Despite never hearing of any online-dating success stories, having a young son it was an easy way for Leanne to meet and chat to people in the evenings without needing to leave the house. It was here she found David and was attracted to his handsome and kind face. “I thought I had nothing to lose by sending him the first message, and here we are eight years later,” Leanne tells us. David proposed in 2018, at home with their three children. “David is quite shy and doesn’t like a lot of attention on him, so the idea of proposing in a public place filled him with dread,” Leanne explains. So, he chose one Sunday in October, while Leanne was in her element, using her new carpet cleaner! She remembers, “From the doorway, David asked to speak to me and I shouted at him to get off the carpet as it was still wet. I turned around to moan at him some more and found him on one knee with a small box and a diamond sparkling at me. I immediately burst into tears and asked if he was winding me up!” Read on as Leanne tells us all about the big day at Broome Park Hotel on 21st August, 2021... LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION The couple were on the lookout for an exclusive-use venue with impact. They wanted to wow their guests with a spectacular backdrop for their dream wedding. Also on their checklist was somewhere with enough rooms to stay in as they would have guests coming from all over including Scotland and the U.S. “I stumbled across Broome Park on my 1,000th search of venues in the South and booked an appointment,” Leanne remembers. “I remember driving through the woodland before turning a corner and – WOW! There it was. It gave me goose bumps every time we went there and always will. It’s truly the most beautiful venue I’ve ever visited. The main house makes such a statement and the grounds are stunning,” she continues. SETTING THE SCENE Leanne dreamed of getting married since she was little and had always imagined a big white wedding filled with sparkle and touches of her favourite colour, pink. “I’m incredibly girly, so I wanted glamour and pretty combined,” she explains. To complement the dream theme the bride chose pink roses for her bouquet. And as she was keen for the palette to flow seamlessly through the styling, the table numbers, place names and table plan were all designed to match the invitations – pink, sparkly and super-pretty. The vision for the big-day bake was: showstopping. The pair enlisted the services of a very talented cake maker who designed five tiers of pink and sparkle. “It was so beautiful, I was gutted to cut it, but it tasted yummy,” Leanne recalls. Thoughtful finishing touches included confetti cones, flip flops for the evening, a toiletries table complete with deodorant, plasters, paracetamol and hair spray, all of which were very well received by guests. The newlyweds also treated their loved ones to a sweetie table, and other decorative elements featured a gift table with memory tree to honour lost loved ones. Plus, a light-up LOVE sign filled with pale pink and white flowers made for a great backdrop to impromptu snaps and selfies. LOOKING THE PART Leanne chose to wear Cherie by Ronald Joyce – a princess-style ball gown, sparkly from head to toe, with a dipped back. She says, “My mum sewed two petticoats together as I didn’t feel it was big enough, so I ended up with about 24 layers on the day!” She completed the look with glittery Jimmy Choos and a cathedral-length, two-tiered veil adorned in gems, plus a tiara. David wore a navy two-piece suit with a grey waistcoat, white cravat and white pocket square. His buttonhole was a white rose with a thistle to honour his late dad. The groomsmen were all dressed in the same navy suits and waistcoats, but accessorised with pink cravats and pocket squares with a single pink rose buttonhole each. The bridesmaids looked beautiful in pale pink, full-length, chiffon dresses with a small train. REAL WEDDING 39
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