23^rd July 2022

 How did you first meet?

 We met in Dirty Martini Cardiff on my birthday. It was the first time we’d ever met. Josh’s brother is the most funny and sassiest person you’ll ever meet, and he came over to my group of friends, dancing to Beyonce. He introduced me to Josh there and then, and the rest is history.

 

How long were you together before he proposed? How did he propose?

We were together for 4 years before he proposed.

We were in Santorini. Josh had just come back from the Lions tour and had to go to Jersey to quarantine for 10 days. I hadn’t seen him for a few months.

Once he came home, we flew to Santorini, and he proposed the first night we were there. We were chilling all day and then I went to get ready. He’d ordered a bottle of champagne, and suggested we went to watch the sunset.

I was in full on holiday mode, taking my time getting ready and Josh was panicking that he didn’t want to miss the sunset, he was trying to politely rush me along. He’d set his phone up, took a photo and as I turned around, there he was on one knee.

 

Where did you get married?

Sant Ffraed House

 

What attracted you to the venue? 

It was just gorgeous. We were initially looking abroad, and a friend messaged to say a new venue was opening, Sant Ffraed House. We were invited to the soft launch, so it was our opportunity to visit the venue before anyone else.

I had my heart set on going aboard, but Josh was considering the UK after hearing about Sant Ffraed House. When we walked in, we were both blown away. We were stood during a champagne reception and the venue was full of people and we just imagined all those people being our family and friends and it just felt right. We made the decision there and then, Sant Ffraed House was where we were going to get married.

 

What did you have for food and how was it?

We had the lamb croquette to start which was incredible. We also had an upgraded fish course which was amazing. Nobody knew that was coming out as we didn’t put it on the menu, so it was a surprise course for our guests. Everybody loved that.

Me and Josh had the venison for main, which was gorgeous, and for dessert Josh had sticky toffee pudding and I had the choux bun. He tried to convince me I hadn’t ordered it, as he liked the look of it more, but that was the champagne talking. Every mouthful was insane!

In the evening we had a mixture of food from Mexican to Greek. It was incredible.

 

What was your wedding theme?

Minimal, modern, and classic. We wanted something timeless so when we look back, we’re still going to love everything we had.

 

What stationery did you have?

My friend owns Pretty Haus Prints. We wanted a classy look and feel, black, white, and gold. We opted for nice textured white card with fine black writing. Stripped back and minimal and complimented the table décor.

 

What did you wear? Tell us about your gown…

I booked an appointment with my mum first and we went to Eva Ashley. I tried on a load of dresses, and I didn’t really have anything in mind that I wanted. I just wanted to try a load on and see what I liked and didn’t like. I tried on the Riki Dalal and I loved it!

The second time I took my bridesmaids with me to try on the dress again, they all cried so I knew it was the one. Whilst we were there, I asked them to be my bridesmaids.

It was getting closer to the date, and everything was happening in Ukraine and my dress was stuck over there. The team did everything possible and travelled to Poland to get the dresses out.

I couldn’t allow myself to feel stressed because of everything that was going on, but everything arrived, and it was perfect.

 

How did your dress make you feel?

I felt amazing, it was everything I could have dreamt of. Everyone complimented the dress and Josh loved it which was the main thing. My dad burst into tears, and I’ve never seen him cry. It was the dress of dreams.

 

Where did you get the suits from and what was the style like?

Josh and his brother (our best man) had their suites from Timothy Everest. Josh is a good friend of Timothy; he’s from Wales and lives in London. He designed Josh and his brother’s suits for them.

The other groomsmen had their suits from Reiss.

 

How did you feel when you first saw Josh at the altar?

Even hearing that question, I have butterflies. I remember being outside the door. I felt so nervous but not nervous in a bad way. The doors opened and I didn’t see anyone other than Josh. I got to the end of the aisle, and he grabbed my hand. I was shaking so much and so was he.

It was the best moment of my life, those doors opening and seeing Josh. His eyes were glazed over, and he was biting his bottom lip trying to keep it together. I’ll never be able to get over that moment.

 

Tell us about your bridesmaids, who were they and where did you get the dresses from?

Two of my best friends from school Sian and Danielle (my maid of honour), and then my best friends Meg and Rhi. My junior bridesmaids were my nieces Ela and Alys. I got their bridesmaids dresses from Pretty Lavish.

What was your best memory of the ceremony?

Being stood there, in that moment, about to get married. All the planning and everything that went into the day, to then be holding his hand and marrying him and saying husband and wife. It was an incredible moment.

 

What was your first dance song?

Iris – Goo Goo Dolls.

 

How did you entertain your guests?

We had Soul Lotta Funk as our band and then we had a DJ in the night.

We also chose to have a two-day event; we continued the celebrations the next day with a brunch at Sant Ffraed House in the day and an American style buffet in the evening.

 

What was the cake like?

Amazing! It was chocolate fudge Bischoff and Victoria sponge. We wanted to keep the cake minimal and classy. We opted for white fondant. Zoe from Vale Cake Boutique was amazing, she brought my vision to life.

 

How did you feel on the day?

I felt all the emotions; amazing and emotional and everything I coud have ever dreamed of. It sounds so cheesy but it’s true! It was the most incredible day, with the most incredible people. To be able to marry the love of my life with everyone I love there, you can never recreate that.

 

Where was your honeymoon?

I left Josh to plan the honeymoon, as he was away in South Africa with rugby in the lead up to the wedding, so we decided to park the honeymoon plans. A week after the wedding he text me to say that he’d booked flights and planned a road trip through Italy, it was amazing! We did Positano, Sorrento, Capri, Tuscany, and Rome it was incredible! We have the bug for Italy.

 

What’s your top tip to future couples getting married?

Don’t let it overwhelm you. All couples planning a wedding can get a little overwhelmed and it’s so easy to get caught up in stressful moments. Sit back and say ‘we’re planning this because we’re going to have the best day of our lives’, remember why you’re doing it. Soak in the planning time, and enjoy every moment, stay grounded in that, and absorb every moment together.

 

Suppliers:

Venue: Sant Ffraed House – Photographer: Lauren Amelia Photography – Florist: Hilarys Floral Design  – Dress designer: Riki Dalal Official – Dress shop: Eva Ashley Bridal  – Videographer: Fine Rolling Media  – Hair: Navidi Hair Company – Make Up: Makeup by Charl T – Cake: The Vale Cake Boutique – Stationary: Pretty Haus Prints – 2^nd Day photographer: Yony Photography Venue decor: KB Event Styling Ring supplier: Diamond Centre Wales