Nicola & David married with us at the end of August and kindly agreed to share the details of their Summer wedding with us.

How long have you been together and how did he/she ‘pop the question’?

We have been together over 10 years and have 3 beautiful children together. My partner proposed on Christmas Eve when I least expected it, down on one knee in front of the Christmas tree.

How did you start planning your wedding? What were your first steps?

Our first step was to find a venue.  We looked at options which included barns but in the end we opted for Alexander House.  It’s close to our hearts as we have visited numerous times for spa days, afternoon teas and I had my baby shower there.  We have always loved Alexander House. It’s a beautiful venue and the packages on offer made it the best choice for us personally.

Describe the 1st time you visited Alexander House.

I visited years ago for afternoon tea, to this day it’s still the best one I’ve had. The setting was beautiful. I loved it.

How long did you take between becoming engaged and tying the knot?

Not long as we had been together for 10 years already, we got engaged on Christmas Eve 2022 and got married in August 2023.

What was your colour scheme / theme? Where did you find the inspiration for your wedding day?

Theme was classy with greens, whites and creams. I did a lot of researching on the web and Pinterest to get ideas.

What cultures, traditions, quirks or unusual ideas did you incorporate into your day?

We just wanted to incorporate our children into the day, so our eldest was ‘ring security’ our daughter was flower girl and our youngest son page boy, who carried a flag reading ‘daddy it’s time to give mummy our last name ’

How did you find the perfect dress? How many shops did you need to visit / dresses did you try on before you found The One?

I didn’t want to overspend on a dress, as I knew it would only be worn the once. I reviewed lots of bridal shops but in the end I went to an outlet at Brighton Marina. I found and took home my dress the same day, at half the cost.

Tell us about the groom’s attire and the bridesmaids’ dresses?

The Groom wore a grey suit with ivory waistcoat and cravat and our bridesmaids/flower girls all wore sage green.

What menu did you choose?

We went for the Sussex charmer and onion tart, roast sirloin of Sussex beef and the warm chocolate fondant.  Everyone commented on how amazing the food was! Thank you to the chef.

What was your favourite moment of the day?

Quite honestly all of it! Everything went so well and we all had the best time. From the ceremony to the food, drink and dancing in the evening. If we could do it all over again we would.

What was your first dance?

Our first dance was John Legend – all of me.

Any top tips that you’d like to share for future Alexander House couples?

Yes, enjoy the day and relax because it goes by in a flash. And if you are organised like me, do a full wedding plan of what you want from the day.  And don’t forget anything – in our rush delivering items the day before to the venue I managed to forget the table plan! How I managed that I will never know and I only realised it was missing after the wedding was over.

Looking back, is there anything you’d do differently?

Only thing I’d do differently would be not to get so anxious on the morning of the wedding (although probably very normal) and I would have invited a few other guests that came to the evening but not the day. I feel by the evening all the day guests were quite in the flow and enjoying it more than those than just came to the evening.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

Just thank you to the events team, Charlotte in particular for doing such a great job and listening! She communicated all the way through and really helped bring everything we wanted to life on the day. And of course the chef for the amazing food and everyone else that was there on the day to make it run smoothly.

Our suppliers that helped us to create our day were:

Photographer – Robert Buckell
Makeup Artist & Hair Stylist – Melissa Wright
Florist – Crazy Blooms
Wedding Cake – Sian Gabbe
Music String Duo – Martin Bloor

And finally…… three words that best describe your day?

Perfect, Beautiful, Fun!

 

Nicola & David, thank you for sharing your beautiful wedding with us.