Your Real Wedding
Vicki and Mark met at a mutual friend's (Caroline) 18th birthday party in 2000. After continually asking Caroline questions about each other, she eventually dragged Mark over to Vicki and linked their hands, introducing them. From then on they were together most of the time. When Mark bought his first flat they both agreed Vicki wasn't going to move in, but three weeks later Vicki’s toothbrush was in the bathroom and the rest was history.
The Proposal
Mark proposed on a day out at one of their favourite places, Lulworth Cove. They sat on a cliff, and Mark stood in front of Vicki. “I thought he was messing around, standing right in front of me, just to wind me up.” Mark knelt down, pulled out a ring and popped the question.
Hen and Stag Parties
For their 'last nights of freedom', Vicki had breakfast with friends at home, followed by a few hours at Go Ape, the tree top rope swinging and climbing activity centre. The girls wore T-shirts with a picture of Vicki on. Later they went back to Vicki’s house where her mum and sister had arranged food and games, whilst she was dressed as Queen Victoria! For the evening entertainment they went to Que Pasa in Staines, Middlesex for drinks and tapas, with lots of dancing, of course with Vicki dressed up in the usual bride-to-be attire!
Mark and his stags went to London dressed as cavemen; Mark dressed as Wilma Flintstone. Part of the stag do was on a cricket tour which involved lots of drinking and rather strange goings on which apparently “the bride doesn't need to know about”.
The Bride’s Outfit
Since she was a little girl, Vicki had built up a collect of ideas of what her wedding dress would be like. After searching high and low, taking ideas from this dress and designs from that dress, she spoke very nicely to Mark's Aunt who makes wedding dresses for a living, and Annsmith Designs made it exactly how she imagined it would be! It was made in beautiful heavy satin silk, with embroidery designed by Vicki, a lovely long train which floated behind her and a Victorian style halterneck bodice.
The Groom’s Outfit
Mark had a grey suit with tails, a waistcoat in lilac and silver and a lilac cravat.
The Bridal Party
Vicki and Mark's sisters were bridesmaids and both wore long lilac strapless dresses, which again were designed by Vicki and made by Mark's Aunt. Vicki’s niece was the flower girl and wore a gorgeous ivory lace dress from Debenhams. Mark's nephew was the pageboy and he wore a waistcoat the same as the men with a white shirt and grey trousers. The groomsmen all wore similar attire to Mark with lilac and silver waistcoats, lilac cravats and grey suits. All the suits were hired from Dapper in Twickenham. They also had a very good friend as an usher who wore his Marine uniform.
Wedding Theme
“The theme was pretty much anything that took our fancy!” Vicki and Mark choose lilac and silver as their colour scheme.
Flowers
Vicki’s bouquet had big ivory roses, lilac freesias and palm leaves. The bridesmaids had ivory roses, and the buttonholes and corsages were ivory roses and freesias. In the church they had two pedestals, which were then taken to the reception made up of ivory roses, just about every kind of lilac and purple flower available and lots of big leaves. The top table centrepiece was the same. The other table centrepieces were clear square vases, filled with colourful pick and mix sweets and three balloons coming out of the middle of the vase. Vicki and Mark made the centrepieces themselves. “As well as being cheaper, they looked fantastic and were a real hit with the adults and children at the reception.”
The Ceremony & Reception
Vicki and Mark had a traditional church wedding with Mark's family vicar carrying out the service. The ceremony took place at St John's church in Isleworth with about 150 people at the service. The reception was held at the Landmark arts centre in Teddington which is a converted church built in the 1800's. ”I wanted our venue to be somewhere unique that people would rememeber and be wowed by, I think it worked!” Mark found the Landmark on the Internet, after they had exhausted the option of having a marquet in country grounds due to the cost. They put a lot of work in the day before making everything perfect - hanging drapes, sorting lighting, organising tables and chairs, and setting up games for the children.
The Rings
Vicki and Mark have got matching platinum wedding bands which are plain with a bevelled edge. They did look at getting them engraved but it was going to be very expensive, so they came to the conclusion that as they would not be taking them off they wouldn't see the engraving anyway.
Transport
Mark arrived to the church riding a Harley Davidson motorbike, whilst Vicki, her mum and bridesmaids arrived on a Routemaster double-decker bus. The bus was then used to take the guests from the church to the reception venue. “We had brought a tandum push bike for the best man and one usher to arrive on, but they broke the pedal on it on the morning of the wedding, so arrived in a Land Rover with the bike hanging out the back - very classy!”
The Speeches
Vicki’s father passed away earlier this year so Vicki’s mum did a speech. Mark was so nervous during his speech that he kept losing his place and forgot to thank half the people, so Vicki had to do that at the end of the speeches! The best man, Mark’s brother, also did a speech, which doubled up as a “Who knows Mark best?” quiz with boys versus girls. “All the speeches were brilliant in their own way, but I think my favourite bit has to be when Mark first said the words 'My wife and I'!”
The Photographs
The photographer was one of Vicki’s best friends, who did a fantastic job at capturing the day. She got every moment and emotion, from first thing in the morning to them leaving at the end of the night. “We ended up with 500 photos so it’s very hard to choose just one favourite, but there is a lovely one of me and Mark leaving the church.”
The Cake
A very good friend of Vicki’s made them a three tier lilac wedding cake with beautiful flowers iced on it. They had chocolate sponge, vanilla sponge and fruit cake tiers.
The Honeymoon
Vicki and Mark flew out to Los Angeles the morning after the wedding. They spent 3 nights in LA and then went to New Zealand where they travelled around South Island in a campervan for 12 nights. They did some amazing things like bungee jumping and skydiving! From here they flew out to Fiji for 4 nights and stayed in a 5 star hotel with a room overlooking the sea. “It was truly a once in a life time experience with incredible memories.”
Memories
Vicki and Mark's best memory of the day is the moment they said their vows. “The whole day was absolutely perfect in every way and neither of us would change a thing. The speeches were fantastic and our first and last dances were so lovely. It meant so much to us that so many people were there to share our special day with us, and the memory of walking down the aisle seeing so many people at the church will always stay with me.”
Bride's Top Tips
“If you can get people you trust and can rely on to help with things do! To save money, see if you can do things for yourselves i.e table decorations, rather than paying for someone else to do it for you.”
“The biggest tip I could give any bride and groom is to make your wedding completely about you - don't let anyone tell you not to do things the way you want to, it’s your day and it’s about the two of you.”
Groom's Top Tips
“Make sure that your suggestions are heard, as it’s about both of you.”
“Have a suit fitting 2 weeks before just to make sure they still fit, trust me!”
“Don't be influenced by other people about who you should or shouldn't invite. It’s your day so you have whoever you want.”
“Finally, enjoy every minute!”
Money Saving Tip
“Shop around and start planning early. Buying things like gifts for bridesmaids etc early makes the money stretch a bit further thanks to sales and special offers.”
Bride’s Beauty Tips
“Make sure you look like yourself! So many brides have so much make-up on they don't actually look like them. You do have to have some make-up on so you're not all shiny in the photos, so make sure that whoever is doing your make-up knows how you would normally have it. Be honest with the person doing it - if it’s too much tell them.”
“Spend time looking at different hair styles and again go for something you feel comfortable with. Walking down the aisle looking like a porceline doll will make your husband-to-be wonder who he is marrying.”
Photography: Vicki Kibble Photography
