Kaana first met Ant about a decade ago when she and her family were frequent visitors at his workplace, always stopping by to say hello. They became good friends, but due to their age gap, it never developed into anything more. After losing touch for seven years, they unexpectedly reconnected in 2021. At that time, Kaana worked at a make-up store on weekends while studying, and the store experienced a thief. Ant, who was with the police, had a colleague take her statement. When he heard her name at the station, he recognised it and reached out to her on Instagram. They began chatting regularly for months, and Ant would drop by her workplace before eventually asking her out. Their first date was a turning point, and soon after, Kaana moved in three months later. She realised from the first date that she wanted to spend her life with Ant, and they have been inseparable ever since. They share similar values and enjoy the same activities. Once they started living together, they discovered they had made an incredible team and were best friends, which matters most! Anthony proposed in Paris on his 33rd birthday in November 2022, which was unexpected for Kaana. She comments, “I knew he was going to pop the question at some point, as we had spoken about it at length and I had looked at rings with him, but I think it’s always a surprise even if you know you want to get married. You can never expect it or know when it’s coming.” SETTING THE SCENE The couple had half a year to prepare for the wedding, and they understood the importance of being well-organised. However, their priority was truly enjoying the day and making it uniquely theirs. It’s common for couples to get sidetracked during the planning process, but this duo was committed to keeping their desires at the centre of everything. Anthony’s ultimate aim was to marry his best friend – nothing more needed to be said! When the couple arrived at Upwaltham Barns to view the property, they were blown away. It was beautiful; they loved the location and the honeymoon cottage they got to stay the night of the wedding. They loved how the ceremony and reception were all in one place, matching the theme perfectly. The bride comments, “We could imagine getting married there, and I think you need to picture it before you commit to a venue. The staff were amazing too, and I felt at ease with them. I think that’s a big part of it, as these people will ensure that your wedding day is running smoothly, so you need to entrust them with that.” The mother-of-the-bride made all of the favours. She ordered personalised chocolates with the pair’s names and wedding dates to go inside tiny gift boxes that matched the colour scheme perfectly. Kaana comments, “I have been to so many weddings where favours are wasted or left behind, so we wanted to have something small on the table for guests to have after the speeches; everyone loves chocolate, and they were a hit!” Kaana put together the table plan using a mirror belonging to Anthony’s grandparents. It was a stunning vintage mirror that was heavy, so the bride was concerned that the stand wouldn’t hold it up, but it was fine! She ordered the name cards from a lovely Etsy store, Ottie Design, which designed most of the beautiful wedding stationery. The bride’s sister created the centrepieces. The couple bought silk flowers from different shops, and she compiled them all onto a wire circle base. They looked beautiful, especially with a gold lantern in the middle. The florist for the fresh flowers on the day was called Cathy from Winch & Willow. She was great and really captured exactly what the couple wanted. A lady called Micah from Mrs Bouquet designed the large arch for the barn doors and the ceremony table arrangement. The lovebirds chose to have silk flowers for these areas as they were worried about fresh flowers wilting in the July sun and the roses not being stark ivory in photos; she did a great job and the pair were over the moon with how real the florals looked in photos. All catering was done in-house by Upwaltham Barn’s sister company, Nibbles2Nosh. The menu was so vast that the pair struggled to pick! Guests could start with duck salad, then choose lamb or beef for the main course and 46
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0NTE=