Your East Midlands Wedding - February / March 2021 (Issue 42)

REAL WEDDINGS 31 J oseph and Angela’s adventure together first started when they crossed paths at work. After three years of just being friends/colleagues, one night changed everything. During a night shift, the pair started chatting more and realised how well they got on and shared the same sense of humour. Angela says, “I think pretty early on we both knew it was special as we’re very well suited. Joe always describes me as ‘The Laurel to his Hardy’, I love that as we’re meant to be together.” During a trip to Oslo on a cruise, Joe plucked up the courage to ask Angela to marry him, which was a huge surprise, and she said yes without hesitation. The date was set for 12 th September 2020, and the nearlyweds worked hard to plan their dream wedding. Angela says, “We aimed to create a day we could share with our friends and family; this was ironic needless to say as we ultimately had to restrict our numbers to 30 due to COVID-19.” Nevertheless, the day was still filled with countless memories, plenty of happiness and celebration. SETTING THE SCENE The couple had already chosen a venue with large spaces and stunning gardens for their wedding, which ended up not working out due to complications. Angela says, “We contacted Robyn at The Rancliffe Arms who was amazing at helping us to resurrect our reception and make it the wonderful event that it was. We will always be thankful to both Robyn and Rachel and their team for the kindness and positivity – they helped us at our lowest point!” LOOKING YOUR BEST When it came to finding the perfect wedding dress, the bride-to-be fell in love with the first dress she tried on. She says, “It was everything that I thought I didn’t want with no straps and a long train, but I loved it!” Blush by Jena Louise did the alterations on the gown and added straps. She adds, “I’d had the dress for a year with lots of fittings and then all the worry about restrictions. I was just so happy to be wearing it for the actual day.” The groom looked dashing in a Moss Bros suit which matched the groomsmen. Joseph wore a top hat and gold tie to stand out compared to the blue ties everyone else had on. “I had my sister as one of my bridesmaids and her dress came from David’s Bridal in Birmingham; it was the first dress she had seen and fallen in love with it. The other bridesmaids’ dresses were quite stressful to sort out due to lockdown and not being allowed to try anything on, but they looked beautiful in the end,” says Angela. 