Your Real Wedding
Vicki and Stuart went to the same school in Tring, but their paths didn't cross until Christmas 2003. They first got together after a night out, when Stuart bought Vicki a Sambucca as a 'chat up line'. Six weeks later she went off travelling for 6 months but they decided to keep in contact, and fortunately Stuart decided to visit Vicki 4 months later in Thailand. Needless to say it cemented their relationship!
The Proposal
Vicki and Stuart had been together for about 6 years when they booked a weekend in Bournemouth for Vicki’s birthday. As they were driving up Stuart said that he was really keen on going straight to the beach, even though it was pouring down with rain! Luckily, as they drove into Bournemouth the sun came out and it stopped raining. They went to a secluded bay where Stuart wrote 'Vix, will you marry me?' in the sand and went down on one knee. The only thing was he was so nervous he hadn't realised he had actually written Viv and not Vix!
Hen & Stag Parties
Vicki’s hen night was planned thoroughly by her 5 bridesmaids, as she had said she didn't want to know what she would be doing. As Vicki is a teacher, they ordered polo shirts, blazers and caps for everyone to wear! They went to Woburn Safari Park where they completed the Go Ape course, followed by a packed lunch full of old school favourites. In the evening they went out for dinner and drinks with loads of fab games, and then everyone went back to Vicki’s house where they were entertained by a stripper!
Stuart and his friends all went to Cambridge for the weekend, starting with Newmarket races during the day. Afterwards they decided to indulge in some drinking games. As rugby boys they were all used to heavy drinking sessions, but they clearly gave Stuart some crazy concoctions. They were all meant to be going out in Cambridge in the evening, but Stuart was so ill he couldn’t go.
The Bride’s Outfit
Vicki had no idea what sort of wedding dress she wanted so she was a shop owners dream as she’d try on anything! Eventually she found Brides of Berkhamsted which she thought was the most amazing dress shop. Her mum went with her to every appointment and her MiaMia Liezel was the only dress her mum cried at!
It was an ivory fishtail dress with a train and one shoulder strap with a bow. It was made of satin, which was great as it meant it could be folded up in a hand luggage suitcase to take on the plane and when unpacked the creases dropped out immediately.
The Groom’s Outfit
The suit Stuart chose was a beige cotton/linen mix made by Brooks Taverna and bought from Birtchnells in Berkhamsted. He teamed it with a white short sleeved cotton/linen mix shirt and brown leather sandals from Debenhams.
The Bridal Party
There were 5 bridesmaids, which consisted of Vicki’s four closest girl friends and Stuart's sister. They each wore floor length, strapless, Grecian looking, blue/green dresses with beading under the bust, bought from Monsoon. They also wore matching flowers in their hair and silver/pearl coloured wedding jewellery.
Stuart's best man wore the same suit as Stuart, and the two dads wore similar beige linen suits and white linen shirts.
Rings
Vicki and Stuart stumbled across a fantastic jewellers called Buchanans of Lymington who allowed them to design Vicki’s engagement ring themselves, which was a platinum band with a princess diamond. As it was such an enjoyable experience they went back for their wedding rings. Vicki wanted to use the wedding ring her great-aunt had left her, so Buchanans made it the same size as Vicki’s engagement ring and polished it up.
Stuart wanted a matt, lightweight band, so he settled on a plain titanium ring which was perfect for him.
Flowers
After a two hour discussion with their wedding planner about what flowers they wanted they were still undecided, so in the end they just told her to go ahead and order what she thought would work best.
When they turned up, both Vicki’s and the bridesmaid’s bouquets were turquoise, pink and white roses. The reception venue had decorated the tables with white roses, balloons and silver confetti, and they had even found macaroons for everyone in the same colour as the bridesmaid dresses.
The Ceremony & Reception
As neither Vicki or Stuart are religious and both of them are avid travellers they had always said they would like to get married on a beach. They decided on Greece as it wasn’t too far if people wanted to travel and is a favourite country of theirs.
The ceremony took place on the beach of the Lindian Village Hotel with 38 guests. It was a civil ceremony read in both Greek and English and was much more meaningful and personal than they had imagined.
The wedding breakfast was held at Kalypso Taverna in Lindos. It was a typical Greek Taverna and they served a beautiful dinner of Greek Salad, followed by a Greek Meze and roast lamb, finished off with chocolate cake and coffee.
They choose the Taverna as it was rated number 1 in Lindos on TripAdvisor at the time they were looking, and they weren't disappointed. The owners also organised for them to have the Courtyard bar next door after the meal where they danced the nght away.
As the wedding was held in Greece, many of their guests were unable to attend, so Vicki and Stuart organised a UK reception for family and friends at Tring Squash Club. They had a marquee, band and hog roast, and all of the wedding party wore their wedding outfits to make it like a second wedding day!
Details
Vicki read a lot of magazines and online blogs which gave her some great ideas, such as to buy hand held fans for the guests as favours and parasols for the bridal party, and they turned out to be a great buy due to the intense Greek heat. The parasols and fans were imported from The House of Rice in America.
The Photographer
Shaneen Rosewarne Cox, who is married to one of Stuart's good friends was the wedding photographer. They wanted some relaxed and fun shots as well as some formal shots and that is exactly what they got. “Our photos are amazing and will keep the memories of our wedding alive for many years to come.”
The Honeymoon
As they got married in Greece, Vicki and Stuart have decided to delay their honeymoon until Christmas, when they will travel around Malaysia exploring beautiful beeches, rainforest and culture.
Memories
“I have 2! The first is my dad walking me down the aisle. He looked so proud of me and he made me feel like the most important person alive. As he handed me over to Stu and I saw the look on Stu’s face I felt so emotional. My second was our first dance which was to ‘Stand by Me’ by Ben E King. Lots of our friends and family made a circle around us and sang along! It was the most amazing feeling having everyone there, yet at the same time it felt like it was just the 2 of us together – brilliant!”
To view more fabulous pictures from this real wedding take a look at The Real Wedding of Vicki and Stuart 26/08/2010 post on The Wedding Community Blog.
Photography: Rosewarne Cox Photography
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