I’m your typical girl who has dreamed of her wedding day for years. I had planned in my head exactly how my day would be when the time finally arrived. Having waited what I thought was an age for Mark to propose (it was actually only three years, three months, but who’s counting), there was no holding me back when it came to setting a date and getting planning.
I already knew our venue had to have that wow factor. I wanted our guests to be blown away when they turned up to watch us say our vows. Our home is full of character and charm and we wanted that same feel at our wedding venue. We’d looked at a few options online and were all geared up to visit two– we liked the inside of one, the outside of the other. Then my mum suggested we check out Leez Priory. Immediately we both fell in love with the photos on the website and scrapped the others on the list, booking a viewing as soon as possible. Everything about Leez was simply perfect, magical. I’d never seen Mark smile so widely as the day we were shown around. At every turn, there was a detail or a feel that we loved. We were sold and a date was set for just seven months time!
Now I have to admit to being a total control freak. I must have driven our co-ordinator Sue bonkers in those few small months with emails full of queries and requests, not that she ever showed it. We obviously wanted our day to be that real-life dream, I wanted my fairy tale. Most of all, we wanted our day to be individual and personal to us. When we asked for alternatives like a tower of mini cheesecakes for our wedding “cake” and for pots of tea to be served during a garden party between our ceremony and wedding breakfast, the answer was always “of course”. More importantly, when we explained to Sue about my poorly stepdad being brought to Leez by his carers after our ceremony for a precious moment and a few photos, it still was nothing too much and one of our favourite rooms (with those comfy red sofas) was set aside for that private time.
In the days running up to our Big Day, I was constantly asked if I was nervous or stressed or panicked. Nope, the only emotion I felt was sheer excitement about marrying my best friend in our fairy tale location. That was because I knew the day would be our dream as Sue had all our wishes noted down to the very last detail – we were adamant the napkins had to be rolled, with twine tied around and a sprig of Gypsophila displayed! We knew it would be right as Sue had spent hours with us going over it all, taking photos and notes along the way – perfect to settle someone’s perfectionist mind, like mine!
No words can really describe our wedding day– June 1, 2013. It ran like clockwork, with not a sign of stress or panic from me or Mark or anyone else around us. Sue was our angel, sent to grant our every wish. When my nine-year-old stepdaughter lost one bridesmaid shoe during the wedding breakfast (don’t ask!), Sue whisked her back from the coach house to the bridal dressing room to get changed. When the bridesmaids got chilly, it was Sue who fetched their wraps. When we were enjoying ourselves too much to stop and have our first dance, Sue simply delayed it until we were ready. And when we got back to our bridal cottage exhausted and hungry, it was Sue who had made sure we had two platters of food waiting for us!
The best thing any couple can say about their wedding day is true for us…it was the most magical, perfect day and we wouldn’t change a thing xx
Kelly Robertson
All pictures courtesy of: www.townandcountryphoto.co.uk
