honour’s late mother, who Tegen has very fond memories of. Sam was dressed in a forest green three-piece suit with patterned tie. He accessorised with a Longine watch, with a green face. He also wore a dried flower pocket and the leaf of Lorien from Lord Of The Rings. Meanwhile, his groomsmen looked super-smart in dark green trouser suits with white shirt, brown braces, green bow ties, and also wore the leaf of Lorien. Sam decided he’d wanted to stand out in a full suit, but given it was 18 degrees at this time of year, he didn’t want his groomsmen to be too hot. “They all really looked the part,” Tegen remembers. The bride chose a light shade of pink for her bridesmaids and let them have full control over what style of dress they went for. “I think it’s very important as every woman has a different body and suits different styles,” she shares. They all decided on floor-length dresses, but in varying materials and styles. The maid-of-honour, who was also best woman, wore a green and pink dress to show that she was in both wedding parties and wore gold accessories, while the other bridesmaids wore silver. They all wore a smaller version of Arwen’s Evenstar necklace with other accessories of their choice. TIME TO PARTY From the time guests started to arrive, right through to the wedding breakfast, a string duo played. “We had no end of compliments on their performance and the peaceful atmosphere they created,” Tegen recalls. A DJ brought the entertainment for the evening, but since it was the first warm evening of the year, most guests could be found outside enjoying the weather. Tegen had to take her heels off before the first dance and performed it barefoot in true elven style! “My feet were in bits by this point,” she remembers. The couple had taken 12 dance lessons to prepare for the moment. They performed a waltz to Elvis’ Can’t Help Falling In Love With You, which mixed into the King of Rock’n’Roll’s Jailhouse Rock, which they jived to. “Unfortunately, because we’d been drinking, we messed up the waltz a little, but thankfully we had a dry ice machine for the first dance only, which managed to cover the bad footwork,” Tegen laughs. When the performance finished, Sam put his new wife over his shoulder and carried her off to laughter from their assembled guests. There was also a fun father-and-daughter dance, which turned into an impromtu karaoke session as they shuffled around the floor to Bon Jovi’s Always. MEMORABLE MOMENTS. “We absolutely bawled our eyes out when we saw each other for the first time at opposite ends of the aisle,” Tegen says. “Neither of us could take our eyes off each other.” The couple exchanged self-penned vows, which reflected the deep connection and love the two share. The officiant even commented on how beautifully they were both written. The maid-of-honour/best woman also wrote her own vows to the couple and surprised them with a song, Can’t Take My Eyes Of You by Frankie Valli. “She came down three days before the wedding and if it wasn’t for her we wouldn’t have been ready on the day because altogether we worked 12 hours a day to finalise matters in time,” Tegen remembers. “She’s a godsend and an angel without wings.” THE GREAT ESCAPE The newlyweds set off for Mexico for 14 days on their honeymoon. Sam planned the entire trip and they stayed at The Majestic Elegance. “We couldn’t recommend the hotel enough, it was an incredible stay and we’ll definitely be going back,” Tegen says. Whilst there, they visited Chichén Itzá as Tegen has always wanted to tick off the Seven Wonders. They swam with dolphins and explored Isla Mujeres too, but mainly they enjoyed spending time together as newlyweds on the beautiful white sandy beaches looking across the clear blue ocean – their own little taste of paradise. REAL WEDDING 31
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