A year and a half in to their relationship, Alex took Katie for a surprise weekend to York. As tourists, the couple went up to the top of York Minster and when no one was around, Alex dropped down on to one knee and proposed! Excited and ready to take their relationship to the next level, the couple announced their engagement and spent the next 12 months preparing for the big day.
Katie and Alex had initially wanted to get married in Mallorca but decided against it when they took the time to visit what could be their wedding location. There were too many challenges and logistical issues and the couple quickly came to realise that an English country wedding during the summer months would be easier to organise, but be just as lovely. According to Katie and Alex, it was even lovelier than they could ever have imagined! “We had a look at Cain Manor on a rainy winters day and instantly fell in love” remembers Katie. The couple thought that if Cain Manor could look this good on a miserable day it will look dreamy on a sunny day – and luckily for them, the sun was shining and the gardens and venue looked spectacular on the early August wedding date that they had chosen
Katie searched and searched for the perfect wedding dress and tried on around 30 different designs before deciding to get her wedding dress made bespoke. She thought it was the only way to get what she really wanted.
However, on the morning of her first measurements, she received a phone call from Emma at Emma Louise Design to say that a dress had come in to the shop, which matched the description of what Katie had her heart set on. The bride-to-be headed over to the shop and tried the dress on, which turned out to be perfect and only needed minor alterations to transform it in to Katie’s dream gown.
The wedding ceremony was Katie and Alex’s favourite part of the whole day. They couple wanted to involve their family as much as they could in their ceremony, so Alex’s two sons walked down the aisle at 3:30pm carrying the rings.
During the ceremony, Alex’s mother read a poem that she had written about the couple and then as a surprise, Katie’s three nephews read out a sweet, funny poem which had everyone laughing a crying at the same time. Katie’s best friend ready a short story called ‘Love Monkey’ which had a personal meaning and everyone (including the registrar and string quartet) commented on how the ceremony was the best they’d ever seen.
Katie and Alex’s ten wedding reception tables were named after locations from the couple’s childhood including Jumeriah Beach in Dubai where the couple had their first date. Guests were given gold wooden letters of their names as wedding favours to take home as a memento of the day and the speeches had everyone laughing and crying. It was a very special afternoon at the country house wedding venue in Hampshire.
Suppliers
Photographer: Bill Sykes | Florist: Sonning Flowers | Wedding Dress: Wendy Makin | Bridal Boutique: Emma Louise Design | Beautician: Suzanne Dusek | Wedding Suits: DKNY by Moss Bros | String Quartet: The Salieri String Quartet | Wedding Cake: Le Papillon | Wedding Band: The Longstraws
