How we met:
On Tinder officially, but Max initiated a conversation on Instagram. We were both at university in Newcastle at the time.
The proposal...
Magical! Max had planned a long weekend away with our old English Springer (RIP Coops) in Weymouth, Dorset. He booked a lovely cabin in the countryside and had planned to take us to Durdle Door the day after we arrived, however the weather did not look promising, so he decided to do it the day before he planned. I had never been to Dorset, or any idea of what he had planned that weekend. We drove to Durdle Door, the sun was just setting, breezy but still beautiful. We walked over towards a hill where it was a little bit quieter, as Max knows my worst nightmare is for people to witness it! He set up his phone, propped up inside his backpack ready to take a video which we always did, as Max hates asking people for a photo so we just take a video and then screenshot it! We wanted to take a photo with the lovely Durdle door in the background, two people walked past and I had asked them to take a photo of us, but Max was so adamant he was going to get it right, which of course, now makes total sense. Not long after this, he was ready to stop and take the photo with me and Coops. After we got the ‘photo’, to my surprise, he was telling me how much he loved me, us and our life, and that he wanted to marry me. He then got on one knee and revealed the ring, which was shining beautifully with the sunset. As you already know, I said yes. And then Coops decided that he was over the gushing and crying from us both, and needed the toilet. We then went to a lovely restaurant pub for dinner.
What made us choose Dodmoor for our special day...
Whilst we were still living in Portsmouth, and then put an offer down on a house in the village we now live in, we knew that we wanted to get married local to our family. We both did some research just to see what was out there, and to get some inspiration as to what we wanted as our venue. We had taken a mental note of a few venues in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire but hadn’t viewed any of them. Max came across Dodmoor House online and submitted an enquiry, to which your staff responded that you had a cancellation in August on offer. We were quite surprised that you had responded so quickly, and luckily we were visiting family for a long period of time which meant that we could arrange a viewing. We viewed the venue and fell in love with it, we could really imagine us and our guests there. It was perfect for what we wanted – an intimate, rustic and simple venue which also matched our budget. Not only that, but we were also so impressed with the lady who was showing us around, telling us about the venue, the different ways to style it and all the different things we could do to really make the day unique to us. From day one, the staff at Dodmoor House have been so kind, attentive and creative. We could trust that the staff would always do their best to make sure that the planning process was smooth (which it was), and any hiccups were dealt with, as well as the logistics of everything attached to a wedding.
The venue itself is beautiful as is, without decorations so any extras make it so much more special. Not to mention the lovely lawn and canal close by. There is also a contingency plan for every eventuality, rain or shine, which made us feel even more reassured! There are so many reasons why we ‘picked’ Dodmoor house even though it was the only venue that we had viewed, which we can’t quite put on paper.
Our vision for the day...
Rustic/Italian style, very relaxed and simple, blush/dusky pink theme with some boho style (pop of neutrals -linen, dried pampas/bunny tails).
The food...
Cold Buffet by Passion Food Events – which everyone complimented as most people don’t want to eat much at weddings!
Our Favourite part of the day...
The ceremony
What made Dodmoor stand out, as a venue...
The relaxed and intimate vibe of the venue, the fact they allow you to really personalise your day to how you want to do it, and also the pre-planning meeting and having a coordinator on the day really put us at ease during the planning process and on the day.
The ideas we felt really worked well on the day...
Cold buffet – we had so many people comment on this being such a good idea for a wedding.
Moving the Dodmoor arch from the ceremony to the reception and re-using foliage and bridesmaids flowers!
Entertainment we put on...
Photobooth and Live Band. Photobooth was well worth it as we got some photos and memories captured!
Where we feel our budget was well spent...
Photobooth!
Personal touches that reflected us as a couple...
Abundance of snacks!
Suppliers that we used and loved...
Tim Hill Photography – we have so many amazing photos from our pre-wedding shoot and the day itself that we will cherish forever. He has great attention to detail and a real passion for his work.
JulieAnna Flowers – she was amazing and really made our vision come to life with our budget in mind.
Advice to other couple's...
Something during the day will be different to how you imagined it to be; just embrace it and remember what the day truly means to both of you, and why you are doing it
Special thanks to Vanessa and Max for sharing their story, and to Tim Hill for the photos x
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