How we met...
Working at TUI Travel together in the Weddings department.
The proposal...
It was Vik’s 30th Birthday and I’d got 30 days of presents, with the intention to propose as the last day. Unfortunately, all her friends sussed this out, so I had to play coy and changed to proposing on our six year anniversary, which was in the middle of the 30 days!
Our vision for the day...
No theme, we just wanted to eat good food, drink lots and dance with our friends and family, and hope that they also had a great time with us!
What we wore...
James had a lovely blue tweed suit, with a low-cut grey waistcoat and burgundy bow tie, which he got from Duncan James Menswear, in Walsall.
Vik wore Destin by Anna Serrano, from Wed2Be in Shirley. It had a full satin skirt with a bit of sparkle and pockets (which was her favourite part of it!)
Food and drink...
We gave our guest lots! Canapes included pigs in blankets and mini steak pies (plus others!). For the wedding breakfast we choose amazing bbq platters, provided by Adam at the Lazy Pig. The platter included; buffalo chicken wings, ribs, brisket, bbq pulled pork, cajun chicken thighs, mac and cheese, cajun wedges, slaw and pickles! It was ended with a selection of shot glass desserts. As we’d had a very meat-filled dinner, we chose to have something light and that could be eaten by hand for the evening – Toasties, including a festive mince pie toastie with brandy butter! These were provided by the Jabberwockey.
Our favourite part of the day...
Vik – “James’s speech. Because he put a lot of thought and effort into it, he did a great job delivering it and he surprised me that he could actually say nice things to me!”.
James – “Seeing Vik walk down the aisle and the ceremony itself. I had joked for two years that we had to get the ‘contract signing’ out the way so we could have fun, but I was surprised how blown away I was by seeing Vik, and how amazing it was saying our vows together.”
The idea that we felt really worked on the day...
The food and drink worked really well and we had so many comments on how much everyone enjoyed everything and how drunk people got because the Dodmoor staff did a great job topping up everyone’s drinks!
Entertainment...
We had a beer pong table set up in the evening, though I think our Flower Girl, Rosie, may have taken over the table and included herself in every game! The music was provided by the excellent Wedding Crashers, who got people dancing all night.
Where we felt that our budget was really well spent...
Flowers – as Vik did all these herself. They looked amazing, we still have them now and they were a lot cheaper than getting them done professionally. Honestly though, I don’t think there’s anything I think we paid too much for. The cost of the venue and everything that you did for us, not only on the day, but in the build-up too, was worth every penny (especially now that we know others getting married and what their venues aren’t doing for them).
The personal touches that really made the wedding day reflect us...
All of it. We did everything based on what we wanted and what was typical of what we’d do at home. From all the playlists that James created (and we still listen to now), to the food (that James would cook when hosting bbq’s at ours).
Our suppliers...
Adam at The Lazy Pig was great, he sorted everything food related and did us a great tasting evening beforehand. We’ve had so many comments saying it was the best wedding food guests had had!
Barney at The Jabberwockey did great with the Toasties, everyone said how lovely he and the toasties were.
Our photographer, Richard Shephard along with his colleague, Clive, were great. The highlights video that he did is amazing, and a great way to watch back the day in 8 mins.
Jayme and Joe, The Wedding Crashers, are a great band and great people! Had a few good nights watching them beforehand and they were always so welcoming and professional – and more importantly, know how to get a crowd dancing!
Claire Bache did Vik and the bridesmaid’s makeup and we would recommend her highly, as with the hairdresser, Hair by Jayne.
Wed2Be in Shirley were great. Vik got her dress on the first day of visiting and everyone there was really helpful.
Duncan James suits in Walsall were great and had a lovely selection of Tweed suits and were really helpful in getting everything down last minute, as James’s Best Man and Usher only arrived back over from New Zealand three days before the wedding.
Our tip for future Dodmoor couples....
Get married at Dodmoor House! We’re not even just saying it. Everyone made the whole process feel so easy, they did so much for us, and helped us make the wedding just the way that we wanted it to be.
The best piece advice we got was don’t spend time worrying about what everyone else will think or want. It’s your day and just do what you want, what you will enjoy and what you will look back on in in years to come and smile thinking about 😊
Outside of that, just have fun and take in as much as you can. All the clichés they say about the day going to quick are so true. We were able to get 15 minutes together in the bridal suite at around 9pm, which was a great chance to have a rest (it’s a tiring day!) and actually spend some time together.
And Vik’s last one is to have artificial flowers for the day. It meant we could keep costs down, have any flowers, regardless of season and the best part, we can now keep the bouquet in the lounge all year round! Plus, Vik and the bridesmaids had a lot of fun making them together.
A special thanks to Vikki and James for sharing their day with us, and Richard Shephard for the photos x