The food was one of my favourite parts. Our caterers were amazing and went beyond our wildest expectations. They catered really generously, so there were quite a few leftovers, and my dad got straight on the phone and arranged for a local charity to collect the spare food so that nothing went to waste. That meant a lot because we wanted to throw away as little as possible. I also got some of my ex-students to be bartenders for us; they did an amazing job, and it was lovely to have them as part of the day. For our honeymoon, we took a 17-day train trip through Europe. Neither of us are beach people, but we love cities and culture. We had stops in Amsterdam, Berlin, Vienna, Salzburg, and Munich. We planned it together, with some help from my dad, and had the best time. LAURA AND RICH’S CONTACTS Venue, The Guildhall, www.lichfield.gov.uk/guildhall_706.aspx | Photographer, Ten Foot Tall Photography, www.10foottallphotography.co.uk | Bride’s dress, Monsoon, www.monsoon.co.uk | Bride’s accessories, AmberspicebridalbyDS, www.etsy.com/uk/shop/amberspicebridalbyDS | Groom’s outfit, House Of Cavani, www.cavani.co.uk | Hair stylist, SDJ Mobile Hair Stylist, www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057627572717 | Make-up artist, Rachel Prince – Make Up, www.facebook.com/rachelprincemakeup Cake, Cakes of Wonderland, www.cakesofwonderlandlichfield.co.uk | Daytime catering, Westwoods Kitchen, www.westwoodskitchen.com Evening catering, Dirty Donkey Ltd, www.dirtydonkeyltd.co.uk | Entertainment, Mirror Image Disco, www.mirrorimagedisco.co.uk | Photo booth, Kabooth Photo Booth & Magic Mirror Hire, www.kabooth.co.uk | Venue styling, Wright’s Events - Cakes, Catering & Venue Dressing, www.facebook.com/lynnewrightsicingdelights The ceremony was beautiful; our best friends did readings from our favourite authors, and it was really sweet to see in the photos how emotional my dad was walking me down the aisle. I also loved our speeches; we kept them short but also made everyone laugh. While the room was set up for the reception, we encouraged our guests to go on a scavenger hunt around Lichfield. We’d arranged for special clues to be put up in shop windows, and there was a worksheet to fill in. Loads of our guests loved it, but my teacher friends headed straight to the pub! We felt incredibly happy but surprisingly relaxed on the morning of the wedding! Having a relatively unstructured and informal vibe made it possible to enjoy ourselves. I couldn’t stop smiling all day; it was just really joyful. Even though it was March, it was a gloriously sunny day. Martin and Louise, our photographers from Ten Foot Tall Photography, did a fabulous job capturing our massive grins! In the evening, we had a brilliant DJ and a photo booth, both of which went down well with our guests. 40
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