Laura and Neil’s Real Life Wedding

 

Laura and Neil

16/09/2006 – Church of Nuestra Senora de Loreto, Javea, Spain
Marriott Hotel, Denia, Spain

  How and when did you meet?
We met on holiday in Ibiza in 2001.

How old are you both?
Neil has just turned 30 and I am 29.

Did you have hen and stag celebrations? If so, what did you do?
Of course! Neil went to Prague for his stag do. I went with the girls to Cork for an absailing, windsurfing and kayaking weekend not to mention some drinking!

Did you use confetti to plan your wedding? If so, how did the website help you?
Used confetti for tips and ideas also found the budget planner very useful.

Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it
Brilliant white bead encrusted bodice, lace up back with bib effect skirt at the front. The original design had a long straight train at the back. I found a wonderful dressmaker who altered it to my design specifications and created ruches in the back. The name of the designer is Hollywood Dreams and I bought it from Love and Cherish Bridal in Bolton.

Did you have bridesmaids? If so, who did you choose and what did they wear?
My two sisters were my bridesmaids. They wore long simple red dresses from Ghost.

Who did your groom choose for his best man and ushers, and what did they wear?
The groom chose his best friend who lives in Australia as his best man. His brother was the groomsman and two of his friends were ushers. They wore Hugo Boss black suits with the groom wearing a white tie to match my dress and the groomsmen wearing a red tie to match the bridesmaids.

Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?
We had a Catholic ceremony.

Where did you hold your ceremony?
The ceremony was held in the church of Nuestra Senora de Loreto in the coastal town of Javea, Spain. The wooden ceiling of the church, known as the fisherman’s church, is in the shape of the hull of a boat.

Where did you hold your reception?
The reception was held in the Marriott Hotel in Denia, Spain. How many guests did you invite to your wedding, and did you have a separate evening guest list?
We had 74 guests. As the wedding was in Spain we didn’t have a separate evening reception.

Did your reception have a particular theme in terms of colour or style?
Red was my colour scheme.

How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?
In keeping with the red theme, rose petals were scattered on the tables and pomegranate slices, symbolizing fertility and prosperity, were added to the table decorations.

Did you give your guests favours?
We had an open bar for three hours which doubled up as the favours!

Describe your flowers (bouquets and table decorations). Who was your florist?
I chose roses for my bouquets and table decorations. Top table spray was five feet long full of red roses. My bouquet had red roses, trailing greenery, and white jasmine, which gave a slightly dropped hand tied design, stems were bound with white ribbon. My two bridesmaids had a hand tied design using white roses with a small amount of greenery in between the roses, and edged with small green leaves. There was a pearl pin in the centre of each rose.

What did you choose to have on your menu? Did you have an outside caterer or did your venue handle the catering?
Our menu was in Spanish. For a simple translation, we had smoked salmon and cream cheese starter, followed by champagne sorbet. For the main course, we had roasted rack of lamb with red wine sauce served with lyonnaise potatoes and baby vegetables. Chocolate and orange parfait with strawberry coulis.

What did you choose for your wedding cake, and who made it?
We had a three tiered wedding cake. We went for the traditional wedding cake for the first two tiers which was made by my mother. The third tier was a chocolate biscuit cake and it was made by one of Ireland’s most famous pastry chefs, Paul Kelly. He also iced all three layers with white chocolate curls.

Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?
Izzy Cooper sang one of my favourite songs “The Prayer” amongst others during the ceremony. She was accompanied by Pasion Doble, cello and pianist players. The guests arrived at the hotel welcomed by a string quartet, champagne reception and canapés by the pool. Guests were entertained after dinner by a three piece band which played a popular mix of rock, dance, blues and pop favourites. Everyone danced the night away while the DJ played until the early hours of the next morning.

Did you have a gift list? If so, who did you have your list with?
No.

What was your most memorable moment of the day?
Every second was memorable! Hard to pick any one moment.