Today we are so pleased to be featuring our beautiful Pronovias bride Sam who found her dream gown in our boutique. Sam and Daryl’s wedding was on the 1st November 2015 at Sopley Mill with Jonathan Vincent taking the beautiful photos.
Tell us about your dress
Pronovias Ocumo. I knew exactly what style I was after and spent some time researching online. I was inspired by Grace Kelly and the 50s style. I wanted something classic and elegant that would flatter my figure. I only tried on a few dresses before my visit and only about another 3 other styles when I was at the store. I knew that I made the right choice as soon as I tried the dress on, and the reactions from my family who came along was amazing.
How did he propose?
We had gone for a walk on a Sunday afternoon to Hengistbury Head as it is one of our favourite places, and where we went for one of our first dates. We walked up to the top and then over to the other side where he said we should sit for a while and look at the view over Christchurch Harbour. After chatting for a couple of minutes, he then got down on one knee in front of me and asked me to be his wife!! I couldn’t believe it! My ‘yes’ came out as a bit of a squeak because I was so happy and excited! I just threw my arms around him!
What was your wedding theme and how did you create it?
We wanted a rustic, natural theme with hints and nods to our Scouting background, some of the colours we had are from our scout troop neckerchief. We made our own centerpieces based on a Christmas decoration we had seen in Homebase. We went on walks to 5 different locations collecting twigs. We made the centerpieces out of them and then named the table after each place that the decoration had its twigs from.
We also had slate hearts by Hampshire Slate. We used these for naming the tables and one next to a hamper for the cards to go in.
We decorated the venue with wicker hearts and paper lanterns and pompoms.
What was your first dance?
We had Frank Turner, Smiling at Strangers on Trains that had been edited at the end with part of a song by Arcane Roots, You Keep Me Here. We edited it together and had a friend of mine from my amateur dramatics group choreograph our first dance.
What is your top tip?
Shop around. Etsy as I’ve mentioned is amazing, and you are supporting small businesses, though be careful that they aren’t adding loads on to shipping costs. Also, try and make things yourself (if you have time) or get someone to help you. It can be a project and you can spend time with family or friends as you do it. My older sister and I made napkin rings out of ribbon together, and we designed the wedding cake as she was making it (chocolate and red wine! YUM!).Daryl and I made our table decorations and went on the walks together, so it was nice to spend time together and focus on us.
What was the highlight of your day?
I honestly don’t know how to choose as there were so many! Cheesy as it sounds, saying our vows was the best, but all the celebrations after were great fun! Especially our photo booth and just being able to sit for a few minutes with a cup of tea! As well as managing to steal a couple of minutes to ourselves during the evening to let it all sink in and enjoy the moment. Our first dance was pretty epic too!
Thank you so much Sam for sharing.
Why not share your own special day! Send your snaps to mydress@bridesofwinchester.co.uk or tag us #bowbride
