SUMMER LOVING

Summer loving Lucy and Rob celebrated their big day in a marquee surrounded by their friends and family

Images courtesy of Hawaiian Shirt Photography

Lucy and Rob met in the modern way, online. “I knew he was the one for me because he was so funny, open, honest and incredibly generous,” says Lucy. “He says he fell for me because I was the only person that understood him and made him feel equal.”

Rob surprised Lucy by proposing on the anniversary of their second date. “He said he knew on that date that our relationship was going somewhere,” shares the bride. “He sent me on a scavenger hunt around our home as our second date had been at my house. He set up lots of clues that eventually lead me to where we had our first kiss outside. There he was waiting with a book he’d made describing everything he loved about us, and he then got down on one knee. It was an amazing proposal and totally surprised me.”

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

We decided to get married at St Laurence – Seale as it’s where my parents got married, I was christened there, and it’s local. We loved the look of it too, and it was significant to us in many ways. Rob and I wanted our guests to be able to walk from the church to the reception, and we loved the idea of a relaxed marquee, so we hired a set up at the recreation ground.

My mum made personalised biscuits in three different shades of blue with our names and wedding date on as favours. Flowers By Becky designed two beautiful centrepieces that used the same flowers as my bouquet. Some were tall to fill the space, and others were smaller to reflect the more relaxed atmosphere we wanted. To finish the look, my mum decorated jars and bottles that we placed on the tables.

For our cake, we chose a four-tier creation from Lulu’s Cake Kitchen. It was covered in buttercream icing and decorated with flowers and blue and white accents. Each layer was a different flavour and tasted delicious. The bridal party and I travelled to the church in a Rolls Royce from Clover Care Wedding Cars.

I wore a Stella York dress called 6718+. It was a satin, off-the-shoulder, fit and flare gown that I purchased from Tilly Mint Weddings. I absolutely adored it and fell in love as soon as I put it on, and it even had pockets! I accessorised with a simple silver and gold bracelet from my mum, a necklace from my dad and a pearl and diamond belt. Rob and the groomsmen chose dark blue suits and tails with grey waistcoats and knitted ties from Black Tie Menswear. We gave the groomsmen engraved tie pins with their initials and our wedding date on.

The bridesmaids opted for light blue sleeveless A-line style dresses from Tilly Mint Weddings. We hired DJ Danny Costello for the evening reception. We let him play his playlist, but we made sure it included music that people could dance to. We had lots of compliments about Danny after the wedding, and he did a great job of playing a range of songs that everyone knew but weren’t too cliché.

I was up at 6am with my bridal party to make sure everyone was ready to go for the 2pm ceremony. As soon as I arrived at the church and walked down the aisle, I just felt so happy and excited. Rob said he wasn’t nervous until I was a little bit late. He said it was the best day, and we both wish we could do it all again! My favourite moment was hearing my dad’s speech. He had some health problems the year before, so to hear him stand up and give a fantastic speech made me feel really emotional.

My parents, in-laws and friends really went above and beyond to help prep the marquee. They all got stuck in despite it being one of the hottest days of the year.

I did an ad-lib speech and gave Rob a football shirt signed by his favourite player wishing him luck on his big day. I have never seen him speechless before, but that did the trick! We also had a burst water pipe the next day, so we had a lot of hot, hungover people gasping for a drink! There were 35 people staying at our house in tents, caravans, on the sofas etc, so luckily for us, it was resolved quite quickly. Our top tip for any couple would be to relax! It all goes so quickly, and it’s meant to be a fun day, so don’t get too caught up in the minor details.

For our honeymoon, we went to Mauritius for 12 nights which was absolutely amazing. We stayed in an all-inclusive complex and had the most amazing time. My parents and in-laws arranged the whole thing, which we really appreciated, and we wish we could do it all over again. LUCY AND ROB’S CONTACTS

Ceremony venue, St Laurence – Seale, www.spw.org.uk | Reception marquee, Four Seasons Marquees, www.fourseasonsmarquees.co.uk Photographer, Hawaiian Shirt Photography, www.hawaiianshirtphotography.co.uk | Bride’s dress, accessories and bridesmaids’ dresses, Tilly Mint Weddings, www.tillymintweddings.com | Hair stylist, Kim Carey Hair, www.kimcareyhair.co.uk | Groom’s suit, Black Tie Menswear, www.blacktiemenswear.co.uk | Cake, Lulu’s Cake Kitchen, www.facebook.com/luluscakekitchen | Flowers, Flowers By Becky, www.flowersbybecky.com Transport, Clover Care Wedding Cars, www.clovercare.com | Entertainment, DJ Danny Costello, www.djdannycostello.co.uk | Day catering, Super Event Catering & Marquee Hire, www.superevent.co.uk | Evening hog roast, Spitting Pig Hog Roast Co, www.spittingpig.co.uk