CHILDHOOD SWEETHEARTS

REAL WEDDINGS Childhood sweethearts

Rachael and Joshua celebrated their love with a beautiful wedding at Park Hall Hotel & Spa

Images courtesy of Shepherd Photography

Rachael and Joshua met through Facebook. “We started talking and realised we went to the same school,” says Rachael. “We went bowling for our first date and became official shortly after.”

Joshua popped the question at their home in 2018. “It was a surprise, but it was even more surprising when we had to spend the night in A&E,” shares the bride. “The ring was one size too small, so it got stuck, and we had to have it cut off!”

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

The flowers were ivory and coral roses from Belle Fleurs.

We had our high school prom at Park Hall Hotel & Spa and have very fond memories of the area. It’s local to us, and the grounds and facilities are lovely, so we knew we wanted to get married there. Joshua and I chose a four-tier white cake decorated with roses from Cakes for Crumbs.

Our favours were boxes of sweets, including personalised love hearts and mints.

We hired a Rolls Royce and limousine from SV Limousines and Wedding Cars and decorated them with ribbons. We had Polaroid pictures of us placed on the tables.

For the catering, we chose canapés, a three-course wedding breakfast and an evening buffet. Joshua chose a three-piece grey suit with a coral tie and handkerchief from Dapper Dan.

DJ Dano played a good range of music that went down well with our guests. He left a card on all the tables with his mobile number on so our loved ones could send any requests via Whatsapp. We also had a magician called Colin, who was a hit with everyone. He kept people occupied whilst waiting for the photos. Our photo booth from Krazy Entertainments kept our guests entertained with instant prints and funny props. Our friends and family kept a copy for themselves and put a copy in our guest book, so we have lots of funny images to look back on.

There were lots of lovely moments, but I loved seeing the little ones dressed up, driving to the church with my dad and hearing Joshua’s speech.

We were very nervous in the build-up to the ceremony. It was beautiful, and we were relieved to finally be married after two postponed dates. For our honeymoon, we went to Mottram Hall in Cheshire. It was a very relaxing two-day spa break that was much needed.

After a year’s delay due to COVID-19, we were so happy to finally get married. It was so special to see all the families together after so long. We were very grateful for the love and support we had from both sets of parents, siblings and our nans.

RACHAEL AND JOSHUA’S CONTACTS

Venue, St Mary the Virgin Hurst Hill, www.smtvhh.infopage.org.uk Reception venue and catering, Park Hall Hotel & Spa, www.parkhallhotelandspa.co.uk | Photographer, Shepherd Photography, www.shepherdphotography.co.uk | Bride’s dress, accessories and bridesmaids’ dresses, The Wedding Dress Bridal Gallery, www.theweddingdressbridalgallery.co.uk | Hair stylist, Hair By Mrs B, www.instagram.com/hairbymrsb1 | Make-up artist, Sarah Louisa MUA & Beauty, www.instagram.com/sarahlouisabeauty_ | Groom’s suit, Dapper Dan, www.dapperdansuithire.co.uk | Cake, Cakes for Crumbs, www.facebook.com/cakesforcrumbs | Flowers, Belle Fleurs, www.facebook.com/bellefleurssedgley | Transport, SV Limousines and Wedding Cars, www.svlimos.com | Stationery, 1st Impression, www.1st-impression.co.uk | Photo booth, Krazy Entertainments, www.krazy-entertainments.co.uk | DJ, DJ Dano, www.djdano.co.uk Magician, Colin, 07715 363 658