Your Wedding Day Dream Team (please provide Website / Social Media Page if known)
Photographer: Steven Bradshaw @Stevenbradshaw.co.uk
Videographer: Bramblehedgevideos @bramblehedgevideos
Florist: Emily Jane @emilyjanefloraldesign
DJ: DJPaul
Pianist: Kevin Peters
Hair and makeup: Dellamei @dellamei_bridalhair
Cake: Deborah’s Cakes and Sugarcraft
Tell Us About Your Incredible Outfits
What and who did you wear? A-line dress with plunge neckline and beautiful detail. Romantica Pure collection bought from Tracy Lea Bridal.
What and who did your partner wear? Grey three-piece suit from Bridgens.
What and who did your wedding party wear? Bridesmaids had sage multi-way dresses from Next. Groomsmen had grey three-piece suits from House of Cavani.
Your Love Story How did you meet, was it love at first sight? Tell us about the proposal!
We met at Sixth Form. I couldn’t resist his chat up line ‘I owe you a quid’. What happened next can only be described as a series of beautiful coincidences that led us to the alter. He popped the question in Edinburgh, having planned to do it under a blossom tree (which is sentimental to us). Little did he know that blossom trees do not come out at Christmas time. Fortunately for him, fairy lights do.
Your Wedding Day Vision & Inspiration What was your inspiration and vision for your day?
We wanted to incorporate blossoms into our theme. Therefore, we went for a sage and pink theme. The decoration we had witnessed at wedding fairs and online all appeared really extravagant, but that just was not us. Instead we opted for a simple yet elegant vision; one that brought out the beauty of the venue.
Why did you choose The West Mill Venue?
We visited various venues that were completely different to the West Mill. However, the moment we set foot in the building, we instantly fell in love with the intimate setting. We knew right away; we could see ourselves getting married here. This was the first time it felt real- we were actually getting married!
We wanted our guests to have a lovely day. Therefore, we knew we had to have good food. We had been to other venues which were beautiful but offered limited options. The menu for the West Mill stood out for us with lots of tasty choices. The taster day confirmed we made an excellent choice. The beef and Thai prawns were spectacular.
We liked that the venue was all in one spot. This meant we could move between floors at ease. This helped transitions throughout the day and also older family members did not struggle moving around.
Did you do any DIY projects?
We made our own favours: handwritten envelopes containing scratch cards (which everyone loved), children’s activity mats, and cute little ribboned boxes with chocolates. For décor, we collected bud vases, candles, and hurricane vases which we got for steals online. Thankfully, Joe’s creative sister painted all our beautiful signage. There were lots of other touches like sweet jars, glowsticks, personalised sunglasses, confetti etc. that really made it special. I do not regret spending time doing these DIY projects. This saved us lots of money, but more importantly we had lots of fun doing it.
Tell us about the details – Flowers, Cake, Decor, Stationary….
Flowers: we wanted to match the colour theme, and we realised it was not possible to get actual cherry blossoms. The florist was brilliant and gave us lots of suggestions. The stunning bouquet consisted of eucalyptus, white roses, lisianthus, pink astilbe and bouvardia. We also used these flowers in individual bud vases, and for the arch arrangement.
Cake: a delicious two-tiered cake with sugar paste icing. The bottom tier was a lemon cake with lemon curd, plain Swiss meringue butter cream, and covered in white chocolate ganache. The top tier was a fruit cake covered in marzipan. For decoration, we had small blossom flowers wrapping around the front of the cake, almost cascading down. The cake topper was a bride and groom sat down, with her dress hanging over the side.
Alcohol. Because No Great Story Started With A Salad (…or did it?) What was on your food & drinks menu?
Wedding Breakfast: For starters we had a choice of red pepper and tomato soup or the Thai style prawns. The main course was a choice from beef rib, red wine jus, mashed potato, baby carrots, and tender-stem broccoli or pan fried chicken breast, chicken jus, duchess potato, spinach and onion puree and tender-stem broccoli. The desert was a classic sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream.
Evening Meal: Spicy beef, Mediterranean, and Margharita pizzas with chips.
Alcohol: Prosecco, Red and White wine, beer, and a cheeky Baby Guiness shot.
The Hangover Only Lasts A Day But The Memories Last A Lifetime Can you sum up your wedding day in 3 words?
Perfect. There’s one.
What are your favourite memories or highlights of your day?
There are so many wonderful highlights, where do I begin? Walking down the aisle to see my husband was magical. The pianist was playing “I can’t help falling in love with you” exactly how I had imagined. His vows were lovely, especially the bit about loving me as long as there is cheese in the fridge- really brought a tear to the eye that.
It was special to see all our family and friends together, laughing and smiling. It made us both feel really loved. The speeches were funny and heartfelt. The DJ had everyone dancing all night, including the 70/80 year olds.
After all the planning, it was truly special to see our vision come to life. We were really worried that we had not done enough, but it was perfect. A massive thank you to the West Mill team. Tanayah, in particular, was a huge help in ensuring our day ran smoothly. From start to finish, it was all incredible.
Do you have any advice for future Brides & Grooms?
Try not to stress (I know that is easier said than done). Before speaking to the West Mill Team, I was so worried about decorating the venue. However, I was so calm on the day because I knew everything was in safe hands.
Don’t be afraid to spend some time on DIY bits. They make the day even more personal, and the guests kept mentioning how much they loved everything.