When and how did you and your partner meet?
A tale as old as time brought this happy couple together, that tale being… Tinder! “It started with a swipe! Almost 9 years ago, I was enjoying a girls night in and we thought it would be fun to have a quick look on Tinder (it had literally just launched), and the rest is history. Ryan had recently moved to London from Chicago and our paths would never have crossed if we hadn’t matched that day (I lived outside his Tinder “radius”) Absolute fate!”
When and how did you and your partner meet?
A tale as old as time brought this happy couple together, that tale being… Tinder! “It started with a swipe! Almost 9 years ago, I was enjoying a girls night in and we thought it would be fun to have a quick look on Tinder (it had literally just launched), and the rest is history. Ryan had recently moved to London from Chicago and our paths would never have crossed if we hadn’t matched that day (I lived outside his Tinder “radius”) Absolute fate!”
What was the proposal like?
“Perfect! Ryan knows that Christmas is my absolute favourite time of year and being with family in Bournemouth is my absolute favourite place to be. After opening all our presents he said he had one more. I had no clue, even when unwrapping the ring-sized box. It was only when he got down on one knee I realised what was happening. Lots of happy tears and champagne followed!” Now, that certainly is a Christmas to remember forever!
Did you have an inspiration for the theme of your wedding? If so, what was that?
“We didn’t have a theme as such, but wanted a boho, relaxed vibe in contrast to the grand setting and black-tie dress code. I asked for the bouquets and table setup to feel natural and wild, with a focus on foliage. The white chairs were also all swapped out for wooden rustic ones.” The setting certainly looked gorgeous and theme. Ladies, these images are great for wild wedding Inso.
What was it about your venue that drew you in?
“Well we decided to get married in France quite early on. My husband Ryan is American so it felt very one-sided to have the wedding in my hometown (Bournemouth. Our first holiday together was France, and it
was where we’d both first said we loved each other. Plus, who doesn’t want to get married in a fairy-tale chateau, surrounded by vineyards?” We certainly would! “We wanted to give our guests an experience to remember – to bring everyone we love together for a 3 day party!” France seems like it was meant to be for Beth and Ryan.
Would you consider doing a destination wedding?
“Chateau Lagorce was the dream location. It looks like something out of a movie – the quintessential french chateau, with turrets, an idyllic lake, gorgeous terraces, and an impressive pool. A massive bonus was that it accommodated all 40 guests!”
Did you have a favourite element of your dress?
“Ah my dress…it was actually the second dress I saw! I was originally in search of a floaty boho dress, however, the lovely ladies at Minster Bridal picked out the most stunning A-line dress for me to try. It was timeless and elegant and I knew it was the only time in my life I’d be able to wear anything like it. The second try on and my mum cried…I knew it was the one! Plus that back! And those pockets! Absolute dream!” Pockets are the perfect place to keep your tissues!
Did you have a favourite element of your dress?
“Ah my dress…it was actually the second dress I saw! I was originally in search of a floaty boho dress, however, the lovely ladies at Minster Bridal picked out the most stunning A-line dress for me to try. It was timeless and elegant and I knew it was the only time in my life I’d be able to wear anything like it. The second try on and my mum cried…I knew it was the one! Plus that back! And those pockets! Absolute dream!” Pockets are the perfect place to keep your tissues!
What was your highlight of the special day?
“There were so many!”
“Firstly, the ceremony itself. Dad looked so dapper (we opted for a black tie dress code, to match the gorgeous dress, and I’ve never seen him look so smart) and met me with a beaming smile before. We descended the chateau’s epic staircase (built for Napoleon’s visit to the small French town).” We love a bit of history!
“Our band was playing an acoustic rendition of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” which brought on the goosebumps. I didn’t think I’d cry, but the moment I saw our guests’ faces (and their tears), the floodgates opened. By the time I made it to the front, my face was a mess. Luckily Alex (our wonderful celebrant and Ryan’s best friend) had come prepared with tissues. Ryan looked so handsome (black tie certainly suits him) and in that moment everything else faded into the background. The actual ceremony was wonderful – Alex was both funny and sensitive in his charming delivery and the readings were beautiful – I’ve never seen my little brother so emotional, and he finished off any soul that had managed to withstand the tears up until that point.” I know we certainly are welling up just listening about the day.
“We had written our own vows and struggled to get through them with all the emotion, but we still managed to squeeze in two references to pasta haha!” Love, love, love!
“Secondly, I can’t forget the speeches – another favourite moment of the day. They were interspersed between courses, as we basked in the gorgeous summer sunshine (I had to borrow someone’s SPF), sipping rose and indulging in the most delicious French food (i could write paragraphs on this alone, but the baked Camembert and filo-cased dauphinoise were highlights!). We went against tradition here, and had both male and female speeches. Both the FOTB and FOTG spoke, followed by Ryan’s sister (the “Best Woman”) and then both Ryan and I. My dad kicked things off with the presentation of our family’s fantasy football trophy, “the real reason we’d all gathered here in France”, and we ended with a virtual “best man style” speech over FaceTime (as many of Ryan’s ushers hadn’t been able to make it over due to covid),
with lots of happy tears in between!” Nothing can stop sharing the love for your nearest and dearest, this is truly amazing.
“A final mention needs to go to the fireworks. After dinner, we all headed down to the middle terrace for the party. Following our first dance, everyone was surprised with a spectacular fireworks display – we were blown away! It was the perfect ending to the most magical day – the whole experience just felt like a fairytale!”
What was your favourite part / job to do planning your wedding day?
Unfortunately, like many brides, Beth and Ryan had to plan their wedding during the pandemic. However, this did not stop their special day from coming to life and they adapted to the modern approach of planning.
“I’m not going to lie, trying to navigate a wedding through covid was pretty stressful.”
“My favourite part of the planning was before the pandemic hit – we spent the most lovely couple of days in France back in October 2021, where we met all our original suppliers. We explored the venue with our photographer, and indulged in wine, food and cake tastings.”
“Following covid we later met our new suppliers over FaceTime – everyone was so accommodating and did everything they could to make things special but I must admit it wasn’t quite as fun as being there in person.” It can’t have been easy experiencing the stress of planning during a pandemic and we massively congratulate you both on pushing through it, creating the day of dreams.
What advice would you give future brides when looking for their dress and planning their day?
“Definitely have an open mind. I would never have picked out my dream dress but can’t imagine the day without it now!”
“Also, try not to get caught up in the little things. Your favourite people in the world are there to celebrate your love and won’t care (or probably notice) if things don’t go perfectly to plan.”
“Take some time for yourself – we managed to sneak away for a few minutes before capturing some “golden hour” shots in the vineyards. It was the perfect moment to take everything in as we hadn’t had a second just us all day.” This is a really good piece of advice for future brides. Please remember to take that time, take It all in, just the two of you, then re-join your loved ones.
“A tip would also be to choose a venue that allows you freedom. We were able to bring our own booze and had no noise curfew, so could have partied all night (or until 5am in our case!)”
*another fun element was the filming for Escape to the Chateau DIY. I knew the chateau had featured in previous seasons but a couple of weeks before the wedding, they asked if we’d be happy for Channel 4 to film our wedding weekend. Many of our guests were fans of the show, so this just added an extra layer of excitement to the day!” This is just incredible! We will certainly be tuning in.
What was your first dance song?
“At Last by Etta James. This classic felt just perfect under the festoon lights in the shadow of the stunning chateau. Plus, the title seemed quite fitting considering this was third time lucky thanks to covid!”