Louise and Gavin met through mutual friends four years ago.  Their friends were trying to play matchmaker, but as Gavin had only recently become single and Louise was an “independent woman” it didn’t work at first!  However, around two months later they started dating.

The Proposal

There was no traditional ‘down on one knee’ proposal.  During the May half term in 2009 Gavin completely out of the blue asked Louise “Do you want to marry me then?”  Louise thought he was joking, right up until they went to the jewellers and got her engagement ring.

“I'd had my face pushed up against the jeweller’s window for 6 months prior so I knew what I wanted!”

Hen and Stag Parties

The hen and stag parties were held very close to the wedding date so Louise and Gavin could see all of their friends just before they went to Italy, as they were only having 11 guests at the wedding.

Louise went cocktail making in Newcastle and Gavin and his stags went to play laser tag followed by a night out in Newcastle.

The Bride and Groom’s Outfits

Louise wore an Aruba wedding dress by Caroline Castigliano with a pair of Jimmy Choo Syria bridal shoes.  The dress was a fitted lace wedding dress, even though Louise had originally thought she didn’t want lace and wanted a princess style dress.  She found that she had trouble walking in the big dresses and felt like she was “a little girl playing dress up”.

Louise admits that she spent more on her wedding dress than she had intended, and in hindsight wouldn’t have paid so much for a pair of shoes she “will only wear once”.

Gavin and his best man both wore suits from the Next Italian range.  The suits were modern slim fit with black pinstripe.  They wore ties that matched the colour of the bridesmaid dresses.

The Bridal Party

Louise had two bridesmaids, her sister and her best friend, who chose strapless knee length dresses from Coast in stone colour and mauve shoes – one in kitten heels and one killer heels (the killer heels were regretted later).

Wedding Theme

There were no themes or colour schemes as such.  Louise and Gavin decided to keep everything neutral and wanted their wedding photos to be timeless so avoided following too many trends or current fashions.

Flowers

All the flowers for the day were ivory roses - again Louise and Gavin wanted classic flowers that would not date so that when they look back through their wedding album in twenty years time they will still look current. For the ceremony Louise asked the Italian florist (well gestured and pointed!) for a simple display in a circular glass bowl. On the day it was square but it still looked beautiful!

The Ceremony and Reception

The ceremony was held in the Cloister in Sorrento, a stunning ancient monastery. It was an outside ceremony conducted in both Italian and English under the watchful eye of lots of members of the public! Louise and Gavin asked the best man’s wife (their friends who played match maker 4 years ago) to read 'Maybe', as they felt it summed up their relationship perfectly. Throughout the ceremony a guitar and mandolin player played music. The ceremony was only about 15 - 20 minutes long, but long enough at 1pm in August in Southern Italy!

The reception was held at Photobar in Sorrento. Louise and Gavin had really struggled to choose a venue as many in Sorrento are traditional and they wanted somewhere modern and cool.

They had canapés when they arrived along with Prosecco, followed later on with a four course meal. Only 11 guests attended, but by having such a small number of guests it meant that everyone could fully relax. “I spent my wedding with my husband instead of talking to hundreds of guests.”

The Cake

Louise and Gavin wanted a wedding cake that was delicious and traditional. Photobar made a rectangular cake of lemon sponge, filled with lemon custard and iced with ivory lemon icing.

The Photographer

The wedding photographer was Amy Turner from iMAG1NE.  Louise and Gavin were originally going to go with a different photographer but after seeing Amy’s work on the iMAG1NE website quickly changed their minds.  Amy exceeded their expectations on their wedding day; she helped to make the day unforgettable and had a “lovely way” with the wedding guests.

Although Louise and Gavin ended up spending more than they thought they would on photography they feel it was one of the best decisions they made. Louise loves the photo of her eating ice cream - The guitar and mandolin players started playing 'just one Cornetto' whilst she was eating it!

The Honeymoon

Louise and Gavin stayed in Italy for 2 weeks and visited Rome and Sorrento.  They stayed at the Grand Hotel Ambasciatori which is a beautiful hotel built into the cliffs.

Best Memories

“Where do I start?! Smiling, constant laughter, seeing Gav for the first time, Ice cream, people clapping on the walk from the Cloister to the reception, seeing our parents so happy, spending the day with our closest friends and family, deciding to go back to our hotel and sit on the terrace sipping Moët with our friends and family, getting changed into a sundress at 8 and going into Sorrento for drinks.”

The Wedding Community

“I loved the real wedding section - hearing from other brides and looking at their big days.”

Tips and Ideas

“It’s your wedding so do exactly as you please! People will always try to give you their opinion - say thank you and then ignore it!”

“Invest in your wedding photos - they'll be with you forever - it's worth paying extra!”

“I'm so glad we had a wedding DVD - a relatively last minute decision but i'm so glad we did it! You forget so many of the little things it was wonderful to watch when we got home.”

Bride’s Top Tips

“Make sure you love your dress- I have never regretted spending what I did because it was the right dress for me. It doesn't matter what you spend as long a syou love the dress!”

“Comfy shoes - mine were so comfortable!”

“Enjoy the morning and remember to leave yourself lots of time to get ready!”

“Look up when walking down the aisle - I rushed with my head down, my one regret!”

Groom’s Top Tips

“Go abroad to get married- brillant weather and much less stress!”

“Try to be interested and support you fiancée - I didn't realise how much Louise had done.”

Best Buy

“The guitar and mandolin players - all our guests commented that they made the ceremony wonderful.”

Money Saving Ideas

“We made all our own stationary - it saved so much money!”

“Keep the guest list low then you can spend more on luxuries!”

Bride’s Beauty Tips

“Green tea and lots of water!”

“Yoga and Pilates for weight loss, toning and relaxation.”

To view more pictures from this wedding visit The Real Wedding of Louise and Gavin 03/08/2010 on The Wedding Community Blog.

Photography: iMAG1NE

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