My dress, Oceana by Willowby by Watters, was from The Suffolk Wedding Dress Exchange. I was looking for something elegant and sleek yet simple and flattering and my dress ticked all the boxes. I probably tried on over 30 dresses at five different places and had almost given up hope. Before I visited The Suffolk Wedding Dress Exchange, the owner asked me to pick 10 to try from the website. My dress was included in that selection, but when I saw it, I dismissed it as I thought it would wash me out. Just goes to show you have to try on all types of dresses even if you don’t initially like them on the hanger. For me, getting ready was quite a rush as I had appointments at the hair salon, make-up studio and barbers for the twins. I had to get myself ready plus three children with the help of my parents and the twin’s childminder, as well as keep us all fed and watered! Once I had arrived at the ceremony, I actually felt quite calm. I think I was just relieved to get there and pleased that the moment had finally come when I would marry my best friend. Darren hired his suit from Moss in Ipswich. They were really helpful and the three-day hire period suited our plans. He went for a lightweight tweed three-piece suit with tan shoes, a gold and floral tie with a matching pocket cloth and a pocket watch. At our ceremony, we had a harpist called Louise Binks. We met her at a wedding fair and were so impressed. Her repertoire is amazing and she is so talented. Louise played background music for our guests, played as I walked in, and then played background music during the signing of the register. She also followed us to our reception and played during the canapés, lawn drinks, garden games and photos. Our best man played background music during the wedding breakfast through the village hall sound system and we had a DJ and singer in the evening. We used Felix Simpson from Norwich; he has an amazing voice and an extensive repertoire of songs he can play. People were up and dancing right away. The DJ was Lee Gibling from LG Entertainment and he was also brilliant. We bought some light-up foam glow sticks from Amazon, which were so much fun while dancing. I remember watching our sons walk down the aisle in front of me; they walked so well, holding hands, and I felt so proud. They gave Darren a hug when they got to him and it was all I could do to hold back the tears. I also enjoyed walking with my dad and him giving me away. REAL WEDDINGS 35
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