When and how did you and your partner meet?
“Me and Reece met through a friend on a night out in Portsmouth when we were eighteen. Nine years later and here we are!” We’re sure that there are many more years to come for these love birds.
What was the proposal like?
Boyfriends and partners in the world, please take notes form Reece. The thought and care in this proposal has pulled our heart strings. “Knowing I wouldn’t want anything public Reece proposed in our home. I came home to rose petals everywhere, helium balloons with polaroid photos of our memories together attached to them and he was stood in front of a huge ‘Will you marry me?’ Sign! He’d then planned a whole weekend away to follow, it was perfect and I was in total shock.” “Bonus points: he’d hidden two cameras and filmed the whole thing!” Winner!
Did you have an inspiration for the theme of your wedding? If so, what was that?
“No real inspiration but I wanted the colour theme to be sage green and gold, lots of neutral colours and a bit ‘boho’ basically I wanted my Pinterest dream to come to life and somehow we managed it.” It’s safe to say that we have never met a bride without a Pinterest dream. A bible to brides.
What was it about your venue that drew you in?
“We got married at Wasing Park, when venue searching we searched all venues that had chapels on site as we both had our hearts set on a church ceremony. Wasing was not only the most perfect immaculate venue but it also has the sweetest white chapel on site within walking
distance! It was a huge selling point for us but also the food, staff, accommodation everything there was just wow and unique.”
Did you have a favourite element of your dress?
“Ah where do I start! Everyone said to me that I’ll end up going for something completely different to the vision I had in my head but for me that wasn’t the case. The ladies at Minster Bridal were amazing and made sure I tried on loads of different styles. But I ended up saying yes to a gorgeous Martina Liana dress, lace, fitted, low back… everything I had imagined but one million times more perfect! We all cried and I knew it was the one.”
“My favourite element was the long lace train, there was just so much detail to it! I had so many compliments on the day and felt amazing in it!”
What was your routine / plan the night before?
“We had a wedding rehearsal at the church to start the evening then we had a big bbq with our parents, groomsmen and bridesmaids which was so nice!”
“Then me and my bridesmaids had a chilled wholesome evening… bottle of champagne, face masks and an early night! Hair and makeup was a very early start wedding morning so I’m glad we did.” We love the idea of having a small get together the day/night prior. Lots
of our brides that do this, have said it takes the pressure off the big day and would recommend to anyone else getting married.
What was your highlight of the special day?
“Getting married!!!”
“Well that and loads more! Walking into the church, down the aisle and seeing Reece for the first time was just so surreal and the most beautiful memory. I’ll never forget that feeling.”
“I also did a ‘first look’ with my bridesmaid’s, we all cried and they had such sweet reactions that my amazing photographer caught on camera!
It definitely made me grateful for my group of girls.” 100% a shot to get!
“The whole day I just remember feeling so much gratitude for everyonethere, it’s the only day you’ll have everyone you love and care about all in one room together.”
What was your favourite part / job to do planning your wedding
day?
“I didn’t think it would be but … FLOWERS!”
“Who knew how much fun that would be, the lovely Ellie and Annette at Dorset Flowers were just incredible.”
“I’m cabin crew and met Ellie years ago when she used to fly too and now she’s the most talented florist! They completely understood the look we were going for and it was so fun helping create it all from pew ends, a floral arch way, a hanging centrepiece, button holes, my bouquet! The whole thing was so fun and stress free.” “… food/wine tasting at the venue is a close second!”
What advice would you give future brides when looking for their dress or planning their day?
“For the dress… don’t be shy to try on styles you don’t think you’ll like! I tried on so many different dresses and some took me by surprise and I liked on a lot more than I thought I would! But it’s all part of the experience.”
“And be wise about who you take with you! Too many opinions can be too much … and I wanted my bridesmaids to see it on the day!
I took my mum, mother in law and his grandma and we had the best day! But in the end just go for the dress that makes you feel amazing.”
“The day… it’s your day! Nothing is the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ thing to do at weddings! We like traditional so went for it but if you don’t then you don’t have to! Don’t like cake… have a cheese board! Don’t like heels… wear flats! Want two dresses… have two dresses! Try not to get too stressed in the planning and just enjoy it and remember the reason you’re doing
this is to celebrate your love for each other.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Beautiful words and advise, Shannon!
Did you propose to your bridesmaids? If so, how did you ask them?
“I did! I actually started ordering things to do this the evening we got engaged because I was just so excited to ask them.”
“I had four bridesmaids and a maid of honour. I had them round for breakfast, laid the table and put boxes with their names on in there places around the table.”
“Inside the boxes were lots of little gifts for them and a card asking them to be my bridesmaids/MOH.”
“After saying yes to my now Husband choosing these girls was the second easiest decision!”
We love this idea, a Bridesmaid Breakfast defiantly has a ring to it. Could this be a new trend for future bridesmaid proposals?
Did you do anything out of the ordinary?
“Nothing too crazy but had a white bouncy castle for the kids which went down really well.” LOVE!
“During the photos we had some coloured smoke flares… they turned out a lot better than I expected!”
“And in the evening everyone had sparklers and made an arch and we walked through it… the photos from that were magical!” We love a sparkler photo!
What was your first dance song?
“Our first song was Lady Gaga ‘Is that alright?’ It was in the film A Star Is Born and Reece was the one that suggested it… him wanting it meant a lot more to me so I was happy with it! Plus the lyrics are so nice and meaningful.”
“My cousins who’s a great singer sang our first dance for us! We also had a few dancing lessons before the wedding which was so much fun and all part of the wedding prep experience.”
We’ve loved hearing about Shannons wedding process and we would be lying if we said it didn’t bring a tear to our eyes… We hope you enjoy her beautiful images for your own inspiration as much as we have.