Visiting the Showroom and seeing all the beautiful things that I had glimpsed on friend's previous wedding lists, and getting excited about adding them to mine. I slightly mis-sold the trip to my now husband so The Wedding Present Company used their expertise and popped him on a sofa with a beer, out of harm's way... 

Addison Ross for a much-needed host of frames post-wedding, and Sabatier to upgrade all our kitchen knives. 

A few of my friends had used The Wedding Present Company for their weddings and I'd been envious of the fantastic things they'd added to their lists, the supplier selection is exceptional. I should have been a better friend to some of them and used the referral scheme as one couple has now done for us, which was a lovely surprise. 

We were on a trip to Hydra. I almost discovered the ring when I began to unpack Alex's washbag, which he promptly grabbed off me. On the evening itself he suggested we go down to a beach that we'd already been to before, I almost kiboshed his plans again by not wanting to go and being entirely disinterested. Eventually we got there, and with some pina colada fueled courage he got down on one knee! 

Norfolk meets... Tuscany. I wanted to get married in Italy, but Alex couldn't imagine getting married anywhere else except the North Norfolk coast, where he was brought up. So, we bought a bundle of olive trees, lots of lemons, and our florist worked almost exclusively with olive foliage to make our 'compromise' work. My mum made some red-striped tree skirts to cover the olive tree pots to resemble classic Italian, red-striped beach umbrellas on our makeshift terrace. Also, our tables were decked with pots of rosemary. 

Our caterer, Jess Catermole, is a friend of Alex's. We've eaten her delicious food many times at various events, she also has the most wonderful collection of vintage cutlery and crockery. We absolutely lucked out with our photographer, Alice Cunliffe, who lived a couple of villages away by chance, as she knew exactly how the exceptional coastal light would play out through the day. I chose a florist who also did one of my best friend's weddings, and my husband chose the band by putting our wedding date into a single entertainment booking platform and hitting the jackpot. 

We got married in Titchwell church, a tiny church fitting our 60 guests perfectly. Our reception was held just down the road in the garden of a great family friend of Alex's, that has the most gorgeous views overlooking the North Norfolk marshes. 

Morton Events supplied a sailcloth tent, and we were so lucky with the weather we had the sides rolled up all day. 

Our caterer's lifelong collection of beautiful placemats, vintage cutlery and crockery really made the tables outstanding. Lots of rosemary, olive foliage, lemons and a classic black and white dancefloor created our Italian theme. 

I'm not a huge flower fan, I've always preferred some architectural foliage. Our florist, The Norfolk Floral Studio, took my brief and absolutely delivered on the day. A small homage to traditional flowers was made at the church and the flower girl's flower crowns and bouquets - they were absolutely adorable. 

We borrowed Alex's dad's Aston Martin for our drive from the church. With half the guests living just villages away, and the church being a hop away from the marquee - everyone just bundles in each other's cars! 

I wanted to keep it incredibly simple so having done "the big dress try on", I ended up picking up a dress from Ghost on a Boris Bike one Saturday morning. I do love a headband though, and I had the headband of my dreams created by Tilly Ellen Millinery. Alex bought me some beautiful pearl drop gold hoops for Christmas from Lily & Roo before the wedding. Also, I had a little wicker basket embroidered with Mrs Oliver, which made a great honeymoon addition too. 

Alex wore the same morning suit he has worn to every wedding for the past 10 years. Apart from the corsage, not one item was different for his own wedding! 

I had my hair done by Jo Jordan, but I did my makeup myself. I had a terrible trial and was haunted from then on! 

Our flower girls wore dresses from Monsoon to which we added a green sash. One of the girls has since worn hers again for a fancy-dress horse riding competition, and another one of the girl's has worn her dress again to World Book Day at school! 

We wanted to have the food that we love eating, so Jess put together the most fantastic menu. We had BBQ Tomahawk steaks to share on the table with huge bowls of salad. A local fisherman supplied us with fresh oysters and one of our best off-list presents was a foie gras canape from a great friend who runs a fantastic pub. There was so much left over lots of people were lucky enough to have an extra slice on their steak! Our cake by Victoria Jane Bakes was lemon and thyme to fit with our Italian theme. 

We had crémant to start, then because of the beautiful weather, the Berry Brothers red wine we had bought to go with the steak was entirely cast aside for rosé. During the dancing, we had picante’s on tap because everyone loves tequila (but not waiting!) when they are on the dance floor. 

Alice Cunliffe, cannot recommend her more! Her photos captured the day perfectly and she put us entirely at ease.

The Jukeboxes, they were fantastic and got everybody going - perhaps too much, as one of our friends tried to join them onstage at one point! We had Barry White's 'My First, My Last, My Everything' as our first dance song, the lead singer definitely gave Barry White a run for his money on vocals. My Spotify Wrapped 2022 had the song as my most listened so clearly, I wasn't quite sure about it! 

None, I did it myself, working at hundreds of weddings for Stuarts Events in Sussex when I was younger clearly paid off. We did have a super helpful on the day events person though who held it all together when our barman was two hours late! 

Gee Brothers, for all the invitations. Papier, for on the day and thank you cards and just a local printer for the order of service which was a snip! 

It truly was the best day. Whenever someone had said that to me previously about their wedding, I never believed them. I understand now! I love looking through our wedding book. I can't wait to plant our olive trees at our new house to always remind us of how special the day was, and watch them grow. Also, whenever we use our beautiful gifts from the The Wedding Present Company it will also remind us of our brilliant friends and family who celebrated with us. 

Nothing will trump walking down the aisle, literally just married, with all our family and friends cheering. 

Everyone says it, but take moments together to stand back and watch everyone else at your wedding and drink it all in, the buzz of it all. Also, wedding planning will see a divide between the natural born organiser and the lesser so in the couple - and that's okay, they'll step up when the big things need to happen so try not to nag too much so you don't get threatened with divorce before you're even married like I did! 

Gift List: The Wedding Present Company

Photographer: Alice Cunliffe

Catering: Jess Catermole

Florist: The Norfolk Floral Studio

Bridal Fashion: Ghost, Tilly Ellen Millinery, Lily & Roo

Marquee: Morton Events

Cake: Victoria Jane Bakes

Music: The Jukeboxes

Hair: Jo Jordan 

Flower Girls: Monsoon

Stationery: Gee Brothers and Papier