back of my hair.” Sam and his groomsmen chose the same suit design. “It was a blue jacket with a small tweed effect and a waistcoat with a burnt orange tie,” says the bride. “Sam wanted to be matching with his entourage and even got the same suit for his little cousin Isaac, who was the honorary best man. Sam’s best woman wore a beautiful burnt orange dress, which matched the groomsmen’s ties. My dad also wore the same suit, which was a really nice touch. “I bought the bridesmaid dresses from JJ’s House,” adds Jess. “I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the material. Each bridesmaid wore the same style in a rich burgundy colour. The dresses were tied at the waist, floor length, with a bell sleeve which was fitting for the time of year. I made sure that they all chose a design that they were happy with, and they all looked beautiful.” TIME TO CELEBRATE “My beautiful sister sang Christina Perri’s A Thousand Years as I walked down the aisle,” recalls the bride. “She sang it so beautifully, and it was one of the most special moments of the day for me. We then had entertainment between the ceremony and the reception as we wanted to ensure there was never a dull moment for our guests. We began with our wonderful friend and extremely talented wedding singer Joel Brown, who performed some of our favourite songs. “We asked Sam’s best woman and founder of Just Imagine UK to provide some form of entertainment later in the evening,” adds Jess. “Our nearest and dearest came together to perform a mash-up of our favourite musical numbers. They even got Sam up on a chair and dressed him in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’s robes and made him sing all the colours of the coat from the song. It was the most spectacular moment, and so amazing to see so many of our loved ones putting so much effort into making the performance extra special. We knew something was happening but never expected that, and the guests certainly didn’t either! Our first dance was also a very special moment for us; we kept looking at our guests and couldn’t believe that they were all there for us. At that moment, when we were dancing and looking at each other, it was like we were all alone with our entire future ahead of us.” The couple hired a fire-breather, who performed outside around the firepits. “The guests could not believe their eyes,” shares Jess. “Lastly, when the party was in full swing, we had a saxophonist/DJ called Saxo Dan, who had a light-up saxophone and played along to well-known, popular tracks. It was absolutely incredible and really set the party off!” MEMORABLE MOMENTS “It was a surreal day for us,” explains Jess. “We had been doing nothing but planning the wedding for two years, and neither of us could believe that the day had finally come. Sam was nervous, but I was relaxed and people couldn’t understand how I wasn’t more apprehensive. I was marrying my best friend and the love of my life, a moment I had dreamt of for so long, so anything else that came with it was too late to worry about. All that was left to do was enjoy the day, which we did in abundance. We kept stealing moments together, just watching the day unfold, and we couldn’t believe that it was our wedding day! “My dad’s speech was a special moment, as he kept telling me he didn’t think he could do it as he was too nervous,” adds the bride. “My mum had one prepared in case he couldn’t do it. He ended up writing it on the back of a parking ticket he found in the car that morning! It was the perfect mix of funny, beautiful, emotional and moving. Everybody loved it, and as soon as he was handed the mic, he was a natural.” 30
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