Your Herts and Beds Wedding - February / March 2021 (Issue 84)

REAL WEDDINGS 29 D avid and Melissa first met during their teen years at an under 18s nightclub and began speaking over MSN. Over time they became best friends and the following year a couple – the rest is history! When it came to the proposal, David had a huge surprise waiting for Melissa. She says, “I had arranged a surprise night away for his birthday glamping in a cabin in the countryside. David had found out by mistake and without me knowing, drove two hours the day before to decorate the cabin ready to propose as soon as we arrived the next day – of course I said yes!” Here Melissa shares details about their special day… SETTING THE SCENE When it came to finding the venue, the couple knew South Farm was the perfect space that allowed the whole day to occur in one location. Melissa says, “We were able to get ready at the venue and stay the night of the wedding, this included breakfast the next day with our family who also stayed. South Farm is a beautiful venue with all the finer details thought of.” For favours the pair gave mini bottles of Jäger to thank guests for coming and created personalised activity packs for the children with glow sticks. A task the lovebirds found difficult was finding a table plan and wedding signs. Melissa says, “I had attended a wedding fair and Hunnibell Chalk was there with her wedding signs and I knew they’d be lovely at our wedding. Her designs were so unique and could be personalised to whatever theme, so we chose pink peonies to be incorporated in all our signs to match the flowers in my bouquet.” Peonies are the bride’s favourite flower but were a struggle to find due to the time of year. However, after finding a florist who offers artificial flowers, the possibilities were endless. She says, “An artificial flowers meant I could keep my bouquet for years to come and it wasn’t much more expensive than if I had real flowers.” The bridesmaids’ bouquets were gypsophila and looked lovely in the photos. To make sure all the guests could easily access the venue, the couple hired a coach to collect everyone and bring them back home again to remove any pressure for guests trying to arrange how to get to and from the venue. When it came to finding the food options for the wedding, the couple made sure to pick foods they like without worrying about pleasing everyone else. Melissa says, “For our canapés, we chose satay chicken, mini cheeseburgers, halloumi, brownies and blondies. Some might find those options random, but they went down a treat with our guests.” Beef with potatoes, vegetables and gravy was chosen for the mains and sticky toffee pudding for dessert while all the children had chicken nuggets and chocolate brownie for dessert. In the evening a hog roast was offered which went down great with the evening guests. LOOKING THE PART Most brides dream of their wedding dress from a young age, Melissa always knew she wanted one with a detailed back and picked a Maggie Sottero design. She borrowed a friend’s wedding veil as her something borrowed. She says, “It felt surreal seeing myself in a wedding dress, but I 