How we met...
On a dating app! We missed each other our whole lives going to the same school, working for the same company and joining a running club weeks apart. Thank god for dating apps-we finally found each other!
The proposal...
So cute! We were on a gondola in Venice. Abbie secretly asked the gondolier to record when we got to a quiet part. Abbie got down on one knee and popped the question. Rosie also had a ring hidden her bag and said she had something to ask Abbie too. Double proposal!
The Outfits!
We both went for beautiful a-line ivory dresses, both had a very similar lace pattern and very similar veils, we didn’t pick them both out together but they did still compliment one another perfectly
The vision and theme for the day...
Our vision for the day was a relaxed but structured day. A chilled out celebration with family and friends. Nothing overly formal! We had a traditional ceremony but the rest of the day was a laid back vibe. We skipped the 3 course sit down meal and speeches. We had toasts and speeches with bubbly straight after the ceremony in the courtyard and had a grazing buffet and drinks throughout the afternoon. Our colours were sage green & white. We went for a rustic vibe.
Why we chose Dodmoor for our special day...
As soon as we saw Dodmoor, we felt like it was the perfect venue for us! It’s so beautiful, totally our vibe and the staff were so so lovely. We loved that there was flexibility in what vendors we had
and a no corkage fee option so we could truly
make the day our own.
Food...
We skipped the whole sit down meal! We had a beautiful grazing buffet for our day guests and in the evening, we had a pizza van that went down a treat. Not forgetting the goodies we had available all day for our guests! We had a donut wall, crisp wall and pick'n'mix station.
Rosie’s favourite part of the day:
Walking down the aisle towards the love of my life, my future wife! Seeing Abbie stood at the end of the aisle in her wedding dress waiting for me, smiling. She looked absolutely beautiful. I’ll never forget that moment.
I also loved our entrance as the new Mrs & Mrs! The DJ introduced us and we waved to all our guests from the mezzanine. It was an amazing feeling seeing all our loved ones in one room celebrating us and our love. We also did our double bouquet throw straight after from the mezzanine which was fun!
Abbie’s favourite part of the day:
Other than marrying the love of my life (which is of course a stand-out moment) my favourite parts of the day were the first and last dances of the evening, the first dance was such a special moment as we went straight into it from our bouquet throw and cake cut, so being surrounded by all our loved ones and them all joining in half way through the song was a moment I will never forget. The last dance of the night was “You’ve Got the Love”, dancing along to that with my Wife after a few too many Proseccos knowing that the night was drawing to a close, I really tried to take the time to treasure those last few minutes and the start of our new chapter as newlyweds.
How Dodmoor as a venue stood out to us...
Its beauty! We loved the converted barns, all the fairy lights, the beautiful grounds and all the little touches around the venue.
Our plan for the day...
We got ready in separate rooms at Dodmoor. Dodmoor staff were really helpful at helping us move around the venue and get to the top of the aisle with all the bridal party without the guests seeing us and of course without us brides seeing each other either.
The toasts and speeches straight after the confetti throw worked really well. Guests walked straight out of the ceremony barn to be greeted with bubbly by Dodmoor staff and directed towards the courtyard for the speeches and group photo. We feel it helped set the chilled vibe for the rest of the day.
The entertainment...
As we were going for a more relaxed vibe, we had Dodmoor’s background music playing through the speakers whilst a caricaturist and magician (Rosie’s brother!) floated around, entertaining day guests as they helped themselves to food and drinks.
In the evening, we had a photobooth with props that went down a treat and we had Rob Lawes DJ who kept the dancefloor going all night!
Where we felt our budget was well spent...
The grazing buffet, the pizza van and the decor we hired were absolute bargains and everyone said how lovely the food was and how pretty the additional decor was.
Personal touches that reflected us as a couple...
We wanted our family involved as much as possible on our big day, so as well as family being in the bridal party and doing speeches, we had one of Abbie’s sisters do our bridal hair for us both, we had one of Rosie’s brothers play the guitar as we both walked down the aisle and one of Rosie’s other brothers show off his magician skills during the reception.
In the ceremony barn we had a ‘pick a seat not a side, either way it’s for a bride’ sign. A little touch we both loved. We had a memorial table with photos of our loved ones that are no longer here but we wanted to be part of our special day. We wanted the guests to be comfortable so we provided flip flops and blankets in the evening. Even though we didn’t have a sit down meal, we still wanted to have wedding favours. Our mums made personalised ‘Abbie & Rosie’ biscuits with our wedding date on.
We wanted to make sure guests didn’t go hungry so we had tasty treats throughout the day/night; a donut wall, crisp wall & pick & mix station
Suppliers we used and would recommend:
The Green Grazer catering - the grazing buffet for our day guests. Danni made the buffet look beautiful and we had so many compliments on the food.
Tie The knot Photography - Becca made us feel comfortable and at ease with her kindness and humour.
Jemma Swinfield make up artist - Jemma made us feel beautiful by doing our make up and even helped out last minute with hair for some of the bridal party that wasn’t ready yet.
Rob Lawes DJ - beautiful DJ stand and great music all night long.
Our tip to other couples:
Make a pact to take a minute or two out of your day as a newlyweds to take it all in! We were given this advice and we are so glad that we were. The big day zooms by at a ridiculous speed, so little moments to take it all in are key!
Also, try not to sweat the small stuff. If the centre pieces don’t go to plan, or your cake looks wonky- it doesn’t matter! Try to remember the important things of the day- you’re marrying your soulmate with all your loved ones there to support you ❤️.
A heartfelt thank you to the lovely new Mrs. and Mrs. Ellis-Green for sharing their enchanting story and magical wedding day with us! A special mention also to Tie The Knot photography and Rob Lawes Entertainments for the stunning photographs!
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