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Date of Wedding: 10th April 2019
Photographer: Ed Brown
Style or Theme: Rustic, ‘bringing the outside in’, fresh spring greens and whites.

Your love story

Our story began with the thrilling ping of a tinder match!

The proposal

Unexpected – Hannah had no idea! Phil smuggled the HUGE box (pass the parcel style!) in his suitcase on Hannah’s surprise birthday weekend away at Coombe Abbey. Phil enlisted the help of Hannah’s Mum to choose the ring and it was just perfect. The night was perfect, complete with fireworks immediately after as it was the 2nd November and the closest weekend to bonfire night.

Choosing the wedding dress

Hannah’s Mum chose the dress! We only visited one shop (Wed2Be in Milton Keynes https://www.wed2b.co.uk/bridal-shops/south-east/buckinghamshire/wed2b-milton-keynes) and tried on about six wedding dresses. Hannah had always pictured a Grecian style dress with sleeves, something more Boho, but as per usual, Mums are always right. We knew instantly it was the one – and so did EVERYONE in the store! My Disney-esque bridal lace up boots had a blue sole and I borrowed my sister’s garter that she wore when she got married.

First dance song

Queen – Somebody to Love! (Yes, we might have spent a few weeks practising choreography in the kitchen!!). Worth every second, one of our favourite moments! On a side note Juke box MK https://www.jukeboxmk.com/ smashed the music! So many compliments, everyone said the band were brilliant and true professionals. They played all our favourite tunes and the dancefloor was full all night!

What was your inspiration/theme for the big day?

We didn’t really have a theme, although it was a bit of a DIY affair. We got quite creative making lots of bits ourselves and called in lots of favours so everything was really personal. We wanted to keep it simple and classy with a rustic feel – Dodford Manor’s rustic Mortain barn just captured everything we wanted and more. We love walking and being outdoors, so bringing lots of green and white foliage inside with the backdrop of rolling fields and the beautiful courtyard was just exactly how we dreamed it. And the sun shone ALL day!

Why did you choose Dodford Manor?

We fell in love with it immediately. It was the first and ONLY venue we saw. The huge selling point was the wedding ceremony barn with the balcony and stunning floor to ceiling window – the light in the ironstone Mortain Barn is just dreamy. The team were instantly warm and friendly (Lydia showed us round on our first visit) and so welcoming – we couldn’t choose anywhere else! Everything was so easy and every single detail had been thought of making the whole process stress free and FUN!

Wedding ideas and your wedding day:

Hannah walked down the aisle to Andrea Bocelli’s ‘Fall on Me’ in Italian. Having pictured that moment over and over again since the proposal, it was better than we ever dreamed and Hannah’s favourite moment of the day. The minute that curtain goes back, there’s no feeling like it! Luckily we got to walk down the aisle twice as we went on to Dodford Church afterwards for a blessing (next to Dodford Manor). Phil’s brother gave a beautiful reading from Winnie the Pooh and Hannah’s Godmother and Grandfather read two pieces in the church. Hannah’s family of bell ringers even got to ring the bells!

We kept decorations quite simple as the flowers by Fieldgate https://fieldgateflowers.co.uk/ were just stunning and Dodford Manor’s rustic barns need very little enhancement. We added fairy lights, signage (written in Phil’s own calligraphy) and the most incredible table plan made by a friend of the groom’s where guests literally had to “follow a string” to find their seat. We completed the tables with hand knitted chicks stuffed with a Cadbury’s cream egg as a nod to our Easter wedding. The tree stump inspired wedding cake was baked by a very talented friend and was just amazing.

Your wedding feast – what’s on the menu?

Mushroom starter, ‘posh bangers and mash’ for main and white chocolate blondie for dessert. The wedding breakfast food was just divine.

We received so many compliments from guests about just how delicious the food was and what a good idea it was to have sausages and mash – you can’t go wrong!

Jenkinsons Caterers were amazing from start to finish and we were spoilt for choice with the food. We went for crowd pleasers and finished up with a pizza buffet in the evening.

Your favourite moment of the day?

Bride

Walking down the aisle to Andrea Bocelli with my dad, seeing Phil waiting for me with just the biggest smile on his face (and tears in his eyes!). I’m pretty sure a smile was GLUED to my face the whole day after that. There’s nothing quite like that feeling. And our first dance! It all happened in a bit of a blur but the Oak Barn dancefloor was just full all night with all our loved ones, and it was the time of our lives.

Groom

As we sat down for the meal and faced all the people we love who were there to watch us celebrate the most special days of our lives.

A word of advice for future couples?

Choose Dodford Manor! You WILL NOT regret it. It will 100% be the best day of your life and yes, it really does go as fast as they say, but will leave you with the most incredible memories you will treasure forever. Post-wedding blues are REAL and you will find yourselves saying “can we do it again!?” for months/years after!

Can you sum up your day in just 3 words?

DREAM. COME. TRUE.

Your dream team suppliers list:

Photographer: Ed Brown

Videographer: Jordan Owens

Dress: Anna Sorrano (Wed2Be)

Shoes: Joe Brown

Rings: Ernest Jones

Make-up: LS Makeup and Beauty

Hair: LS Makeup and Beauty

Grooms Attire: T M Lewin

Bridesmaid Dresses: The Ivory Wardrobe

Cake: Cakes by Emma

Flowers: Fieldgate Flowers

Evening Entertainment: Jukebox MK

Rustic Wedding Venue: Dodford Manor