I wanted us to wear matching suits; we looked at traditional options and ‘standard’ suits in various colours, but nothing jumped out. We wanted something special that would be unique and was not something that would be worn every day, or that anyone else was likely to turn up in. Eventually, we found Aristocracy London Ltd, who produce limited edition pieces, and we managed to get something special. We chose an angel blue three-piece Nehru suit with a textured jacket and waistcoat, fastened with a chain. As we had such a wide circle of close friends, we didn’t want to choose one over another for the purposes of a wedding party. We also wanted it to be inclusive without it being thought that we were prioritising some guests over others, so in the end, we chose Steve’s two nephews to be the ring bearers, and they also wore navy suits with burnt orange satin ties. We hired a DJ for the evening, as well as a selfie frame and photo booth. We also used the lawn at Broadoaks Country House for games for the children. We each bought a pocket watch for the other as a gift, and had cufflinks specially engraved. We decided that we didn’t want some guests to only be invited for part of the day, so all invitations were for the whole day. We were also aware that people would have to travel to the Lake District, so we made sure that there was time for people to check into hotels, walk dogs, and have a little time to themselves. Our focus was to keep them fed and watered and to make sure that they felt involved. After 20 years together, there were no nerves. It felt natural and something long overdue. When we started planning, we were going to have a small wedding and considered eloping but decided that we should just invite immediate family. Over the course of a few weeks, the numbers grew until it reached 100. We still wanted the closeness of immediate family, so we arranged for mothers and siblings to come to the Lake District a day earlier to have dinner, drinks and spa treatments. 27 REAL WEDDINGS
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