Elin & Lloyd

Share Their Special Day with Style of the City

University sweethearts, Elin and Lloyd, were searching for a venue as beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside. They tied the knot at one of Wales’ most exclusive and popular wedding venues, Fairyhill by Oldwalls.

How did you first meet?

Lloyd and I were in the same Uni halls at Cardiff University. We were introduced by various friends within the block and then officially met in the student union. We became friends first and then after one Tiger Tiger night, the rest is history…

How did he propose?

Lloyd is not the most subtle of people and is definitely not great with surprises…

We went to Tuscany, Italy and Lloyd had planned it all, which was suspicious as I usually plan the holidays. The week before he was asking questions like ‘If we were to get engaged what type of ring would you want?’

When we got to the airport, he wanted a lock for the suitcase and had to talk me through every step of the process. He even noticed I hadn’t had my nails done and asked ‘do you think you should get your nails done?’ He thought he was totally subtle!

When we got to Tuscany, he’d organised a menu tasting at a Michelin star restaurant in our hotel. We both dressed up, and he was very nervous. There were only three other people in the restaurant, so it was nice and intimate. After we had dessert, he got down on one knee and proposed.

Where did you get married? Fairyhill by Oldwalls.

What attracted you to the venue?

I was torn between two venues. I decided on Fairyhill as it’s got that traditional house feel, the oldy worldly heritage with a modern twist with the K room. You get the best of both worlds. The grounds are also stunning! The biggest thing for me, was finding a venue that suited all weathers, we don’t know what the weather in Wales will be like, so it was important to find somewhere which had beauty and magic not only outside, but inside too. The K room finished it off. You walk in and you’re like ‘wow’. It takes your breath away!

What was your wedding theme?

Colour wise we had our bridesmaids in blush and groomsmen in a duck egg/ pale blue. Our stationery complemented those colours.

What stationery did you have?

We had loads of quirky bits and pieces. We had a table map designed which showed where in the world people were sitting. Lloyd and I have been together 11 years and we’ve travelled everywhere so each table was based on a country that we’d been to. We also put a little story of something that happened in that country on the table to make it more personal.

Love Ellie Letters designed everything by hand and it was amazing.

What did you wear? Tell us about your gown…

I honestly didn’t think I would be that person to say ‘I’m wearing a Vera’ the dresses are amazing, but I never thought I’d get one myself. I was out with my friend, and she happened to say that The Wedding Gallery do Vera and before I knew it my friend had booked me in!

We went to the shop, tried on a few dresses. Some were ridiculous and we had a lot of fun. The last dress I tried on, didn’t look much on the hanger, but I tried it on anyway and it was perfect!

I looked in the mirror and thought ‘Oh my God!’ it was fitted, had a lovely cut at the front but not too revealing. It gave it that modern edge. I didn’t want a fish tail, but this was subtle, it came out at the bottom and the train was amazing!

How did your dress make you feel?

It made me feel like a million bucks! It was the perfect dress! I just wanted to feel ‘this is me’ and the dress did exactly that. I felt like a movie star going to the Oscars.