Weddings Norfolk – Rosemary & Matt, Thorpe St Andrew & Somerleyton Hall

About the big day itself, by Rosemary herself:

WHERE: Following a surprise proposal in New York in 2010, we started to search for a venue quite early, knowing that we wanted a traditional but relaxed day that we could enjoy with family and friends. We visited a number of locations but Somerleyton Hall easily won us over as it is such a stunning location and we really felt that we would be looked after well by Sharon who is the resident wedding planner.

We had a beautiful ceremony at Thorpe St Andrew Church in Norwich before an exhilarating drive to the Somerleyton in our Lamborghini Gallardo (well it was ours for the weekend anyway!).  Somerleyton Hall was a magnificent location both for the day and as a backdrop for our photos where the maze provided a perfect distraction for all our guests while the room was set up for the evening. Sharon and her husband Steve together with their team put on a spectacular meal and attended to everyone throughout the day.

BRIDE’S DRESS: I always knew the style of dress that I would love to wear as I walked down the aisle but it didn’t stop me from enjoying the experience and trying on lots of different dresses. I finally found the right dress from Eternity Bride’s 2011 collection and couldn’t wait to show Matt on the big day!

BRIDE’S SHOES: I knew my shoes had to be very special to go with my dress but I also wanted to be able to dance in them all night so they needed to be comfortable too. I was never expecting to find any that fitted the bill so I was delighted when I saw them in Dune as they were just perfect.

BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES: I wanted both my bridesmaids to be happy with their dresses and as my sister Lisa lives in Sydney and Alex lives in Birmingham, we found a designer that is available in both countries so they could both try on dresses in the same styles. I think the end result worked well as they both looked stunning in their Dessy dresses and the men’s matching cravats didn’t look too bad either! Both my bridesmaids did a fantastic job both in preparation for and on the big day itself, which kept any stressors to a minimum when it mattered.

GROOM/GROOMSMEN: Matt looked so handsome on our wedding day! He chose an elegant light grey suit with tails with an ivory cravat to tie in with my dress. John Field formal hire in Norwich fitted the suits perfectly not only for him and his Bestman Daniel but also our Dads, my brother Robert and Matt’s three year old nephew Harvey.

MAKEUP: I can’t recommend Paula Daynes highly enough for bridal makeup. I was really indecisive with colours initially but together we found the perfect look. Paula really made a difference being with the bridal party on the morning as she not only made me, my Mum, and Bridesmaids look beautiful, she was also a calming influence. She helped to keep everything running to time so well that while everyone else was being taken to church, my Dad and I could enjoy a cheeky last minute swig of bubbly before the black cab arrived!

WEDDING FAVOURS: Our favours needed very little consideration as Matt loves jelly beans! We boxed up and decorated the favours ourselves, roping my whole family into a production line which meant they were all completed in a single evening!

FLOWERS: We chose our favourite flowers in creams, purples and lilacs to complement our colour theme and were really overwhelmed at how beautiful they looked on the day. Janice Unitt from Flowers with Flair really excelled and exceeded all our expectations. The table centres made beautiful gifts for our families the next day.

CAKE: Liz Ungless from Sugar Design must have spent hours creating our cake as all the flowers were made from sugar. They were so realistic and beautifully created that our guests almost didn’t believe they weren’t real! The bespoke clay topper was made by Cheryl from Artlocke Designs and is now a perfect keepsake from our special day.

ENTERTAINMENT: Keeping our guests entertained throughout the day was really important to us as we wanted to make sure they all enjoyed the day as much as we did. Sole Bay Strings sounded beautiful in church and created the perfect garden party atmosphere outside for our pre-wedding drinks. We didn’t want to shuffle round in circles for our first dance so had some dance lessons in secret and had a surprise first dance to Por Una Cabeza, which even included a lift at the end which was a lot of fun! We chose Beat Connection as our evening entertainment and unbelievably they kept the dance floor full for the entire night! Even months after our wedding, people are still commenting on how much they enjoyed the band.

HONEYMOON: We spent two glorious weeks away in the sun, firstly a week in Sri Lanka to see the sights and then a week in the Maldives where we snorkelled with sharks, finishing with two nights in Dubai. It really was a wonderful way to finish our wedding experience!

BEST ADVICE FOR PLANNING A WEDDING: When booking your venue, make sure you take the onsite organisers into account as they really can make a difference on the day. We had also booked Gerry Rhodes to be our Toastmaster and together with Sharon and Simon, they really did ensure everything ran smoothly and allowed us to relax and enjoy our wedding day!

And finally… our photos! After the venue was booked, finding a photographer was the next most important task for us. Simon’s work speaks for itself and after I had seen his photos, none of the other photographers even got a look in! However what the photos won’t tell you is how Simon manages to put people at ease, both in individual shots and for the groups. He has an endearing nature and is able to make people laugh for photos without being cheesy. Lots of our guests commented on how good he was on the day and they hadn’t even seen the photos by that point! Thanks Simon!