Jo and Jonah met in the workplace where their desks were near one another. “Jonah is six years younger than me, and I always used to say: ‘If only he were older!’” Jo says. “I guess after a while it just didn’t seem as important.” She asked him if he’d like to go for a walk on the beach with her and he agreed. Jonah says, “We didn’t really have anything in common, but always had so much to talk about. Although we had different interests, it was clear from the beginning that we both had similar morals and outlook on life.” The couple headed to the Isle of Wight for a long weekend to celebrate their five-year anniversary, and were having drinks in the hotel gardens when Jonah produced an engagement ring. He didn’t even get a chance to pop the question, as Jo had said, “Yes,” straight away. “We both cried happy tears for ages,” she remembers. It was important to the pair that their guests should feel comfortable and have fun on their big day, and they chose Gildredge Manor, which felt perfect. “It had lots of different spaces so people could dance if they wanted to, or chat at the bar,” Jo explains. “There was a room with a pool table and foosball table, as well as a lounge away from the noise of the party.” With the venue’s gorgeous Georgian elegance and light, airy nature, it was easy to see that this was the one. So, the date was set for 28th August, 2022... Read on as the couple tell us more about their beautiful big day... SETTING THE SCENE For the ceremony, white chiffon sashes were tied around each chair, and standing at the altar was a big white blossom cherry tree, which the couple stood beneath as they said their vows. Their florist had also dotted vases of flowers here and here, and after the “I dos” the bridesmaids’ flowers and bridal bouquet were added to vases too. “The venue was gorgeous, so we didn’t feel we needed to add anything else,” Jo says. Jo and Jonah picked a beautifully contrasting palette of dusky blue, burgundy and cream for their styling. Jonah’s suit was burgundy, while Jo’s dress was blush and the bridesmaids were dressed in blue, so the flowers would need to pull everything together. They briefed their florist that they didn’t want the florals to be too perfectly neat – no precise, round ball bouquets or centrepieces for them. Instead, Jo wanted to go for something big yet natural. They were also keen to include jasmine flowers as a way of incorporating their daughter, Jasmine. Jonah wanted white cherry blossom trees, while Jo had her heart set on flower arrangements to match the bridal party for the centrepieces. “Everyone tells you marriage is about compromise,” Jo tells us. “So, we did half and half, and I think it worked really well!” The couple were keen to gift their guests wedding favours, but they’d read that they should approach with caution as anything disposable often gets left behind. With that in mind, they decided instead to donate the money they’d set aside for favours to a few different charities close to their hearts (RSPCA, East Sussex Air Ambulance, and Cancer Research UK). They also bought pin badges from each charity, which came on little cards to inform them of the donation made in their name. “This way, guests could have the pin badge if they wanted, but if they got left behind, at least we knew the money hadn’t gone to waste,” Jo says. The couple wrote everyone’s menu choice on little cards that matched the ones the pins were attached to, and tied the two REAL WEDDINGS 31
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