Posted by Claire Ridley on 2 May 2023
Danielle and Adrian met at a charity soapbox race. "Adrian said that he spotted me when he went flying down the hill on his fox cart," Danielle tells us.
"He decided to make a move by borrowing a friend's dog as an excuse to walk over to me. We exchanged a few words but we didn't speak for long. He plucked up the courage to come over to me again at the end of the day and ask me for my number. From then on, we became best friends instantly, and after a couple of dates our relationship began."
Adrian proposed during a mini-break at Ellenborough Park hotel in Cheltenham. "We decided to take a walk around the stunning grounds and spotted a large hanging swing suspended from one of the trees," Danielle explains. "Adrian suggested that he get some photographs of us on it for my Instagram page.
Once we were seated, I went to pass Adrian my phone and he said he would take one on his phone for me instead. Then, to my surprise, he got down on one knee and proposed! There was no one around and it was such a magical moment. I was shocked because we had the hotel stay booked for three months and I had no idea that he was going to ask me to marry him. I cried plenty of happy tears!"
Here, Danielle talks us through the finer details of their big day.
I'd always wanted a marquee wedding because a blank canvas is so much fun to work with and you can make it personal to you both.
"All of our suppliers made the day extra special, they went above and beyond. My parents put so much into the wedding helping me set up the day before and organising things before the day itself." - Danielle
We hired a car from Milbury Morris Minors to take me to the church and what a beautiful vehicle the Morris Minor is! It was decorated with a 'Just Married' case displayed on the back of the car along with a flower garland that worked well with our colour scheme.
Top tip: "Make a timetable for your bridal party because it makes things run smoothly and prevents everyone keep asking you questions." - Danielle
At the church, we had 10 pews with a single white rose and gypsophila tied with a ribbon at the end of each one.
We hired the marquee and needed to find the ideal place to set it up in the grounds of Badminton Estate.
Worcester Lodge located in the grounds of Badminton Estate stole our hearts. As soon as we saw it, we knew it was the location for our wedding. There's a long driveway leading down to the venue and as you walk through the archway into the field, there's a beautiful folly with a view of Badminton House in the distance.
Inside the church, we had pillar displays in keeping with the theme along with some simple Ruscus and flowers decorating our easel.
We also had two large green and white floral displays in urns for the church ceremony that were easily transported to the wedding venue.
Arriving at the venue and seeing everything in place was a wonderful moment for us. Being able to see our vision come to life was spectacular. We had everything pictured in our heads for our big day and we just knew our chosen venue was the one.
"On the second day of celebrations, we had The Edge Coffee Shop which provided a savoury grazing table. In the evening, everybody tucked into fries served from the Fancy Fries van which went down a treat!" - Danielle and Adrian
Our table plan was presented on an acrylic board. We kept the design very simple – it was frosted with gold writing.
The day went by so fast. We had one moment where our photographer, Patrick, encouraged us to go off by ourselves so that we could enjoy a private moment together.
We seated our guests at the wedding breakfast with people who they knew. We had our bridesmaids and their partners on one table and the groomsmen and their partners on another.
We achieved a relaxed festival vibe by having glamping tents which set the scene.
Our place names continued our theme. They were gold with keyring chains attached which were a keepsake for our guests.
We chose table numbers to keep things easy because we had a lot of tables and guests. They were frosted acrylic with each number in gold to tie in with the place names and table plan.
For our centrepieces, we chose simple, low-level designs so that our guests could see and talk to one another. We displayed pillar candles at different heights surrounded by greenery.
The theme for our flowers was soft green, white, terracotta and neutral-coloured blooms. We wanted seasonal varieties to be used and some dried ones too. Included in our displays were roses, cosmos, bunny tails and eucalyptus. We also suspended foliage with the lights from the ceiling in the marquee.
We gifted our female guests a small bottle of limoncello and the gentlemen a bottle of port as favours. We added labels that said 'Take a shot, we tied the knot' which we knew most people would love!
We had two cakes because we served cake for dessert. This is a tip for other couples because otherwise, much of it goes to waste. After all, guests don't want to eat cake after a three-course meal and party!
We had a three-tier and a two-tier one and all of the layers were different flavours. Our two-tier showstopper was decorated with burgundy dried flowers and displayed on a grazing table with a crescent moon flower stand which looked incredible.
On our grazing table, everything tied in with the theme, so our macaron tower featured the same colours as our theme and our cupcakes were white.
"We had Hey Pesto cater during the daytime who were incredible. They supplied our canapés, starters and main course and they cut up our wedding cake for dessert which was placed in the middle of each table on a wooden board served with fresh cream and berries." - Danielle and Adrian
I wore individually wired flowers in my hair.
I also wore a pair of Wedding Converse trainers under my dress for comfort!
The back of the dress featured a button design which I had always wanted on my wedding dress. I teamed it with a pair of simple stud earrings.
Adrian wore the same suit as the rest of the groomsmen with a grey waistcoat while they wore navy tweed ones. He also wore a sage green bow tie.
We loved our giant illuminated MR & MRS letters!
We booked a live band called Tux Fizz who performed on and off throughout the day and evening. Chris played at the church for us, then again at the wedding breakfast, which got our guests singing along between courses - it was a hit when people started standing on their chairs to dance! They haven't stopped talking about them even to this day!
My dad made a lot of the wooden signage which was placed throughout the venue. He engraved our welcome sign and made the wooden boxes for the flip flops to be displayed in. He also made the signs for the toilets, glamping area, and photo booth.
I wore a gorgeous dress from the Aire Barcelona collection called Demet. I chose this style because I loved the tulle skirt and the illusion design on the top half of the dress. I also adored the tiny crystals that glistened in the sun.
Our beautiful bridesmaids each wore a sage green multiway dress and each one had it styled differently. We gifted them a pair of delicate dangly earrings.
My beautiful bridal bouquet matched Adrian's buttonhole made using cute bunny tails.
We adored our vintage trailer photo booth!
For the evening catering, we had Box Kitchen Pizzas feed our guests who we chose because our favourite food is pizza – we enjoyed it on our second date!
Our first dance was a memorable moment - we had a confetti cannon that was set off during it which our guests loved and it was a great surprise for them all.
Band
Bar
Bar hire on day two
Bride's trainers
Cake
Catering
Church ceremony
Dresses (boutique)
Flowers
Flowers
Food van on day two (fries)
Glamping
Grazing table on day two
Hair
Make-up artist
Marquee
Music on day two
Photographer
Pizza
Stationery
Suits
Transport
Venue
Videographer
Wedding coordinators
Wedding rings