of spaces, the beautiful barns and the gorgeous gardens available at Lillibrooke Manor and felt it would fit the atmosphere for our fun and relaxed wedding day!” Their ceremony was written, and delivered by celebrant Sam Dobson. “It was very personal to us and many of our guests commented that they’d never heard such a personal ceremony before,” Katie tells us. “There was plenty of laughter and happy tears and it included our dog walking down the aisle and then signing the marriage certificate along with both of our mums! Matt insisted that he get to ‘walk down the aisle’ too, so he walked arm in arm with his best man, Kenny to one of their favourite songs by The 1975 – the laughter started from then and set the vibe for our fun, relaxed day!” The couple chose bright colours as their theme along with cheerful, seasonal flowers. “We had beautiful colourful centrepieces that mirrored the colour in these blooms,” Katie says. “We kept our table plan simple and rustic-inspired with our table names after our favourite films (most of Matt’s were checked by me because they were horror films!) So, after some negotiation, the top table was one of our joint favourite films, The Pursuit of Happyness.” The couple chose festoon lighting and giant light-up letters to display throughout the Great Barn. “We also had an ice cream cart after our ceremony during the drinks reception which not only looked fantastic but was a great choice because it was a hot day!” They explain. “It offered our guests five different flavours of ice cream plus two sorbets and we also served ice-cold cider in personalised bottles.” Katie and Matt chose a barbecue for their wedding breakfast served on sharing platters. “Matt lived in Australia during some of his teenage years and loves a barbecue, plus it added to the relaxed feel of our special day,” Katie says. “This was followed by nine different wedding cakes made by my cousin in three different flavours including Pimms and passionfruit; chocolate and cherry; and coffee, walnut and caramel.” LOOKING THE PART Katie wore an ivory dress by Madison James accessorised with a beautiful, sparkly veil. “The dress wasn’t at all what I was expecting to pick but my mum and maid-of-honour encouraged me to try it on and as soon as I did, we all burst into happy tears so I just knew it was the one,” Katie tells us. “I wanted to feel like myself on the big day so I wore a pair of turquoise and yellow flip-flops all day and my nails were colourful too with bright blue and orange on my fingers and blue on my toes.” Katie also wore a necklace, earrings and bracelet set featuring small silver hearts with some of the flowers of her bouquet etched onto them. “I loved this personal touch,” she says. Matt chose a blue suit, white shirt and orange tie while the couple’s seven bridesmaids wore multi-way dresses. “I wanted them to feel comfortable and relaxed so they could style their dresses how they wanted and they were all matching in a bold blue colour.” TIME TO CELEBRATE Katie organised surprise singing waiters to perform during the wedding breakfast which was a surprise to their guests and Matt too! “They were a highlight of the day because the singing was spectacular and they got the party started. People were dancing on chairs and doing the conga outside – it was an amazing moment when they revealed who they were!” During the evening, the couple’s photographer, Loren, supplied a photo booth with plenty of dressing-up items by the bar. “Some of the photos of this are hilarious!” Katie tells us. “We also had a DJ to entertain our guests throughout the evening who kept the dancefloor packed – I didn’t stop dancing all night!” REAL WEDDINGS 43
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