Melissa and David met in the summer of 2018. “We matched on a dating website,” says Melissa. “We clicked right away, and after a few weeks of talking, we decided to meet for our first date. We went to a local restaurant and talked so much that every time our waitress came over, we still hadn’t looked at the menu. Neither of us had much experience with online dating, so we weren’t really sure what to expect, but the transition from talking online to meeting in person was easy, and we quickly became inseparable.” After a couple of years together and numerous proposal plans spoiled by lockdown restrictions, David finally popped the question. “I’d planned to propose in France on holiday with my family, but the trip was cancelled due to COVID-19,” shares David. “Several of my back-up plans were also disrupted, so I asked Melissa to marry me in front of her family on Christmas Day.” SETTING THE SCENE “Once David had proposed, we started wedding planning right away,” explains Melissa. “We were in the middle of one of the many lockdowns, so searching for a wedding venue was difficult. We arranged video calls with several properties and relied on virtual tours to help make our decision. We knew we wanted a rustic venue, so when we came across Houchins in Coggeshall, it immediately grabbed our interest. The team took the time to show us around the site, and we fell in love with it within minutes. From our first enquiry to our wedding day, the staff were wonderful, and nothing was too much trouble.” Melissa and David opted for wooden place names from Personalise365, which also doubled up as favours. “We’ve been to several weddings where the favours were left at the end of the night, so we wanted something personal that our guests could keep,” recalls the bride. “These tied in well with our theme, and our friends and family loved them. “Our centrepieces were concrete planters from CraftyLittleCactus,” continues Melissa. “We wanted something that represented our relationship and mutual interests, so we opted for a variety of designs from various films and games. We placed these on log slices and our florist, Miss Fleur Floral Design, added a trio of vases full of pink and white blooms. We loved the final look, and several of our guests asked to take home the planters.” The happy couple planned their colour scheme around their flowers. “I came across some of Miss Fleur Floral Design’s work on Instagram and instantly fell in love with her style,” adds the bride. “I contacted Kelly and chose options from her ready-made wedding package. David and I opted for oversized bouquets, buttonholes, centrepieces, pew ends and a large arrangement, which we used for the ceremony and top table. “For the cake, we chose a three-tiered semi-naked design from The Gourmet Cake Company,” says Melissa. “The bottom tier was chocolate, the middle was lemon and the top Victoria sponge. We decorated the cake with flowers provided by our florist and a personalised cake topper from Artlocke Designs. We were sad that our beloved cat, Kiki, couldn’t be a part of our day, so we felt the topper was a fun way of incorporating her. We adored the final design, and it’s now proudly on display in our home.” For their food, the couple opted for a sit-down barbecue provided by Limeberry Events Catering. “I’m a fussy eater, so the idea of a threecourse meal didn’t really appeal to me,” shares the bride. “We discussed our options with our caterer and decided on a barbecue made up of burgers, salmon and halloumi followed by a chocolate brownie for dessert. The food was delicious! When it came to our evening catering, we wanted something quite relaxed. We booked Lot 33 Pizza, who provided wood-fired pizzas that our guests loved. We chose four different flavours, and there was none left at the end of the night.” 39 REAL WEDDINGS
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