our first dance to N Trance - Set You Free. The lyrics were perfect, and it meant that we could have some fun with it and not take it too seriously!
We soon forgot about everyone watching us and just enjoyed being in the moment. Our guests loved the song choice, it really kicked off the party with such an upbeat and well-known track! The dance floor remained full for the rest of the night!
Suppliers we used and would recommend!
Passion Food - We asked Fraser to come up with a ‘Caribbean style’ menu for us and we could not fault it. We highly recommend his company to couples who are looking for more specialist food.
Emma Brooks Photography - She truly embraced our theme and was so passionate about capturing all of the little moments from our special day. She knew where all the best locations were around the venue for photo opportunities as she has been to the venue many times. She was professional and made us feel comfortable and at ease in front of the camera.
Els Bakes - She made a delicious 3 tier wedding cake for us, she also embraced our theme and topped the cake with yet another tractor! She is reasonably priced and her attention to detail is incredible.
Rob Lawes Entertainment - The best DJ ever! The dance floor was full from the start of the party all the way to midnight. Rob allowed us to make our own playlist and also added some of his own ideas whilst engaging with our guests. We could not fault him!
Our tip to other couples…
Remember this is your day, you do not need to satisfy anyone but yourselves! Be daring and do things that aren’t traditional or expected of you. Guests love it when it’s a little bit different!
Also, give yourself plenty of time to plan your wedding. It feels like ages away when you first book it, but the time really does fly past. We gave ourselves 2 years to plan our wedding and this allowed us to feel relaxed and enjoy the whole experience with little to no stress.
A massive thank you to the new Mr and Mrs Gillett for sharing with us their story and magical wedding day! Also a big shout-out to Emma Brooks Photography for the incredible photos!
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