Lydia & Daniel’s Real Life Weddings

Laura Gadd | February 25th

What started over a hot stove ended up in a beautiful Tudor Manor

Tell us about the proposal – how and where did it happen?

The proposal happened at home whilst I was cooking dinner. Daniel got down on one knee and proposed and as we had been joking about it for so long, I asked him to get the ring if he was being serious. He came back with an over-the-top token ring brought from amazon which I secretly loved. It meant we could then go ring shopping which was amazing to do this together.

What was your first step in planning your wedding, did you use blogs/magazines etc?

The first thing we booked was the venue as we could then start booking everything around the space and have an idea of what we were working with. Pinterest and Instagram were my best friends in helping to get ideas.

What were your wedding “must have’s”?

The most important thing we wanted was to celebrate with our family and friends, and Leez Priory helped with this as we were able to have the whole venue to ourselves. We loved having different spaces throughout the venue for all our guests to enjoy, whether this was dancing on the dancefloor, having a go on the photobooth in the Light Oak Room or sitting down for a breather in the Tudor Room.

Wedding budget: how did you organise your wedding budget?

We didn’t have a set budget but also didn’t want to spend a small fortune, so we spent a lot of time researching our non-negotiables and talking to friends who were recently married as this gave us a realistic insight. We also did a lot of online research as to what to expect and going to the open days at Leez Priory helped us to chat to suppliers and get a better insight to what they offered.

How did you find your venue and what made you choose it?

Leez Priory was the last venue we looked at and it was recommended to us by a friend so we decided to take a chance and book a viewing.

We were so glad we did, as were wowed by how pretty the venue looks on arrival. what we felt on arrival is exactly the feeling we wanted to give our guests and throughout the open day, we were continuously impressed with just how pretty it was, the amount of space we could have and we started to envision the big day. We knew by this point we had to book Leez Priory and when we found out we could get married on Daniels Nanna’s birthday, we knew it was a sign.

Styling your wedding: how did you personalise your big day?

The venue is such a beautiful backdrop that we didn’t want to take away from this by going overboard with decorations. We went with a more minimalistic approach, especially for the table decorations which enhanced the beauty of the coach house. We added some blossom trees to decorate the great hall at the alter that were moved to behind the top table which worked perfectly for a spring wedding.

We made the favours ourselves as we wanted to buy everyone a drink rather than something that was going to be left behind so decided to make tokens that the guests could use on the night and then also keep afterwards as a reminder of the day.

We met our cake supplier at an open day at Leez Priory and instantly fell in love with what she offered that we didn’t look elsewhere. The cake was delicious and had guests raving about it for days after. My favourite flavour being Porn star martini!

Describe your wedding attire and favorite accessories

The dress I chose was an A line dress which is something I never thought I’d wear as I’m more of a jeans and t-shirt kinda girl. The skirt had a champagne/blush colour to it which was more me rather than all white and I felt like a princess when everything came together with hair and make-up.

I’m not a high heel type of person (more like bambi on ice!) so I found a lace pair of converse which had Mrs written on the side and “Just Married” written on the bottom which meant my feet were comfy all day!

I originally was going to wear everyday pieces of jewellery that Daniel has brought me over the years as it was more personal to me but had a last-minute gift from Daniel of a necklace, making this my newest and most favourite piece of jewellery from Daniel!

What did your partner wear?

Dan and his best man, Matthew wore matching tails with different colour wait coats so Dan could stand out – Dan decided on pink and Matthew, grey. We also brought all ushers and both fathers matching ties like the best man’s so they could stand out against other guests and feel part of our special day.

Tell us about your wedding party and their outfits

I asked all three of my bridesmaids individually as I wanted to see their reaction and it felt more personal. I’ve known them all for years and I couldn’t have done this milestone without them. The dresses I chose were multiway dresses which meant the bridesmaids could style them various different ways so they could be more involved and also feel comfortable. Our colour theme was pastels and I absolutely loved the lilac colour I went with, it looked gorgeous on all three bridesmaids.

What was your ceremony like?

We were meant to be getting married outside in front of the tower but as it was raining, we got married in the great hall. We kept our ceremony short and simple as we don’t normally like being the centre of attention. Daniel was extremely calm whereas I was nervous but as I got to the end of the aisle, our 2yr old twin nieces said our names out loud which got a laugh and instantly made me feel more comfortable!

Tell us about your drinks reception and wedding breakfast

We had a small number of photos we wanted to get with family and the wedding party which we had to do inside because of the rain. However, we had such a gorgeous backdrop in front of the fireplace that the rain didn’t stop us from getting some amazing pictures. We were then free to enjoy the canapes and welcome drinks whilst mingling with all of our favourite people.

We decided to do speeches before the meal so everyone could relax and enjoy the food. Just after the speeches was when we gave everyone their favours which were the drinks tokens – these had been personalised to say “enjoy a drink on us” …. apart from both fathers and the best mans which said “This round is on you” which got a laugh …. once they realised it was a joke!

Did you have a band or DJ for your evening reception? Did you have a first dance – what song did you choose?

We went with the resident DJ and couldn’t have been happier with our choice. There were always guests on the dance floor and song requests were welcomed… even the questionable ones!

Our first dance was to David Greys “This years love” as it is such a great song and personal to us. It was lovely to get everyone we love dancing along with us too, such a special moment.

Based on your own experience, give us some top tips:

Enjoy every second of it. It’s such a long day but time flies when you are having fun.

Do what you want to do, don’t let anyone sway your decisions. It’s easy for the day to get out of control.

Stay by your partners side, this day is all about you two so enjoy every minute together!

Did you go on a honeymoon or mini-moon?

We went on a mini moon a couple of days after the wedding to Brighton and the weather was amazing! I’d highly recommend taking a couple of days out to let the special day sink in and relive all the photos and stories. We are planning our honeymoon for the start of 2025, possibly even for our first anniversary. We were lucky enough to get contributions as gifts which will make it more special to us and gives us time to plan the honeymoon of a lifetime.

“If we could do it all again, we’d…”
We wouldn’t change a thing! The day was absolutely perfect!