Samantha and Joseph first met while out with friends when they were 14 years old. “We didn’t say hello to each other, but that evening Joseph added me on Facebook and we spoke for four days before Joseph asked me out,” says Samantha. “I found Joseph to be very handsome and talking to him felt so easy and he always made me laugh.” Joseph proposed on the couple’s eighth anniversary. “He asked me while we were in Poland,” shares the bride. “I had no idea he was going to propose and I was in complete shock when he asked me to marry him!” SETTING THE SCENE “The Cave Hotel & Golf Resort was the first venue that we looked at,” explains Samantha. “It was still being built; however, when we viewed it, we fell in love with how modern and slightly rustic it looked. The wedding package that we were offered allowed us to have exclusive use of the hotel with all of the bedrooms on the night of the wedding and 10 rooms the night before at a discounted rate! As well as this, the package included so many benefits that no other venue offered. Every other property that we looked at we compared to the Cave Hotel & Golf Resort, and eventually we knew where we wanted to celebrate our big day!” For their favours, the happy couple gave their guests scratch cards, personalised sweets and shot glasses, which everyone loved. To decorate their reception space, Samantha and Joseph asked their florist, Stag Cottage Flowers, to create a log platform for each table. “On each platform sat three vases of different heights filled with water and floating candles,” recalls the bride. “We had a small vase filled with flowers that not only matched the colour scheme but also the bouquets. Our florist attached a lovely picture of my late grandad to my bouquet, which my maid-of-honour, Beckie, got for me as a present.” The couple purchased their place names from Etsy. “These were standing plaques that were a mirror blue to match the colour scheme,” explains Samantha. “For anyone who was a part of the wedding party, we included their roles on their name plaques as well. The tables were numbered and the signs were in a lovely pearl colour to break up the blue. “Our cake from All Shapes & Slices Cake Co was incredible,” continues Samantha. “It was three tiers and the exterior was white with a rippled effect and it was covered head to toe in fake flowers, which matched the colour of the bouquets. The bottom tier was white chocolate and vanilla; the middle was made up of chocolate; and the top was Biscoff. We have frozen the rest and will keep it for our first wedding anniversary. The Cave Hotel & Golf Resort supplied the rest of our food for the day and we both agree that it was incredible! The canapés in particular were out of this world!” DRESSED TO IMPRESS “My dress was the complete opposite of what I thought I wanted,” reveals Samantha. “I always thought I’d want a satin white dress with a sweetheart neckline. My dress was nothing like that, but it was everything and more that I wanted in a dress! I accessorised with a tennis bracelet, diamond earrings and a necklace, which was the most important part. It was my something old, and what made it special was that it once belonged to Joseph’s late grandmother and was gifted to me by Joseph’s mum. It meant so much to me to wear it and have a little bit of grandma with me on the day. “Joseph wore an incredible three-piece blue suit from Santoro Milan,” continues the bride. “He paired it with navy shoes and a blue tie with a pattern that matched his waistcoat. He finished the look with 41 REAL WEDDINGS
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0NTE=