Where did you meet? We met ten years ago in our sixth form ICT class – but it took five years for him to start talking to me on myspace & facebook and ask me out for a drink!

Where did he propose? Mike took me to Rome for my 23rd birthday and proposed to me on my birthday evening in front of about 100 tourists and Italians by the Trevi Fountain!

Where did you get married? After initially planning a wedding abroad we decided to stay local to home so all friends and family, especially our grandparents, could share our special day. We found Holme Pierrepont Hall by accident and it was the perfect location – we loved the grounds and the fact there was a church just feet away from the hall!

Where was your reception? Holme Pierrepont Hall really is one of Nottingham’s best kept secrets. We loved the fact we had use of the long gallery for the wedding breakfast, a ball room for dancing and a lounge for resting in when the partying got too much for some people! The bar and courtyard were additional areas that meant we had lots of space for guests!

Who was your caterer? Fiona Herbert Catering – they were highly recommended and turned out to be the sole supplier for our venue! They ensured the day ran smoothly and were on hand to assist with the entire schedule, not just the amazing food!

What was on your menu? To tie in with the proposal, we wanted an Italian touch and were offered chicken stuffed with mozzarella and wrapped in Parma ham; carved lamb covered in rosemary.

Tell us about your wedding rings. The rings were ordered from Ernest Jones – I managed to find a white gold ring surrounded with princess cut diamonds (not that easy to get hold of!).

Tell us about your cake. Strawberry Cupcakes made the wedding cake, it was part chocolate sponge with vanilla icing and part vanilla sponge with Belgian chocolate icing. I only managed to grab a five pence piece size during a photo shoot but unfortunately it all went down a bit too well! As did the gorgeous cupcakes we had during after tea, made by a work colleague.

Who supplied your flowers, what did you have? Designer Daisies organised our bouquets. I choose to have peach and ivory roses with burnt orange calla lilies – tied in with gyps to soften and eucalyptus for scent.

Who designed your dress and where did it come from? The dress is by Rosetta Nicolini, an Italian designer for Berketex Brides. It was the last one I tried on during day 1 of the dress search! So impressed it only took me six hours to find the one – although I was reluctant to try it on due to the cost… but my mum and sister persuaded me it suited me the best and it was worth every penny in the end!

What shoes did you wear? Mike found my shoes! On a shopping trip we walked past the shoe section in John Lewis and he spotted a pair of ivory satin Kurt Geiger shoes, which happened to be perfect! (He is not a fashion man and no way a keen shopper, so this was once in a million experience).

Who did your hair? A hairdresser friend did my hair and it was fantastic to have her on hand all day to assist with a touch up and small change when the veil came off.

Did you have cars? if so what and who supplied them? Our cars changed last minute, we didn’t get the vintage cars we had lined up so had a stylish Merc and Bentley for the girls whilst the guys used their own Range Rover sports and RS sports car.

What was your first dance to and why? Love Story was our first song. Mike and his friend decided to find an acoustic version instead only ten minutes before the first dance and I hadn’t heard the version before so this was a nice surprise! On our trip to Rome it was in the charts, first and last song we heard at the UK airport – ties in with the Italy theme – and it has meaning to us in that we met when we were young 🙂

How long were you in planning your wedding? After spending two years planning a wedding abroad in Italy or Cyprus and final venues discussed, we then spent ten months organising our UK wedding!

Were you on budget? As our original budget was for a wedding abroad we spent double what we intended! It was the big fancy white wedding I never intended to have but in the end was the most perfect day ever and I wouldn’t change a thing!

What advice would you give a couple planning their wedding? Negotiate, negotiate and negotiate! Weddings are expensive but do not compromise too much and risk low quality on anything important. I printed invites online and had to write all the names and organise all the inserts and bows myself but a huge saving. Find friends and family members who are skilled and put them to good use! Its stressful to take on some of the jobs yourself and keeps you very busy but if you save money on one thing it means more of another 🙂

What is the brides most memorable part of the day? I recall I was a little tipsy at the end of the night (you’re too busy to eat much on your wedding day – remember this girls when knocking back the champagne!) and I lost my shoes a few times…

What is the grooms most memorable part of the day? xxx 😉