These lovebirds met each other on tinder in 2015! Katie was very busy with work so told Dan that it would be a while before she could actually meet up and he was fine with that! The pair finally met on a Sunday at 2pm and didn’t get home till midnight! Safe to say, they hit it off straight away. Dan planned an amazing day; they went to a rooftop bar overlooking St Paul’s and then on to a restaurant for dinner. Years later, Dan proposed in their living room the day before they flew to Dubai, he’d had a job offer and they were going to see if it would be for them. Katie comments, “We were doing all the usual pre-holiday chores after returning from dinner at one of our favorite pubs in Highgate. I went into our kitchen/living room when I was finished and all the lights were off, I figured a fuse had blown, but Dan was in the living room by the fireplace with rose petals everywhere and on one knee. I froze, squeaked and asked him what on earth he was doing! I can’t remember the rest as I was just crying at him! Of course, I said ‘yes’ and the ring he had designed himself was absolutely perfect.” SETTING THE SCENE The bride didn’t know where to start with wedding planning, she just wanted to get married quickly as the couple had been dating for more than seven years – she was patiently waiting! “I knew I wanted to get married in the church where my parents did and many other family members throughout generations,” says Katie. “We wanted our wedding reception to take place near the Christchurch Priory that had availability in 2023! When I saw Somerley on a sleepless night at 3am on Instagram, I knew it was prefect for our wedding. I really wanted a country house and, a massive plus, was the on-site accommodation that could host a large number of guests. During a viewing of the venue, the team opened the doors to the picture gallery and said, ‘this is where you will come in and will be announced as Mr and Mrs Lowe’ − I got goosebumps all over and wanted to cry! One of my maids-of-honour, Maddie, is an events planner and the whole way throughout the planning experience she was spectacular.” The father-of-the-bride sorted out the transport on the day and hired a 1930s Rolls Royce from Premier Carriage so Katie could arrive in style. She says, “I wasn’t fussed about how we arrived to the venue before it was pointed out that I was going to be in a large, expensive, white dress and therefore, would need something that I would get in and out of easily as well as safely! I was so pleased we booked transport as some of my favourite photos are either in or getting out of the car! “It was the best weekend of our lives, truly everything was just as we hoped and more. Dan was always nervous about having a big wedding because he doesn’t love being center of attention and he said there was nothing he loved more! I wish it all could have gone on for longer.” STYLED TO PERFECTION Katie had spent a lot of time on Pinterest and sent a lot of images to her florist, Emma at Arcade Flowers, who’s advice and vision she very much trusted. Due to the time of year and the grandeur of the venue’s picture gallery, the bride wanted to dress the mantlepiece behind the top table and have lots of candles for ambience, creating the perfect candle-lit dinner. The venue has amazing shutters that are mirrored on the inside when closed and the pair wanted to make the most of this. Katie says, “Emma got the brief perfectly and was amazing! She posted an image on Wednesday of a tall candelabra and I messaged her saying can we make this work as I loved the arrangement. She didn’t even blink and my maid-ofhonour sourced some perfect tall, tapered candles, the room just took my breath away when I saw it. I didn’t even check it before the dinner, I knew it would be amazing and it did not disappoint. “Christchurch Priory is such a huge venue, so we simply had two huge urns to draw focus on us when saying our vows, these were then relocated to the entrance of the picture gallery. My bouquet was the same, and the bridesmaids had smaller versions. Both our mums had little buttonholes as well as the groomsmen.” The couple are big foodies and restaurants have played a big part in their lives and relationship, so for the table names they chose restaurants that meant a lot like the setting for their first date. Guests were placed at restaurant names where Katie 35 REAL WEDDINGS
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