What a great day it was and here are a few Q&A’s from Matt and Neil to tell you all about it…

How was the proposal?

About 3 months before Matt proposed to me we were redecorating the house and he was asking me questions like ‘if we got married what would you expect?’ and ‘would you like a ring if I proposed?’ which gave me an inkling that something was on his mind – but I forgot about it as he had always said not yet! However on my 27^th Birthday he took me away to a farm cottage called Lurcombe in Devon for a birthday treat; after being in there for 15 minutes I was sat down watching TV when he came in, got on one knee and proposed. My initial reaction was to laugh because I thought he was joking (how awful did I feel!). Any way I said yes and the rest is history!

What was important to you when initially planning wedding: We wanted it to be about us as individuals therefore we wanted the venue to be somewhere which meant something to us. We love going to the harbour side in Bristol at the weekends so it was an obvious choice for us for both the venue and the pictures we had taken.

What was your involvement in prep?

As we are both teachers we did most of the planning in the summer holidays. We had an idea of what we wanted although the colour theme developed as we were looking for clothes etc. We took the picture for our wedding invitation ourselves (a picture of the suspension bridge from the docks). We were really good at making sure that everything was organised well in advance we thought; I did panic the day before though as we were writing our table plans to go on display at the Pump House.

How did your budget change from first planning to the wedding day?

We pretty much stayed to our initial budget- which was super. We were £300 over what we said we would spend however we had a continence saved anyway.

Your favourite wedding purchase?

I have to say that my favourite wedding purchase was my tailor made shirt – it fitted perfectly and was exactly what I had imagined (Neil). Matt’s was his suit because he had never bought himself a decent suit really and he had panicked about buying it until he found it.

What did you wear?

I wore a tailor made 3 piece suit and shirt from a suit that fits in Bristol and Matt wore a Navy blue 3 piece suit from Next with a shirt from M and S.

Why did you choose your best ladies?

I chose Laura as my best woman as she is my best friend from University. We shared many a drunken night together and is my closet friend therefore she was the obvious choice! Even though she lives in Australia she was willing to come back for my wedding; that meant a lot. Matt chose Hannah as she is his oldest and closest friend from school they have been friends for 17 years.

Best wedding bargain?

The best wedding bargains were the decorations for the restaurant during the meal. The willow lanterns were £5 each and the total cost for the bunting was £30 as we bought the material and Hannah (Matt’s best woman) made them.

Most extravagant part of the wedding?

My ring (Neil), it had to be platinum as it was what I had always wanted. My suit and shirt ( they had to be tailor made) I am developing expensive tastes!

Thoughts on your wedding day?

Our wedding day was amazing from start to finish. It was exactly what we wanted and had planned. Everything went to plan apart from the boat being a bit late with us all standing at the side of the river freezing! I got to the end of the day and thought how quick it had gone. I felt like I had spoken to everyone for only 5 minutes. Everyone we have spoken to since said we got the right balance of spending time with each other as well as chatting to the guests.

What style of photography you were after?

We wanted photographs which documented the day as well as having some pictures of Matt and myself to remember our day by. We definitely didn’t want a huge bank of posed family pictures as they would go in a box and be forgotten about. We absolutely love the photographs that we have – they are just what we had imagined and are a true reflection of the day and we can put them up in the house without them looking weird. We both would like to say a massive thank you to Caroline. She is an amazing photographer and made us relaxed through the whole thing ( I particularly was a bit worried about having the pics done as I am very self conscious). From the first meeting where we looked through her portfolio we knew she would be the person for us; she was warm, open and happy to explain everything. On the day she was brilliant and integrated into the wedding without people knowing that she was there. She has done a magnificent job and has captured our day perfectly so that we can remember it happily for the rest of our lives.

Food?

Matt and I are both fussy eaters so it had to fit both of us! Luckily we got lucky: Leek and Potato soup to start, roast chicken and seasonal veg followed by sticky toffee pudding and clotted cream.

Speeches?

well it wasn’t your traditional wedding so neither of us wanted loads of speeches. Matt’s dad did a speech and then Matt decided off the cuff that he would like to say something. It was all lovely. 

Entertainment?

As we were basing our wedding at the docks we decided to have a boat ride around the harbour

First dance music and why?

Our first dance was ‘Count on Me’ by Bruno Mars as the lyrics defined how we feel we will be with each other during our lives together!

Favourite part of the day?

The meal. By that point we had got all of the important things out of the way and we were both very relaxed and jolly! We were able to relax, have fun and chat with our friends and family.

Thanks Guys!

These ladies are so very talented at what they do and it was a pleasure to photograph all their hard work!