An Essex Wedding - Nov/Dec 2019 (Issue 89)

For our disco we used a family friend’s company, Wow Roadshow. It was lovely to have that personal touch as they were chatting with guests and getting involved. We also had a magic mirror photo booth, which our guests loved as they got a memento to take home. One of the best men lives in Australia and didn’t think he’d make the wedding. I messaged him explaining how much it’d mean to James and he managed to make the epic journey and be there. He gave the most incredible speech, as did my son, Ryan. He stood up on a chair and soon had everyone in tears. The men looked dashing in navy slim-fit suits from Anthony Formal Wear. My eight-year-old son, Ryan, wore the same and I found a matching suit for our one-year-old son, Harry, online! My best girls looked beautiful in dusky blue strappy maxi styles. After deciding where everyone was going to sit, we wanted to make our table plan as simple as possible. We used a multi-photo frame and finished it off with pictures of us in the empty spaces. James’ dad hand-wrote the place settings on tags, which we attached to our favours. I wore a satin A-line Sophia Tolli gown from Serenity Brides. It wasn’t what I imagined myself wearing, but I tried on four dresses before that and didn’t get the feeling you hear brides talking about! I didn’t like the dress on the hanger but when I put it on my whole bridal party cried! I knew it was the one. I suffer with anxiety and thought I’d be a mess in the morning, but I was surprised at how calm I was. James was excited in the morning; I think the McDonald’s breakfast helped! He started getting nervous as he got ready, but that was more to do with his speech. REAL WEDDINGS 51 