Our ceremony was performed by a registrar, who we didn’t meet until the morning of the wedding. Originally, this made me feel anxious but the whole process went smoothly, and the ladies conducting our service were calming and reassuring. We incorporated promises to each other in our vows that we felt represented us as a couple. For those of you about to tie the knot, try and forget about all of the small things, as there’s nothing more special than looking into your partner’s eyes and telling them how much you love them in front of your loved ones. Talk to your friends and family and see if they’d like to have an active role in your day. Our mums were really pleased that we asked them to be our witnesses, and it was a lovely way of including them in the ceremony. My belove d bridesmaid, Kelly, also sang a song accompanied by Dave on t he guitar during the wedding breakfast. It was really touching a nd one of my favourite moments from the day. Surround yourself with people that you trust and love. My bridesmaids were amazing in the run-up to the wedding and on the day itself. They spoiled me with two hen dos, which were fabulous, a wedding-themed advent calendar full of fun and thoughtful gifts and endless support and love throughout the planning process. Trust me when I say that you will feel calmer on the wedding morning if you’re surrounded by your best friends. They made sure I looked and felt perfect, and I don’t think I could have done it without them. As some of you may remember, make-up is not my forte, and I’m embarrassed to tell you that I can’t tell the difference between highlighter, foundation and concealer! I booked a trial with my hair and make-up artist a few weeks before the wedding. If you’re worried about how you’ll look on the day or want to try different styles, I would definitely recommend doing this. I’m so glad I did, and it meant that I felt relaxed knowing that my suppliers had everything under control on the day. Dave and I knew we wanted a band for our evening reception that would get everyone up and dancing. We booked an amazing trio who learnt our first dance song and in corporated some of our favourite tunes into their set list. We were a bit worried that people would get bored or restless thr oughout the day, but all of our guests were quite content chattin g during the drinks reception, and I’m quite glad we kept thing s scaled back as it allowed us to catch up with friends and family who we hadn’t seen in a long time due to the pandemic. One thing that we learnt after the wedding is that everyone loves cake! We purchased 50 cake boxes as we’ve both been to weddings where it gets left at the end of the night, so we thought that would be more than enough. However, those 50 went within an hour, and we had guests asking for additional pieces, so I would definitely provide more boxes than you need. BRIDE’S DIARY 89
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