BACK TO NATURE

After falling in love with The Great House Hotel and Restaurant, Sophie and Tom booked their September wedding where they were surrounded by friends and family

Images courtesy of Kate Richards Photography

Sophie and Tom met in secondary school. “In 2013, we were on a night out and bumped into each other, and we’ve been inseparable ever since,” says Sophie. “I had plans to move to Liverpool to study nursing that September, but that didn’t stop Tom. He would travel up on his days off and spend days chilling out while I went to study. I eventually moved home, and in 2015 we bought our first home and not long after that, we got engaged.”

The proposal was a big surprise for Sophie. “We were on holiday in the Dominican Republic when Tom asked me to marry him,” shares the bride. “I was wondering why Tom was drinking champagne for breakfast (trying to hide the nerves), and then when we got back to our room, he got down on one knee.”

Here the bride shares some of her favourite moments from their big day...

After booking almost everything, I couldn’t help but think of the holidays and experiences we could have with that money instead and sat Tom down and broke the news that I didn’t want to go ahead with the big wedding and wanted to consider abroad, so we cancelled almost everything! The following month, COVID-19 hit, and my mum mentioned that we had not cancelled the original booking of the church ceremony. My mind started to whirl, and I said to Tom, let’s get married on the original date and go with it, so we did! With four months to go, we started planning! After ringing around the local pubs/venues to see if they could accommodate us, my mum had a call from The Great House Hotel and Restaurant to say that our date had become available! With restrictions changing day by day, we decided to keep to 30 guests and have a party in the evening with the rest of our friends and family. Being so intimate made the day extra special, and being able to party into the night with all of our nearest and dearest was lovely.

The centrepieces were a surprise as I had planned to create them myself with the help of my mum, but I handed the reins over to her, and she surprised us with the most beautiful flowers from Florrie & Jo Florist.

Tom and I changed the traditional top table and decided to have our daughters, maid-of-honour and best man next to us. Our parents had their own tables, which was perfect. 38 Our mums said we couldn’t have a wedding without a cake and ordered the most gorgeous design from Audrey’s Bakery, who delivered it the morning before not knowing it was for a wedding. When they realised they took the cake away and added an extra tier and brought it back. It was so delicious!

The bouquets and buttonholes were from Lynn at Village Florist in Pencoed, who did the most amazing job.

We booked a car and bus for the bridesmaids from Prestige Airport Transfers Bridgend. The service was fantastic. There were lots of different menu options, and The Great House Hotel and Restaurant were so accommodating with any dietary requirements. The canapés were delicious, and in the guest book, there is a comment which says: ‘the onion bhajis are bangin’.

With four months to find the perfect dress, I contacted Laura May Bridal in Cardiff and went along with my mum and maid-of-honour. My dress was everything I dreamed of and more. It was an Essense of Australia fitted gown. I never dreamt of wearing a fitted dress after two children, but as soon as they did the dress up, I knew it was the one before looking in the mirror. I took it home with me that same day. I wore the most gorgeous cathedral veil, which my mum had bought for the original wedding. Tom wore a suit from Moss Bros and looked so smart. We decided on bow ties for the men, Tom had a gold version and the groomsmen wore pink ones to match the bridesmaids.

We booked Alun Roberts Music to play while the evening guests arrived until our first dance. He was a hit with all the guests. We were extremely lucky with the weather, the sun was shining all day, so I asked if he could play outside. For our first dance, Alun had learnt our song, which was quite a slow acoustic number, however on the night, I asked if he could add a bit of dance into it, and without any hesitation, Alun changed the beat and off we went! Dancing on the lawn with our daughters and being surrounded by our friends and family was the highlight of the day.

I messaged the bridesmaids and asked them to go on ASOS and send me any colours and styles they liked. We then had a night at my house where they tried them all and chose their favourite, which ended up being the same dress in the same colour! They looked absolutely stunning! Looking back at the photos, I can’t believe how well the dresses matched my gown. It was all meant to be!

I was so excited to walk down the aisle to Tom. I remember our priest, Simon, asking if I was ready outside the church, and I turned and said ‘let’s do this’ and off we went!

The most amazing part of the day was going down to Ogmore By Sea for some photos. After the reception, we rounded up the best man, picked up a beer each and off we went with Kate Richards Photography. The weather was incredible, the beach was so busy and there I was in my wedding dress with my husband! The best man helped Kate with the veil and took a little snooze while soaking up the sun. It was so lovely to have some time together.

After the first dance, we had Brian Morris as our DJ. The party went inside, and we danced the night away. Brian asked for a playlist and took requests. He took photos of the evening guests arriving and added them to a screen, which was a lovely touch.

We can’t thank our family and friends enough for making our day so perfect.

I had gone up to my room to freshen up, and after a little while, Tom came to look for me and walked into my sisterin-laws and I all sat in the bath in the bridal suite having a catch-up. Kate Richards Photography made us feel so relaxed in front of the camera. She remembered every little detail, reminded us about the little touches that we had put into the day and even helped me get into my dress! Elenor and Hannah from The Great House Hotel and Restaurant also went above and beyond. They made us feel so special. Nap time fell at the same time as the speeches, and Elenor took the pram and walked our youngest daughter around, so nobody missed out. They could not do enough for us, and we’ve never felt so special.

SOPHIE AND TOM’S CONTACTS

Venue and catering, The Great House Hotel and Restaurant, www.great-house-laleston.co.uk | Photographer, Kate Richards Photography, https://katerichardsphotography.com | Bride’s dress, Laura May Bridal, www.lauramaybridal.co.uk | Groom’s suit, Moss Bros | Bridesmaids’ dresses, ASOS | Hair stylist, Kate Wingfield Mobile Hairdressing, www.facebook.com/katewingfieldmobilehairdressing | Make-up artist, Studio 82, www.facebook.com/studio-82-104852488358442 | Cake, Audrey’s Bakery, www.audreysbakery.co.uk | Bouquets and buttonholes, Village

Florist, 01656 863 377 | Centrepieces and flowers, Florrie & Jo Florist, www.florrieandjo.co.uk | Transport, Prestige Airport Transfers Bridgend, www.prestigeairporttransfersbridgend.co.uk | Entertainment, Alun Roberts Music, www.alunrobertsmusic.com