How we met...
We met when we were teenagers and dated for 4 years before going our separate ways – it wasn’t our time. However fate intervened and we ended up back together 5 years ago.
The proposal...
It was lovely. The first time Steven and I spoke when we were 16 and 17 years old, Steven was waiting for a bus in town and I stopped to chat, he missed 4 buses as we were chatting for hours. On the night we got engaged Steven took me out to a lovely restaurant for dinner and champagne, then as we were walking through town he stopped at the same bus stop and asked me if I remembered it, which of course I did, and he then asked me to marry him. It was perfect.
Our vision for the day...
It was incredibly important to us to make our wedding focused on family and our children. Steven came into my life with his son Ewan and daughter Iyla, I had my own son Jake, and now we have baby Jude who is 1. As a “blended” family it was so important to make the children feel like they were included and played a big part in the day. My son gave me away as my Dad passed away some years ago, and Steve's son was his best man. This meant that our venue needed to be relaxed, informal, family orientated and intimate. We fell in love with Dodmoor from the moment we visited.
Tell us about your outfits! Steven wore a stunning blue suit with brown shoes and a cala lily button hole. My dress was off the shoulder, fitted with a button bodice, I felt like a princess. The dress was finished with a tiara, my something borrowed from my sister in law Michelle.
Food and drink....
Again we wanted a relaxed feel to the day, we therefore chose to have a Prosecco afternoon tea, whereby we supplied the Prosecco (90 plus bottles!) and Ian Brodie catered a wonderful afternoon tea for us, everyone commented on how much food there was and what a nice alternative to a sit down meal it was. We had canapes in the garden before hand, and in the evening Ian and Tina Brodie did their fantastic burger bar for us and as an alternative to a cake we had a 3 tier cheese board!
Our favourite part of the day...
There were so many wonderful parts, the ceremony was beautiful, neither of us were nervous, Tanice had made sure everything ran like clockwork, drinks and canapes in the garden were lovely, it was so nice to see everything laughing and relaxing. The speeches given by our sons just blew us away, it was a very emotional day.
The plan we felt worked well on the day....
I think offering our guests the “unlimited” Prosecco during the day worked brilliantly. We couldn’t afford to have a “free bar” but this was the next best thing for our guests, it felt like we were really able to treat everyone, and as Dodmoor don’t charge corkage in the day it meant we could. Having the relaxed informal theme really meant that the day ran like clockwork, there was no stuffiness, everyone was relaxed, the weather was perfect and everybody had a great time.
Our entertainment....
We have Taylormade perform an acoustic session in the garden after the ceremony, and they performed with their band in the evening. They even rehearsed and sung our first dance for us which was so special.
Where do we felt our budget was really well spent.....
Our budget went really far, largely because of the food choices we made, it meant that we could splash out on other parts of the wedding without feeling like we’d made any short cuts.
The personal touches we loved....
The Honeymoon Suite at Dodmoor is just stunning, it’s so personal. The staff make you feel like the only married couple in the world. They put a selection of cheese in our room and sweeties from the sweet cart for the end of our night, it’s just the little things, warm cookies in the morning whilst I was getting ready before the ceremony. Just amazing attention to detail.
Our recommended suppliers....
We loved Olive Events who decorated the venue for us, supplied the sweet cart, and donut wall. Tina and Ian Brodie were amazing for the food. And of course Taylormade, the band.
Top tip for future Dodmoor couples...
Above all, have the wedding that YOU want to have, not the wedding that you feel you are expected to have. We arranged our wedding in 5 months and we had such a fun time organising it, we invited who we wanted to invite, and we did it our way. It was perfect.
Special thanks to Nicola and Steven for sharing their story, and Ketan Photography for the photos x
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