Your First Date:
We first met on a night out organised by Gaby’s sister and brother in law in August 2013. We both liked each other but didn’t go on our first official date until the 2nd August 2014 which is when we got together. Our first date was to Dawlish Warren beach in Devon. Six months later, Gaby moved to lived with Mat in Milton Keynes!
The Proposal:
Mat proposed on the 1st time we viewed our flat on the 13th June 2015. Well, it was the second time we viewed the flat, as when we saw it the day before, Mat’s proposal didn’t go to plan as he was late out of work!
The Dress:
Sophia Tolli Geraldine in Champagne
Our budget was spent on:
The venue. With the perfect venue and package, everything else fell into place and meant we had the time and money to add our personal touches.
Planning is the key to a stress-free wedding:
We gave ourselves two years to plan and pay for the wedding. Meaning, we didn’t have to rush or stress. It also meant we could book the venue and suppliers we wanted without the date already being taken. We found it helpful booking the package with Whittlebury, who booked the bulk of our suppliers for us.
The important things you were looking for in choosing your wedding venue:
We wanted something ‘fairytale’ like and the Orangery gave us that feel. We could instantly see how we would decorate the room and make it into our dream wedding venue. It was also easy to decide as, from day one, all of the team at Whittlebury were so helpful and welcoming.
Wedding specialists we chose to complete the look and our ideas were:
Florist – Secret Garden Florist for centrepieces and Lisa’s flower making for the bouquets
DJ- Potters Groups
Cake- Hockleys
Dress- The Dressmaker Dunstable
Photographer – S H Photography
Videographer – Northill Videos
Firework- Pyro FX
The best part of the day:
Of course, getting married but The ice cream van turning up to surprise the groom and the fireworks in the evening were amazing.
If we could give one tip to other couples it would be:
Take your time to get everything you want and remember what it is about. Also, don’t stress the little things that go wrong on the day, as long as you marry your best friend, you have done what you came to do.
Testimonial:
We cannot thank Janine, Carol, Lincoln and Jonathon enough. Janine and Carol were amazing in the lead-up, meeting with us to discuss ideas and help us. Janine was always at the end of the laptop to answer my many questions! Lincoln, we could not have asked for a better Pianist. He made time to get to know us before the wedding, and we have heard nothing but praise for him and how he made the day. Thank you for playing our songs so beautifully on the piano. Thank you to Jonathon who on the day, made sure everything went to plan and drove us on the golf buggy down to the lake! Also, thank you to all the bar staff and waiters.