Tell us about the proposal…
“Mitchell and I met when we were at school, I was 14 and he was 15. We’d been together for 9 years and we were in Ireland both working for a couple of weeks. We went out for an anniversary meal. He wrote me a card and had a present on the table, I was annoyed with him as we agreed on no gifts and I didn’t get him anything, he said to me halfway through the meal “do you want to open your card” and at the bottom of the card it said WILL YOU MARRY ME? I looked up and there he was on one knee. I immediately said YES! It was a complete surprise.”
What were your first steps in planning a wedding?
“We knew we wanted to get married pretty soon as we were planning to move to the USA in the next year. We got engaged in June and Mitchell was set to move in November, we decided that November was too soon and began looking at dates the following June as that was our anniversary time and was special to us. I contacted lots of venues and we just went to see as many as we could.”
What made you choose Leez Priory?
“We loved everything about Leez Priory, the incredible view you got of the grounds when you arrived in the car park, how hidden away it was from the outside world, the options we had for the ceremony and the wedding breakfast and the cottage to stay the night before was just perfect! After considering all options (dates, prices and location) Leez Priory was the one! We booked Leez Priory on June 30th, 2016 and one year later we got married on June 30th, 2017.”
Where did you get your wedding ideas from and what were your ‘must have’s’?
“Pinterest played quite a big role in my inspiration. I had an idea of what we wanted and we were both very involved in the process. We were quite young when we got married and hadn’t been to many other weddings other than our best friend and parents. We were inspired by both of their days which helped us plan ours!
We knew we wanted a venue which was not too far. We wanted to ensure all of our guests would be able to make it. We also knew we needed accommodation as we wanted our friends and family to be with us the next morning and enjoy every part of the wedding with us.”
How did you organise your wedding budget?
“We had both worked hard to get good jobs so that helped with our budget. We did make sure we were reasonable with what we could afford and we tried to stick to that as much as possible. We did start our wedding planning with an open mind as we didn’t know much about weddings and how much things cost.”
What was your biggest wedding splurge and saving?
“We spent the most money on the venue followed by the photographer and videographer.
I managed to find the bridesmaid dresses I wanted. They were originally around £99 and then went into the sale for £32, I also had a friend that worked there so after also using the friends and family discount I managed to get all of the dresses for under £100!”
Where did you have your ceremony and wedding breakfast?
“We had our ceremony outside under the tower. My Stepdad walked me down the aisle. Our wedding breakfast was in the Coach House Barn.”
What did you choose for your welcome drinks and food throughout the day?
Welcome Drinks
Summer Pimms
Strawberry Bellini
Bottles of Corona
Candy Stand
Giant Strawberries
Haribo Love hearts
Milk bottles
Flying Saucers
Sweet Bananas
Chocolate mini eggs
Canapes
Buckwheat Blinis with Smoked Salmon and sour cream
Welsh rarebit bite (V)
Free range honey chilli Chicken skewers
Tempura King Prawn
Salt and pepper Squid
Smoked Duck Croquette
Wedding Breakfast
Starter
Crayfish Cocktail
Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper
Avocado and Hummus Salad and Toasted Pitta Bread
Main Course
Traditional Roast Topside of Beef with Yorkshire Pudding
Goan Vegetable Curry with Coconut Infused Rice
Trio of Dessert
Eton Mess
Chocolate and salted caramel brownie
Baked New York Style Cheesecake
Evening Buffet
Hot and Cold Fork Buffet
Did you have any evening entertainment?
“We had both a band and a DJ.
My Mum had a band called Dirty Wafer and everyone loved them so we had them at our wedding too! They got everyone up dancing.”
Tell us about your first dance…
“Our song was ‘Better together’ by Jack Johnston. We had listened to so many songs together but this was the one that we loved. The day before our wedding an Ed Sheeran song came on the radio and we nearly changed our mind… I’m glad we didn’t!”
What was your favourite part of the day?
“My favourite part of the day was the meal. It was the first time I was able to stop for a moment and just see everyone we loved together in one room celebrating Mitchell and I. The day really does fly by and it is so nice just to take a moment to take it all in.”
Please share your top tips…
“As long as your day is perfect to the two of you then nothing else matters.”
“Our wedding day was honestly the best day of our life’s, yes it sounds cliche but its 100% the truth. Every moment was so special for us and we would just love to relive the day all over again. We moved to the USA a month after our wedding so for us it was the perfect way to celebrate with our friends and family.”
Wedding suppliers…
“We chose some of our suppliers from the recommended suppliers out of the Bridebook and some of them were recommendations from friends and family.”
Flowers: Penny Jane Flowers
Cake: BuBackes Cakes
Photographer & Videographers: Inverve
Dj & Band: Funkbox and Dirty Wafer
