OUT OF the blue Stephanie and John styled their day in a gloriously multicoloured palette of pastels with cornflower blue accents Images courtesy of Daniella Marinos Photography Stephanie and John’s relationship began as long-distance friends. They met on a night out, but Stephanie was living in Kent at the time, and John in Bristol. While they’d meet up through mutual friends whenever Stephanie visited Bristol they’d otherwise spend their time playing video games together online. Eventually, Stephanie moved to Bristol and they began spending much more time together before they started dating a few months later. Each year on their anniversary the couple would visit Westonbirt Arboretum, which was somewhere they’d spent one of their first dates. On one such visit, celebrating five years together, they walked around the entire site and when they reached a quiet spot with no one else around, John got down on one knee and asked Stephanie to marry him. Through happy tears she asked him if he was being serious then said “yes” as quickly as possible! When looking for a wedding venue, high on the agenda was somewhere they could celebrate the entire day from ceremony to reception. They also wanted somewhere they could spend the night and offered them exclusive access throughout the day. “We’d viewed one or two places before Coombe Lodge, but as we started walking around, we both knew this was the one. I even got a bit emotional,” Stephanie remembers. Read on as the bride shares her happy memories of the big day, 27th March, 2022... 39 REAL WEDDINGS
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