tiara | real life bride
One Day Like This Lisa and Mark enjoyed a glorious day in the heart of the Welsh capital
After a romantic proposal on their sun-soaked balcony, Civil Servant Lisa, 33, and Lawyer Mark, 31, enjoyed a fun-filled day with family and friends in Cardiff 00
tiara | real life bride Romantic Proposal On a Monday evening two days before my birthday, Mark told me to be ready for a night out and to wait for him on the balcony of our apartment. It was a hot summer’s day, and since we live overlooking the sea and a river, it was a really lovely setting. While I was waiting I’d assumed Mark was taking me out for a surprise birthday meal, but then he came out onto the balcony with champagne, got down on one knee, and proposed. I cried my eyes out, said yes, and then we spent the rest of the week celebrating! Luckily we’d already booked a few days off work for a break.
Venues I began planning the wedding as soon as I got back from our break - it was all we could think or talk about! We decided on a church wedding and booked St Illtyd’s in Upper Church Village as it’s near where I grew up. Then we decided on The New House Country Hotel in Cardiff for our reception. We got married on such a beautiful sunny day, and both venues looked gorgeous. We all enjoyed arrival drinks on the courtyard at the hotel, then our wedding breakfast and evening reception were both held in the marquee.
Outfits I found my dress within two weeks of our engagement at Suzanne James Bridal in Cardiff. It was a gorgeous ivory silk taffeta material, with an asymmetric beaded draped bodice and full skirt, by designer Kate Sherford. I felt like a princess for the day, especially with my full-length sparkly veil. My bridesmaids wore dresses specially made from raw silk that my sister found in Dubai. Mark, his best men, and our ushers then all chose grey morning suits from Moss Bros, and to match my bridesmaids, Mark wore a bright pink cravat and handkerchief. Our wedding rings are from Robert Price jewellers - we both had white gold bands, and mine was set with 14 small diamonds.
Flowers Our flowers were all arranged by AnneMarie Merlini of Petal Power in Creigiau - I wanted pink and white roses for both me and the bridesmaids with lily vases decorating the tables at our reception. The vases of lilies worked really well as they stood out, but still didn’t block anyone’s view while our guests were dining.
Transport I organised for Mark to be taken to the church in a convertible Ferrari, while we had two vintage Rolls-Royce cars to transport the wedding party. With the sun shining, we could even have the soft top down on the bride and groom car while riding to the reception - I was so glad we were able to show off in it!
Food At our reception we had a starter of leek and cheese tartlets, a fillet of roast beef dinner with Yorkshire pudding for the main course, and the dessert was our fabulous wedding cake from Cakey Wakey in Llandaff North, served with fruit coulis and fresh cream. We’d chosen a four-tiered cake with a different flavour for each layer - one was Victoria sponge, another chocolate orange, then one cappuccino, and one lemon. It was gorgeous!
Entertainment We hired a brass quintet called the Rosso Ensemble, who played at the church, as well as providing music for the arrival drinks in the hotel courtyard. They did an amazing job and really added to the atmosphere of the day. For the evening reception, we hired a local band called The Hunted who were fantastic. They played all our favourite songs from bands including The Beatles, Stereophonics and Oasis, and they even became DJs between sets, playing some fab disco tunes.
Finishing Touches We had our stationery made by Tessa at Asset Design, and then our lovely photography was done by husband and wife team Paul and Jacs.
Special Moments A really special moment of the day was our first dance. We chose ‘One Day Like This’ by Elbow, which we both absolutely love. All of our guests were dancing and singing with us by the end of the song.
Any hiccups? On the day, the wedding car did break down on the way to pick me up. A guest had spotted the dilemma on their way to the church, and told Mark before the ceremony. He was a little nervous as a result, but luckily the car was fixed straight away and I made it to the church on time.
Top tip Photography by: Paul and Jacs Photography www.photographybypaulandjacs.com Tel: 029 2056 5076
If I could offer a bride-to-be one tip before their big day, it would be to get up early enough in the morning. Our wedding was at midday, and so the morning did end up being one big rush I wish I had been more organised!
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