Catherine and Chris met at school. “Chris is a year older, so we didn’t know each other, but we got talking on MSN and MySpace,” says Catherine. “We hit it off straight away due to our shared sense of humour and love of watching movies.” Chris popped the question during a holiday to Somerset. “We had always talked about getting married, and although we weren’t officially engaged, we had discussed 2022 as a potential date,” shares the bride. “I was at university until 2021, so we always talked about getting engaged after that. I was surprised when he popped the question during a holiday in 2020. We booked the trip for my birthday and spent the week in a lodge near the town of Wells. We went for a walk to Ebbor Gorge, and overlooking the beautiful scenery, Chris got down on one knee!” SETTING THE SCENE “We wanted a venue that was both elegant and modern,” explains Catherine. “We love spa days and had not been to Moddershall Oaks Country Spa Retreat before but had heard it was excellent. When we visited the property, we thought it was stunning and the lake was breathtaking. We fell in love and decided to book it straight away.” The couple gave their guests scratch cards as favours. “We placed them in personalised holders from Etsy,” adds the bride. “We also had pick n mix sweets on the tables.” “All of the signs were from Mally’s Crafts,” reveals Catherine. “For the table numbers, Chris’ mum placed fairylights inside wine bottles.” Catherine and Chris opted for flowers from April Days Design. “We had white and blush pink roses with eucalyptus and other foliage,” recalls the bride. “We decorated the venue with pink napkins, fairylights, pink voile on the chairs and cake table, lanterns and a post box. The colour of the LED ceiling lights in the venue were personalised to match our theme. Our event planner helped us choose colours to match, and we had one setting for the day and one for the evening.” “We chose a two-tiered cake with white icing from Loren’s Cakes and Bakes,” says Catherine. “We opted for a cherry and almond and salted caramel filling and had an acyclic sign next to it with the flavours on.” The catering was provided by Moddershall Oaks Country Spa Retreat. “We had canapés during the drinks reception,” shares the bride. “We selected pork belly, tomato and goats cheese tartlets and mini cheeseburgers, which were a big hit with our friends and family. For the wedding breakfast, we had a three-course meal. We were allowed to give our guests two different options for each course.” DRESSED TO IMPRESS “My dress was a Jennifer Wren gown from Katie’s Brides,” explains Catherine. “I fell in love with it on Pinterest and found where it was stocked. I always knew the kind of wedding dress I wanted, so I didn’t try on many different styles.” Chris wore a three-piece suit from Marc Darcy, which he bought through Suit Direct. “The suit was called Dion,” adds the bride. “Chris, the best man, his dad and my brother all wore the same. They had Marc Darcy ties in the same pink colour and pocket squares from JJ’s House, who supplied the bridesmaids’ dresses, so they were a perfect match. The girls’ gowns were an A-line floor-length chiffon design in dusky rose.” TIME TO CELEBRATE “We hired a caricaturist, DJ and saxophone player,” recalls Catherine. “Everyone had a great time and especially enjoyed the caricaturist as it was something a bit different. We also had sparklers which we organised ourselves.” REAL WEDDINGS 31
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