How long have you been together?
Matt and I have been together for 2 and a half years now.
How did you meet?
We met on Christmas Day 2016. We were both working in London on the Crossrail project and neither of us were feeling over the moon to be apart from family on Christmas Day but we both look back now and think how lucky we were to have worked that day, we would never have met otherwise.
When & how did you get engaged?
At the beginning our relationship was a crazy and exciting whirlwind. Matt lived in South West London, whilst I was in Hertfordshire, so we found ourselves travelling quite far to see each other. So five months in Matt moved to St Albans, and we set up home together.
We got engaged nine months after we met and we were on holiday in Bali. We were at a restaurant on a cliffside and there was a live band playing John Legend – John ended up as our first dance song.
Where did you hold your ceremony & reception?
When we first got engaged we both dreamt of getting married in Italy, but we found it very difficult to find a date that would be suitable for family and friends and wouldn’t be too hot (I burn VERY easily)!
We didn’t want our wedding planning to be stressful and this was fast becoming just that – so we went back to the drawing board and typed into google, “wedding venues in the UK that are next to a lake!”
Matt found The Dairy at Waddesdon Manor and we immediately had a good feeling. I had grown up just down the road from Waddesdon and knew how pretty Waddesdon Manor is. We visited and fell in love with the venue and decided to have both our ceremony and reception there.
What did your Bridal Gown look like?
I wore a white, Maggie Sottero dress which was very simple. The dress was a-line and had a pattern within the fabric. It was the complete opposite to what I had envisioned I would wear – I was hoping for a fitted mermaid dress!
What theme/colour scheme did you chose?
We went for soft pinks and ivories with silvery greenery. I have no idea why we picked this colour scheme, it just seemed the one we naturally went for. We didn’t want to detract away from The Dairy’s prettiness.
What was your favourite part of the day?
Kirsty – Aside from seeing Matt waiting for me, having all our family and friends in one place. The day went so quickly and with so much adrenaline I don’t remember much of the details of the day, but I do remember the feeling of being surrounded by everyone you care about.
Matt – spotting Kirsty peeking round before she walked down the aisle.
What was your one Wedding Day ‘Must Have’?
Good food, drink and music.
Would you change anything, or do you have any advice for currently engaged couples?
My advice would be to just enjoy the planning and time you have organising the day, don’t get too stressed out and worried about all the little details because you just won’t even notice most of them on the day.
Also, find a good florist who knows your venue, this makes a huge difference because they can share their ideas and they know what works. Flowers spark so many emotions on the day, so its important for them to be right!
Did you choose specific flowers for any special reason?
Not particularly. Peonies have always been my favourite flower.
How did you feel when you finally saw all the flowers in the venue for your special day?
They looked beautiful, they just added to the venue and made it even more special. Emma and her team had bought our vision to life and frankly this was a miracle because the descriptions of what we wanted were VERY vague and I kept changing my mind!
What were your feelings when Emma handed the bouquet to you?
I cried! These were the only tears of the day, I was just so relieved that they looked exactly as I had imagined and they were so beautiful. The bridesmaids and buttonholes were so beautiful, the whole party loved their flowers too.
Would you like to mention any particular wedding suppliers who assisted with your day?
All our suppliers were great.
- Photography – Marcus Charter
- Bridal Boutique – The Bridal House – Aston Clinton
- Make Up – Laura Carroll
- Hair – Charlotte Brazil
- Wedding Dress Designer – Maggie Sottero
- Wedding Cake – Sophie Victoria Cupcakes
- DJ – Disco Nyts
- Fairy Lights – Frank (DJ2Party)