Names.… Laura & Daniel

Wedding Date… 11 August 2011

The Proposal.… We booked a weekend away in London and travelled up on a Sunday. Unfortunately there were masses of engineering works on the tube so it took most of the day to get to our hotel; The Hilton in Canary Wharf.  When we finally got to our stop, we left the station to find a restaurant called ‘Tompkins’. Dan wanted to take a photo of me outside the restaurant but I was in such a strop and just wanted to get to the Hotel so I could have a shower! I later found out Dan had planned to aske me ‘if I didn’t want to be a Tompkin anymore’ but I didn’t give him the chance! Ooops! As soon as we got into the Hotel, I dumped my bags and ran for a shower. When I came out, with my make up down my face in a robe, Dan was acting really strangely and looking towards the bed. When I looked, there was a Links of London box there. He told me he had bought me a charm for my bracelet as a thank you for being a super girlfriend lately. When I opened the box, it was an engagement ring charm. Dan then got down on one knee and asked if I would be his wife. It was such a shock and I left him down on one knee until I had checked whether or not our parents knew (which of course they did as Dan had visited them!) I said yes and we went out for dinner and drank far too much champagne. We went and chose a ring the next day! :)

The Vision of the Day… We always thought we would like an informal day — really relaxed and not too traditional. We wanted afternoon tea and started collecting vintage crockery and accessories to decorate the venue.

The planning process.… was great and friends and family enjoyed collecting crockery and items for our big day. Venue and caterers were number one on the list.. We visited our venue and immediately fell in love with it. It was the first and last venue we saw. Our caterers also knew exactly what we wanted — my brother had also chosen the same caterers two years previously. I chose my dress from the first shop I went to too, along with my veil and accessories.

The Venue… Farbridge Barn, Lavant, Chichester. As mentioned previously, the first and last we saw. A smaller ceremony barn — really intimate and leads out onto an immaculate courtyard surounded by fields. The main barn which is where the reception was held. We were very lucky to be able to set the venue up the day before!

The Dress and Accessories… Dress  — Hunter by Maggie Sottero. Veil — two layers with lace detail. Hair accessories — two vintage hair slides. I thought I knew what I wanted but shopping for my dress made me realise that clearly I didn’t! As soon as I tried this dress on, the seventh, I knew it was the one!

Grooms attire.…  Obviously a complete surprise until the day for Laura - A slim fit grey suit with white shirt. British racing green with cream polka dot silk scarves (worn by the dads, best man and ushers). Buttonholes.

The Readings + Music.… We had two readings read by my sister in law and a friend. Laura walked down the aisle to Anxo Lorenzo, Ivory Lady (you’ve probably not ever heard of this but we saw this group at a festival together and its a gorgeous piece of music) Signing of the register: Etta James, At Last. Walking out: I only wanna be with you.

Beautiful Bridesmaids… four (two cousins and two friends) all under 14. One flower girl aged two. Bridesmaids wore Olive green dresses with cream sashes. All girls carried a bouquet of dried lavender.

The Flowers.. A vintage bouquet containing amnesia roses, thistles, mint and anenomes. Similar flowers for the table. Amnesia roses for buttonholes. There was also lots of dried lavender around the barn which smelt gorgeous!

The Honeymoon… We went to Careys Manor & SenSpa in Brockenhurst the day after the wedding (a very generous gift from Laura’s brother and sister in law). We are going to Dreams La Romana in Dominican Republic in April next year for two weeks all inclusive.

Memorable moments… The whole day was a complete whirlwind, but seeing Dan at the bottom of the aisle was definitely the highlight! I hope his answer would be seeing me!

Advice for other couples… Do what you want to do! Its your day. Take time to think about what you want to achieve with the look of your wedding before making decisions. Most importantly; try and enjoy every minute!!

Dress:   A Bride to Bee, Warsash

Flowers: The Flower Studio, Portchester

Venue:  Farbridge Barn, Lavant, Chichester

Crockery & accessories: Laura Jane’s Vintage Tea Set Hire www.ljtea.co.uk - my new venture to try and re-use the crockery we spent time collecting!

Cake — made by a friend

Hair — done by a friend

Campervan — belongs to my brother

Catering: Vanilla Catering, Swanwick

DJ: Friend, and Photography: Cotton Candy Photography