Jenny and Chris's Big Day
Venues: Carshalton Methodist Church and Parkside School, Cobham
Our Story: I went to university in Bristol and started going to the church that Chris went to. Chris was quite shy and didn't make himself known to me immediately. This made me curious about who this good looking guy was and why he wasn't as talkative as the other guys. In the March of my first year, we got chatting whilst sat on a rocky slope overlooking the Clifton Suspension Bridge. I found out that he was working as a car mechanic and that he grew up in Bristol originally, but actually spent most of his childhood in Papua New Guinea where his parents were working as missionaries. There was a genuineness about him from that first conversation and from the moment he took my hand as I was struggling to climb back up the slippery rock face we had been sitting on, I knew I was falling for a true gentleman. We soon started to find excuses and make opportunities to meet up more often and four years later, after 2 years of long distance between Bristol and London, Chris popped the question as we were having a picnic in the woods of South Wales!
Jenny - 3 words to describe the day: Laughter, love, carefree.
Chris - 3 words to describe the day: Love, smiles, friends.
We got married in Jenny's home church with our pastor from our Bristol church conducting the ceremony. We chose Parkside School as our wedding venue as it was highly recommended by a friend for its stunning grounds and excellent caterers. We didn't really go for a particular style but wanted everything to be as personal and homemade as possible, and for the decorations to be recyclable/reusable after the day. Chris and his Dad made our sweet cart from scratch and cut the discs of wood that became the bases for our centre pieces.
We used a 1951 tandem for photos which Chris bought from eBay in a very rundown condition. With Chris's love for working on bicycles, he jumped at the challenge to strip it down, clean it and repaint it, transforming it into a brand new looking bike. We hired a 1958 VW Beetle as our wedding car, as we wanted something classic but different to other wedding cars we'd seen.
The moment I found my dress was when I was looking through dresses on a local wedding dress shop's website. I was chatting to Chris on the phone at the same time and stopped mid-conversation to say that I thought I had found my perfect dress. I went into the shop and showed them the picture and they picked the dress out straight away. It had all the details I'd been looking for in one dress - ruching, an illusion back and beaded lace. I tried it on and knew it was the exact dress I'd been hoping for, even though it was two sizes too big at first!
To give our wedding the personal touch, we named each table after places that were meaningful to us, for example the location of our first date, holidays we'd been on and where we got engaged. We made our engagement cards into bunting and Jenny's friend crocheted hearts for the centre pieces. Jenny's mum added her artistic touch by arranging some of the flowers to decorate the reception venue. We used a wedding cake knife which belongs to Chris's great auntie and to our surprise, Jenny's sister had decorated the barn dance room with some amazing bunting made up of photos of Chris and Jenny throughout their lives! Another personal touch was the music we chose for Jenny to walk down the aisle to. It was 'March on a Theme of Handel' by Guilmant which Chris's Dad had really wanted at their wedding but didn't end up having.
Groom's favourite memory: Seeing Jenny walk down the aisle towards me.
Bride's favourite memory: It's hard to pick just one but dancing our last dance with all our friends and family around us, singing at the tops of our voices, was definitely one of the best.
Jenny's advice to her bride-to-be self - 'Don't worry if not all of your ideas materialise. In the planning period, take regular steps back and make sure the main parts of the day are organised - everything else will fall into place. Remember, no one knew what you were originally planning so they won't miss it if it's not there.'
Chris's advice to his groom-to-be self - 'Enjoy every moment. It only happens once.'
We spent 11 days in Paphos, Cyprus on honeymoon. It is a beautiful island with sandy beaches, crystal clear blue seas and delicious Greek cuisine. We spent our days quad biking, jet skiing, snorkelling and most of all relaxing in the glorious sunshine.
Vendors: Aurora Bride (wedding dress), Moss Bros (Groomsmen's suits), Bow Field Wedding Cars (wedding car - VW beetle called 'Marsha'), ATC Floral Designs (florists), Helen Burgess Cakes (wedding cake designer and maker), Ouch! barn dance band (Ceilidh band), Dana Ali (signage/calligrapher)
