Your East Anglian Wedding - Feb/Mar 2019 (Issue 35)

REAL WEDDINGS 47  L iam and Martyn first met at The Bell Inn, St Olaves for a lunch date in 2012 and didn’t see each other again until nearly two years later. “I obviously didn’t make a very good impression,” jokes Liam. Fate was on their side though as they crossed paths again on a dating app. “Using my famous wit and charm, I convinced Martyn to give me another chance. We arranged to meet for coffee and ended up talking late into the night. It was so easy to have a conversation with him and we didn’t stop laughing, which is so important. It wasn’t long into the relationship that I knew we’d be together forever.” BY THE SEASHORE After spending the next two years discouraging Martyn from thoughts of marriage, the subject cropped up again on 24 th September, 2016. “I told him for the final time that it wasn’t going to happen, but what he didn’t know was that I’d spent the last six months looking for the perfect ring and thinking of how I could propose,” reveals Liam. He popped the question the following morning while out walking along their favourite beach in Benacre. “I ran off with Henry, our handsome French bulldog, and hid behind the sand dunes. I called out to Martyn that Henry had found something and as he dashed around the corner I was already down on one knee. I’m not one for words and find it hard to really show emotion, so with the manliest diamond ring I could find I asked him to be my forever man. Through the tears he managed to say yes.” SETTING THE SCENE Southwood Hall was the first venue they looked at and it ticked all the boxes for their big day. “We wanted to be sure though, so we visited a few more places around East Anglia but something was missing from each one, which at the time we couldn’t quite put our finger on,” explains Liam. “As much as we loved the barn at Southwood, the gardens and views, it was actually the service we received that helped us make our final decision. The staff made us feel so welcome and special, they put our minds at ease and really made us excited about how the day was going to look.” The night before the wedding they stayed on site, Liam and the groomsmen in the house, with Martyn and the bridesmaids in the sumptuous Cartshed Lodge. “We had a barbecue, a few glasses of fizz and a soak in the jacuzzi before parting ways at midnight,” recalls Liam. ALL FINE AND DANDY For the wedding party attire, they opted for a range of styles and a striking colour palette. Martyn wore a navy suit with a burgundy paisley bow tie and O V E R T H E R A I N B O W Liam and Martyn’s fun-filled day was a celebration of all things bright and beautiful Images courtesy of Tim Stephenson Photography