History writes it own story…
Tell us about the proposal – how and where did it happen?
We met at university and decided to go on our very first date in London at the Natural History Museum as we were both studying sciences – this was a special location for me as I used to work inside one of the museum’s labs. It was quite ironic as I had no idea Adam was going to propose. We had just come out of the precious stones gallery where I pointed out some diamonds saying they would look great on a ring… A whole 5 minutes later and Adam was proposing!
After this had sunk in (slightly) Adam had some more surprises for me as we took a taxi to the Shard and stayed in the Shangri La for the night. The views from the swimming pool looking down on all of London were truly surreal. If that wasn’t perfect enough, we then went on a little getaway to Malta the next morning. It was honestly the most amazing week of our lives.
What was your first step in planning your wedding, did you use blogs/magazines etc?
I booked our photographer and florist first as I loved their work and I knew their style would compliment the pastel coloured/spring theme of our wedding. I bought a planning book from Amazon as I love to be organised which helped loads when it came to deciding on all of the finer details/guest numbers and had little pointers and money saving tips which were a big help! Pinterest was a great place to get inspiration for table centrepieces, decorative bits and extra creativity.
What were your wedding “must have’s”?
We chose Bourton Hall due to its tranquility and natural countryside beauty. As our wedding was in the spring I wanted to ensure we had a pastel/soft tone running throughout. We also wanted a venue that would be ours for the days. As we are both from multicultural backgrounds, it was important to us that we incorporated this into our big day.
I also wanted to have a string quartet for the ceremony and reception so booked Leos Strings who were perfect – they had such a large selection of music to choose from so I went with well known classic hits as well as some rock. Adam wore a traditional Indian sherwani for the evening and we also had a Turkish belly dancer and musician.
Wedding budget: how did you organise your wedding budget?
We saved everything we could and it was well worth it. We were extremely lucky to have had generous amounts of money gifted to us by our family which really enabled us to have our dream wedding. I would also recommend viewing a number of venues or requesting package prices to compare what is included to ensure you are getting the details you want for your big day.
How did you find your venue and what made you choose it?
It just felt right. It felt like us – I love the countryside, we could see the hills rolling around us when we were looking out of the window of the bridal suite, with sheep grazing in the field. It was clean, the house and chapel were beautiful and the gardens had the most incredible flowers.
We found the venue was easy to get to from both London and Birmingham where our families would be travelling from and we decided it was the place for us.
Styling your wedding: how did you personalise your big day?
I used Etsy and Hobbycraft to purchase all of our centrepieces which were then decorated with flowers provided our florist to match our pastel/spring theme and I used pinterest for inspiration to design our wedding menus. I attached silk ribbon with velum name places to add an extra touch.
Myself and my bridesmaids blew up the balloon arch (for the photo room) the night before the wedding as we were getting ready to go into the hot tub which was an extra bit of fun. My mother in-law also bought us the most beautiful Turkish eye bowls as part of our favours that added a nice cultural touch to the table decorations.
Did the venue provide any memorable extras or nice personal touches that stood out?
A lovely wedding card with a free bottle of prosecco on our anniversary for a dinner date at Bourton Hall.
Describe your wedding attire and favourite accessories
I wanted a classical fairy-tale dress with lace and shimmer with a long veil – this was by far my favourite wedding accessory as I spent such a long time with my dress designer ensuring that every detail was perfect. My mum gave me her matching diamond floral necklace and earring set to wear for the day which matched my dress beautifully.
What did your partner wear?
Adam wore an incredible navy blue suit with a pastel blue tie to stand out from the groomsmen. I couldn’t take my eyes off him as I was walking down the aisle. It felt like the first time I had seen him all over again.
For the evening, just before the wedding breakfast he had an outfit change into a traditional sherwani which I helped him choose – it was pure white with diamante details which complimented my dress and he looked like a true Indian prince.
Tell us about your Bridesmaids, Groomsmen and their outfits
Adam’s groomsmen were his childhood friends that he has always been close with, there were 3 of them in total. They have a tradition of being best men for each other’s weddings. They all wore a similar shade suit to Adam’s with peach coloured ties to match the bridesmaids dresses.
My bridesmaids are my best friends (and also my most reliable friends) who I lived with and met at university and instantly said yes when I asked them. I had two of them wearing peach dresses to match our spring theme with lace detailing on the back.
What was your ceremony like?
We had our ceremony in the chapel and had Leos Strings in the balcony who played all of the music including our aisle piece which was sentimental as Adam used to play this song on the piano for me. River Flows In You – Yiruma. We had two readings which were Adam’s sister and auntie, we chose these from the brochure the registrar’s sent to us which made it easier to decide on.
My dad walked me down the aisle and it was probably the only part of the day that I was nervous for, as I knew that everyone was inside waiting for me to arrive. As soon as I entered the chapel and saw Adam, all of these nerves completely disappeared.
Tell us about your drinks reception and wedding breakfast
We had strawberry daiquiri, prosecco and peroni for our drinks choices to go with our canapes. Adam and I did a joint entrance after his outfit change into the sherwani with some music and the Best Men got everyone standing and waving their napkins as we made our entrance.
For the wedding breakfast, we chose the duck confit, roast rack of lamb with seasonal vegetables and lemon tart with clotted cream for dessert. The best men gave a joint speech which gave everyone a good laugh, followed by my Dad and Adam giving two wonderful speeches that were very sentimental.
Did you have a band or DJ for your evening reception? Did you have a first dance – what song did you choose?
We had live Turkish music as well as the Bourton Hall DJ. Our first dance song was Better Together – Jack Johnson and we learnt some spins and lifts the night before (leaving it very close!). We also got the DJ to fade this into Mundian To Bach Ke so we could get all of our family involved in some Asian dancing.
Based on your own experience, give us some top tips:
Try and make decorations/order them online as this will save you lots of money
Etsy do the cutest bridesmaid boxes which you can add your own things into as a thank you gift
View different venues, take photos and compare them in a wedding album
Did you go on a honeymoon or mini-moon?
Yes – we went to Italy and travelled around Florence, Tuscany, Bologna and Pisa. We went on a wine tour, had lots of incredible food and enjoyed the beautiful weather.
“If we could do it all again, we’d…”
We couldn’t do anything more – It really was the perfect day.
Wedding attire: Dress – Fairytale London
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Cinicina
Photographer: Dita Bowen
Invitations & Favours: Etsy
Videographer – Blossom Wedding Films
Florist – Stemsations
