Steve and Mary tell us about their special day which had a vintage and spring theme running through it.
Steve, who is from Bournemouth, works for Dorset Works Organisation – a Civil Engineer Project managing the highway works in Weymouth ready for the Olympics. Mary, who is from Weymouth, teaches in a Middle School in Dorchester.
The Proposal: The proposal happened on New Year’s Eve 2010, as Mary recalls. “Having eaten a lovely romantic candlelit meal cooked by Steve, we settled on the sofa to watch Big Ben. Steve uncorked the champagne, then, just as Big Ben struck midnight, he got down on one knee and said: ‘Mary, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?’ He then presented me with an amazing antique diamond ring and read me a story he had written about our adventures so far, each linked to a particular diamond in the ring.”
The Wedding: “Steve was shocked when I told him we were going to get married in May 2011! Mum and I enlisted the help of Nadine at NKW Weddings, a Dorchester-based Wedding Organiser, who told us we could do it if we were decisive!” Fortunately Steve and Mary had always known what type of wedding they wanted – fun, relaxed and personal to them and chose the themes of ‘Vintage’ and ‘Spring’. “Our florist Suzie Edwards from Milton Abbas prepared some beautiful English country garden flowers for us including cornflowers, peonies and sweet peas.” The bride travelled in a 1950s MK2 Jaguar (from Superwed Cars in Bournemouth) to Holy Trinity Church, Warmwell and their close friend Huw Thomas played the bride in with a compilation on his classical guitar. “Most importantly we wanted to find
a photographer that our little boy, Benjamin, would be happy with. Once we met Linus we knew that he was the man! He had a great eye for those small details that make the day so special but often get forgotten,” enthuses Mary.
The Dress: Mary looked on the internet for Vintage-style dresses and came across a designer called Charlotte Balbier. “Bliss Bridal in Christchurch stocked this designer, so Mum and I met the owner Michelle, who knew the look I wanted.” Mary chose a glamorous fitted fish-tail gown with train and Robyn at MakeMeLookBeautiful.com, based in Bournemouth, did her makeup. Mary’s cousin Siobhan was bridesmaid and her dress was from Wedding Time in Dorchester. “Benjamin, our son, was pageboy and ring bearer. He wore a full morning suit and top hat!”
The Reception: The reception was at Mary’s family home in Broadmayne. A marquee was erected in the garden by Oak leaf Marquee and Claire’s Catering from Yeovil provided the Wedding Breakfast, which was a brunch style affair as the wedding was at 11.30am. “We had a choice of Eggs Benedict; smoked salmon and scrambled eggs or a traditional English breakfast.” Guests arriving for the entertainments later were greeted with a glass of Rose’s cider or an ice cream from the Brock Ice Cream Cart. “In the evening we had a hog roast and a chocolate fountain – by then I was wishing that I had a looser fitting dress!”
The Cake: The three-tier Lisa Notely cake featured Victoria, chocolate and lemon sponges. It was topped with a miniature clay buddy of all three of them created by Nicki from Poole.
The Entertainment: Firebird from Bournemouth played a mix of covers. “My mother played air guitar at one point to Queen and Steve skidded across the dance floor on his knees! During the break we had a firework display.”
The Honeymoon: Their honeymoon was taken during the six-week summer break. They flew to Toronto and stayed at the Hilton at Niagara and the Port in Toronto. “We then flew to Calgary where we picked up a campervan and toured around the Rockies.”
Memorable moment of the day: The Bride: Both my father’s speech and my husband’s speech were wonderful. The Groom: The hog roast.
Wedding Photography by Linus Moran
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