Your East Midlands Wedding - October/November 2020 (Issue 40)

REAL WEDDINGS 29  Simon first met Siân through mutual friends and she caught his eye after a few meetings. Siân says, “When I realised I was interested in Simon, we went on a six-hour-long date and spent ages talking the following day.” She adds, “I knew within the first few months I’d found the one!” Fast forward eight months and Simon had a huge question to ask. The pair’s first date took place at Attenborough Nature Reserve in July, 2019. This made it the perfect location to ask Siân to marry him. She says, “The exact moment was a surprise, but we’d had a lot of conversations before the engagement.” At a beautiful spot next to the lake, Simon pulled out a scrapbook full of memories of the couple’s relationship so far. This included theatre tickets, photos, and souvenirs collected. After flicking through the last pages, Simon mentioned there was something on the back. Siân says, “I found the words ‘Will You Marry Me?’ and turned around to find Simon there on his knee. After plenty of crying, I said ‘yes!’ – it was perfect!” SETTING THE SCENE The couple are passionate about eco-friendly and sustainable living and wanted this to reflect in the wedding. Sourcing local and independent business became vital for the nearlyweds as well as crafted or upcycled items to create an affordable but beautiful day. The couple’s friend is a florist and created the stunning blooms for the day. Siân says, “She did a phenomenal job, people are still commenting to this day about how beautiful the flowers were! She pulled it off by making flower crowns for all 11 bridesmaids and flowergirls as well as decorating our signs and the archway.” This tied in with the sage colour theme and featured a pop of raspberry. As the bride doesn’t like cake, they opted for a stacked pavlova with cream, berries and edible flowers – perfect for the rustic theme. The table plan was presented on a wooden board with string and pegs to hold the table card. Blocks of wood were used as the table names; each one was named after a board game. Siân comments, “We’re proper nerds and also hideously competitive, which is one of the reasons we’re a perfect match.” White lanterns made up the centrepieces that featured different shaped logs with little wildflower posies placed around them. Other décor items included macramé hanging off the arch, numerous signs with Beyoncê references on and lots of doughnut puns to accompany the ‘treat yourself’ doughnut wall. Another treat for guests in the evening was a cheese