This post has taken a long time to put together – trying to find the right balance of sharing our special day without a. revealing too much and b. boring you. There’s also so much that I’m proud of and wanted to share. I hope I’ve managed to strike the right balance, and I hope you enjoy this post! I will be posting about specific parts of our wedding in much more detail throughout the coming months – including how I made my wedding bouquets, supplier reviews and more! There’s a mixture of official photographer photos, as well as photos the guests have sent. Enjoy…

The day before…

Wide awake bright and early, the plans for today involved setting up the wedding venue. Along with two of my friends it took us around 3 hours (and 3 car loads!) to get the venue set up. The rest of the day was spent chasing Debenhams for the wedding suits (there will be a full post about that soon). I spent that night at my Dad’s house, in my teenage bedroom.

The wedding day…

Up bright and early again, I eagerly awaited the arrival of my bridesmaids and bridesman. We headed to the hairdressers for 9am, and there began the transformation process.

Afterwards, starving and short on time, we headed to the Co-op to buy some snacks and all important toothpaste and hairspray. Whilst there I caught a glimpse of the reduced shelf…and it was so full of amazing goodies, I had to resist buying stuff. It genuinely took me ages to walk away, whilst I debated how I could get things into our freezer without Tony and I seeing each other. I eventually managed to pull myself away and I’m still thinking about those sweet chilli sausages for 99p.

We headed to my Dad’s house and one glimpse at the time had me stressing out majorly. Tony would be arriving at my Dad’s house any minute to pick him up – but I still had to collect my dress and get to the venue. Cue a few minutes of what I like to call flapping (and what my bridesmaids might call “Emma yelling at us”), two cars were loaded and we were on our, making the 35 minute journey to Chippenham Park.

We arrived around 11.30-12, and I cannot tell you what happened and when. It all went by in a blur until suddenly I was being called to meet the registrar and then walk down the aisle! As we were starting to walk down the aisle, my Dad started with saying how much my Mum would have loved to be there – I ended up snapping at him and tell him to shut up, much to the amusement of my bridesmaids.

The moment I saw Tony, everything was just perfect – I couldn’t hold back my smile! He looked so handsome and I was so excited that I was about to become his wife. Everything felt so right. The ceremony involved lots of smiles whilst also trying to hold back all the tears.

We chose two readings to be read out by Tony’s niece and Tony’s best friend:

He’s Not Perfect – Bob Marley

He’s not perfect. You aren’t either, and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold onto him and give him the most you can. He isn’t going to quote poetry, he’s not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break. Don’t hurt him, don’t change him, and don’t expect for more than he can give. Don’t analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he’s not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don’t exist, but there’s always one guy that is perfect for you.

Getting Married Means You’ll Have – unknown

Getting married means you’ll have Someone’s hand to hold,
Even when you’re feeling sick, Even when you’re old.
It means when you sit down to eat, Someone will be there,
So you won’t have to tell your day To an empty chair.
It means that when you need some help, Someone will help out,
Someone always near to you So you won’t have to shout.
But best of all is when it’s time To turn out all the lights:
You won’t have to be alone Those long and scary nights.
So even though you don’t have toys, You don’t have to care:
Once you’re married you can be Each other’s teddy bear!

And before I knew it, we were married!

Drinks reception

Immediately after the ceremony, we headed off to the rose terrace for our drinks reception. Our caterers served Buck’s Fizz, soft drinks and the most amazing canapes ever. We were adamant that we wanted to have canapes at our wedding, as there’s ages between the ceremony and the wedding breakfast.

 

Soon someone let me know that the ice cream van was ready. I can say a lot about Sweet Allys Scoops, but I’m saving it for a dedicated blog post. Let me just say that Ally, her ice cream and her van are just perfect!

After the drinks reception and our photographer taking us for some photos, we headed to the marquee for our wedding breakfast. We had chosen a more informal BBQ meal, served to the tables, followed by 5 mini desserts and speeches.

Fireworks & dessert party

We both absolutely love Disney’s Wishes Dessert Party, and we decided to try to recreate it at our wedding – as a surprise for our guests. Our caterers created a gorgeous dessert table, and we asked our guests to join us outside for a surprise. After a few minutes the fireworks started (courtesy of Lakenheath Fireworks). It was pretty expensive, but something we budgeted for from day 1.

So there it is – our wedding day. It was the perfect day for us. It was everything we wanted and more. We were so blessed to have amazing friends and family take time off work on a weekday to celebrate with us!

I will be writing individual posts on each aspect of our wedding, including vendor reviews, suppliers we used and how we DIYed different aspects. If you have any particular questions then leave a comment below letting me know!

Vendors

Venue – Chippenham Park
Catering – Crown Catering Cambridge
Photographer – Sparkes Photography
Ice cream van – Sweet Ally Scoops
Flowers – DIY
Hairdresser – Tanya Constable
Make up – DIY
Wedding dress – Heart Brides
Bridesmaid dresses – Quiz
Suit hire – Debenhams
Photobooth Giggle Booth
DJ – Wedding Party Events
Fireworks – Lakenheath Fireworks