Say "Hello" to our Real Brides

"Where was your wedding venue and how did you know it was the one? "

We got married at West Bridgford Registry Office and had our reception at Springfield Events Hall.

For the registry office, we weren't very picky but our photographer recommended West Bridgford and we are so glad he did. It was a lovely setting. Springfield was the first place we viewed as it is down the road from us and we liked the idea of keeping everything quite local. We loved it straight away, it was casual but still special. Ashley, the owner, was great and made us feel really at ease. The building is beautiful and you could really do as much or as little to it as you wanted.

"What was your favorite part about finding your wedding dress?" 

The shock that I found one!!! I had tried on some dresses from Monsoon and had one I liked. I went to Elegance Bridal in Sandiacre, really just because I thought I might as well go and see what a 'real' wedding dress would be like. I had no intention of buying one - so much so that I went on my own! I tried on 6-7 dresses and I completely fell in love with my one. 

"How would you describe your wedding day style? "

Relaxed and full of fun.

"How did you and your partner meet?"

We met on Bumble!

 "What are some of the unique details you incorporated into your wedding?"

I'm not sure we did anything super unique. We had an interactive crossword which I loved. We play the NYT crossword together most days so that was unique to us. The lay out of the day was a bit different. We had just close family at our ceremony. We then all came back to our house and had some food and photos and chilled out for a few hours before going to the reception. We skipped the wedding breakfast and top table and it wasn't something we were keen on doing. I loved having the chill out time in between! 

"Did you come across any challenges when wedding planning, or is there anything you'd do differently? "

We planned the wedding very quickly - within 6 months and in some ways this was great and we made decisions very quickly. But in other ways it meant we didn't always have the time to think things through. We wished we had invited less people to the eating/speeches and then invited more people to the drinks and dancing later. That was an example of a decision we made without realising there was another option!

The biggest challenge I found was getting very easily sucked into thinking you need EVERYTHING. I would watch videos about what other people were doing and think you had to have xy and z. Or my parents would suggest we needed something. But I had to keep reminding myself that there aren't actually any rules, you can do whatever you want!

"What are some of your favorite memories of your wedding day? " 

Hearing my husband's vows was so special. I honestly didn't think that the ceremony would feel as special as it did, but it is something I'll never forget. I managed to get his first and middle name mixed up - something I will never live down!

I loved all the speeches at the wedding. It is hard to pick just a few moments, it felt really humbling to have all the people you love in one place to celebrate with you.

"What advice would you give to other couples when choosing wedding vendors?" 

Go with your gut! We made decisions quickly but we made them based on the feeling we got from people. We loved the owner of our venue and he recommended our photographer who was excellent. I researched hair and make up artists and Catherine was so friendly and helpful and lovely in her messages so I went with her. And I was absolutely right in my assessment! Catherine made my niece's morning doing her hair and make up. She felt so grown up and special sitting in the makeup chair. We all had such a nice morning with Catherine, she made it all feel very relaxed which was so needed going into the chaos of the day!

"Did anything unexpected happen on the day? "

I managed to get lipstick on my dress getting into the limo to the ceremony! Luckily our registrar managed to get it off. There were other things throughout the day that weren't perfect but honestly nothing that made any difference to the day. It went smoothly. 

I probably could have worked out some of the timings of the day a bit better and left more wiggle room. But ultimately, nothing that made the day any less amazing.

"How did you both feel at the end of the day? "

A bit in shock with it all I think! We were exhausted but SO grateful that everybody made the effort to come and celebrate with us. We couldn't really believe it had all happened and it was all over. We spent several hours going through all the photos and videos our friends had taken on our phones for us and reliving it all!