Everyone said to me to take it all in, soak up every second, because it goes by so fast. And it really, really does.
From waking up at 5.25am, to going to bed at 3am, the day went by in what felt like a blink of an eye.
The excitement started on Friday, with a pampering day at my mum's house courtesy of my incredibly talented friend Claire. Claire made sure we were all preened to perfection and really kicked off the celebrations as me and my girls gathered together to start a weekend of fun.
We got to our venue late afternoon and, after checking in, I finally got to give the girls their gifts and I could not wait to see their faces as they opened them. It was such a special moment and I was so glad they liked everything I had picked for them. From there, it just got incredibly emotional.
We headed down to the bar and met my parents for a drink before going for a last supper. While down there, I was surprised with a gift box. Soph, my maid of honour, had told me the box contained a present for my parents. I felt awful when she said that - I hadn't got them anything!
However, it transpired that it was actually for me. It was a scrap book filled with letters from my family, Tom's family, and members of our bridal party. I was in bits before I even started reading them, It was such a beautiful touch and such a sentimental gift that I will keep forever.
Our evening was lovely and chilled, topped off with us all snuggled in bed watching Bridesmaids.
Saturday morning, as I lay in bed at 5.25am trying not to wake Soph up, I knew I wouldn't get back to sleep. I knew Amy was awake, she'd been messaging me like a kid on Christmas morning wanting to know when we were awake so she could come into our room! About 5.45am I knew Laura must have been awake too after hearing Amy, through the wall, scream "IT'S WEDDING DAY!"
If Laura wasn't awake already, she certainly was after that!
A relaxing bath later and I was joined by my mum, Amy and Laura. My hairdresser, Paula, arrived just before 7am. With a bride, three bridesmaids and a mother of the bride to get ready she really had her work cut out.
Straight away she got to work putting rollers in my mum's hair and sticking her under the hood (not sure what it's proper term is!) That provided plenty of entertainment early on, with my mum enjoying a crash course in Snapchat while looking like Frenchy from Grease.
Our incredibly talented make-up artist, Beth, arrived at 8am. Soph and Amy, complete with dressing gowns and slippers, went out to meet her and bring her to our room.
As the boys started to arrive at the venue it got even more exciting. I was getting my hair done and the girls were giving me a blow-by-blow account of who was arriving.
Everyone kept asking me if I was feeling nervous, but all I could feel was excitement. I was so, so excited!
When the gorgeous, amazing flowers were delivered I knew it was getting close. Before long, the videographers and photographers joined us in our bedroom - which was now rather full - and everything was in full swing.
Paula and Beth did an absolutely outstanding job, we were all ready right on time and before I knew what was happening we are all dressed and ready for photos.
Our gorgeous page boy, Mason, joined us in the room as well as my future sister-in-law, Lauren, who helped us all with finishing touches.
When my dad joined us, and saw me in my dress for the first time, it got a bit emotional. One of my 'something old' pieces was a hankerchief of my grandma's that I had tucked in my dress. As my dad teared up I whipped the hankie out - a moment that really makes me smile when I watch it back in our highlights video.
The registrars visited and did all the final questions before taking us all downstairs ready for the ceremony.
As soon as the doors opened I saw Tom was in bits. I couldn't look at anyone else but him as I walked down the aisle, it felt like I'd not seen him for ages and it had only been just over 24 hours.
The ceremony was amazing and soon we were husband and wife.
The rest of the day feels like a complete blur.
No sooner was the drinks reception underway but we were into photos, then the meal, and before I knew it the speeches.
I won't dwell too much on the speeches. Those who were there will know how emotional, special and unique they were. And those who weren't will see what we mean when we get our video back!
The amazing Mark Waddington arrived in perfect time after the speeches to provide our guests with entertainment between the day and evening reception. He is an absolutely amazing magician who I would highly recommend anyone planning any sort of event looks up and books!
More pictures later and we joined our guests for our evening reception. We did the cake cut and first dance before finally letting our hair down and racking up the jager bombs.
Before we knew it, it was 2am and we were lugging gift bags and leftover cake pops up to our bedroom.
The day literally went by in the blink of an eye. As we were getting into bed we finally checked our phones and saw some sneak peeks of our day had been posted on Facebook.
Our absolutely incredible photographers from Insight Photography had posted a beautiful confetti shot, while our supremely talented videographers from Dave Spink Photography had posted the beautiful and emotional highlights trailer.
We really did have some of Yorkshire's best involved in our day. Insight Photography and Dave Spink Photography worked so well together. It was hard to believe the two teams had never worked together before, some people even thought they were all from the same company. Everything felt natural, nothing was intrusive, and what we've seen so far has been just beautiful.
The addition of the incredible magician, Mark, was also a highlight of the day.
All day, all we did was smile and laugh. The whole atmosphere was just amazing.
It was the most perfect day - more perfect than we ever imagined.
Our venue, Wentbridge House, was also incredible. The staff made everything so easy and nothing felt too much trouble.
I just can't believe it's all over now. All day I have been looking through all the amazing photos our guests have been posting, reliving the day moment by moment. I'm now charging my phone for the fifth time I've been on it that much!
We can't stop watching our highlights trailer, it's just so incredibly beautiful and so well put together. It's all been an absolute dream. To watch the masterpiece, follow this link.
Tom and I still feel like we're in a little bubble.
We've honestly had the best weekend of our lives and cannot thank those involved enough.
Those who have travelled from afar - Sam all the way from Ukraine and Lauren from Minnesota - and those who have come from all over the country to share our special day.
The best men, for helping Tom keep it together best he could, the two Jacks for being brilliant ushers, our parents for supporting us through everything, Mason for just being the best page boy ever and his gorgeous mum Charlotte for raising such a handsome, polite and well behaved young man. Then, of course, there's a big thanks to the bridesmaids for being the best friends a girl could wish for.
A special shout out to Soph for fulfilling every single duty imaginable for a maid of honour. I'm not sure my mum will ever recover from walking into the room to Soph with her head up my dress making sure I was 100% ready to walk down the aisle.
If I could bottle the feelings I felt yesterday and sell it, I would make a fortune.
There was so much love and laughter, captured beautifully for us to remember and cherish forever.
Thank you to our amazing family and friends who shared in our special day with us. We love you so much and are so grateful for your kind words, best wishes and gifts. Our house looks like a pop-up Card Factory shop!
When we return from our mini-moon we will tackle our thank you cards. Jen, we may need you and your skills again..!
Thank you to Insight Photography, Dave Spink Photography, Wentbridge House Hotel, Paula, Beth, Jen, Claire, Lisa's Florist, Mark Waddington, Mini Couture Cakes, Jayne's Bridalwear and everyone else who helped make our wedding absolutely perfect.
No comments:
Post a Comment