We wanted the day to feel relaxed and for us to simply slip in to the beauty of our surroundings. Our wedding was intimate, romantic and informal. We always had this vision of ending our wedding day sitting under the stars on a warm evening and laughing with our family and friends, and that is exactly what we did. The moment we arrived our stresses washed away and the entire wedding was what I can only describe as effortless.

There’s no juicy story about our ‘first proper date’ haha. We both met ten years ago whilst working together at the airport. I saw Dale, I liked what I seen but he was made redundant and I thought I missed my chance. Three months later he returned, I sent him a friend request on Facebook. 

Unlike anyone else I know, he didn’t just accept my request, but messaged me to ask who I was before accepting. (the shame of having to explain) We ended up having a few chats in work before going on a few ‘day dates’. I wasn’t sure if they were friendship dates or romantic dates haha. But eventually we went on a date to the fair, to which Dale romantically threw-up because he couldn’t handle the spinning rides. We quickly left the rides behind and went to the cinema next door and had our first kiss and the rest as they say, is history.  

My dress was an off-the-shoulder mermaid style dress with a gently dipped sweetheart neckline. I went for a blush colour because it showed off the white floral lace. After trying on many different styles of dresses, the mermaid style was what made me feel like it accentuated my body shape the most and I felt it was the perfect size for an outdoor wedding. The designer of my dress was Viva Bride at Wed2be.

Manoir Beaulieu itself inspired our theme. Old, rustic, romantic and effortlessly beautiful. There was no need for huge extravagant dressing of the venue. Manoir Beaulieu has so much natural beauty and with it being a May wedding, the garden was in full bloom, so we decided to capture that and keep the table and barn dressing simple with only a few flower arrangements and twinkling lights.

Everything! Each course was more delicious than the last. Lauren and James created an outstanding menu for us. We started with a Charcuterie to share, followed by a Summer melon salad. The main course was a  Wood-fired spatchcock chicken with seasoned vegetables. This was followed by Seasonal fruit tarts and Cheese to share. We also had mouth-watering canapes after the ceremony.

Kodaline, The One

We’ve thought about this and we couldn’t pin-point one moment. As we chose to have a late afternoon ceremony, we had a leisurely breakfast and watched all the wedding preparations taking place around us whilst feeling totally relaxed. From our romantic ceremony, to dinner by the pool with music gently drifting through the air, to dancing the night away in the barn and many walks through the magical firefly lit up secret pathway, we lived our dream from start to finish. Each moment was more perfect than the last and to pick just one moment wouldn’t be possible.

We hope to live a long and happy marriage and to continue building on the life we have. To hopefully have a baby and bring him or her back to Manoir Beaulieu with our family for holidays and eventually renew our vows in years to come, because once in a lifetime isn’t enough. We want to do it all again!

Plan the wedding you both want and not the wedding others say you should have. Don’t stress over the small details, because on the day they don’t matter. Enjoy the build up to the day, because afterwards you will miss all the planning. Most importantly though, find some time to spend alone together during the day to take it all in. Even though our wedding day was small and intimate, we cherished those moments we spent alone together. Live in the moment and enjoy every minute of the day, because it goes by so fast.