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Early days…
Although Stephanie and Jon both worked at the same police station in Kingston, surprisingly their paths never crossed until they met a year later when they went to a colleague's leaving party.
The couple have been together for four years and we hear what initially made them fall in love. Stephanie says: " I fell in love with Jon because I felt so at ease and comfortable with him. In our previous careers we both did a great deal of travelling - Jon was in the army and I was an air hostess - we found that we had both travelled extensively around the world including some exotic locations such as the Middle East and Easter Island."
Jon adds: "All the guys at work were talking about Stephanie in the control room, although I had never actually met her. At a colleague's leaving party our eyes met across the room and I thought that she must be the girl everyone had been talking about. We got talking and just had so much fun laughing at each others stories that we both wanted to meet up again."
The proposal…
Jon tells us about his proposal: "I decided several weeks before we went on holiday to the beautiful Greek island of Santorini that I would propose to Stephanie there. I bit the bullet and went out alone to choose and buy the engagement ring. I made my choice and guessed the size by the similar sized assistant in the jewellers, who, I later found out, had much chubbier fingers than Stephanie!
"When we packed for the holiday I had sleepless nights wondering how I was going to carry the ring through airport security. I couldn't carry it on me just in case I was searched by security in Stephanie's company. In the end I decided that the safest place for the ring was wrapped up in a pair of my socks in my luggage.
"On arrival at Santorini airport a heart stopping moment was the 45 minute wait while my bag was the last to be loaded onto the carousel by the baggage handlers. I swear Stephanie heard my sigh of relief when I spotted my bag, she clearly thought I was overreacting to the arrival of my case full of shorts and t-shirts.
"We arrived at our hotel, The Tamarix del Mar, and we were mesmerised as it was so beautiful. We were expecting a boutique hotel but it was amazing. We were shown to our room which had two balconies, one of which had a Jacuzzi on. There and then I decided that was the spot to pop the question.
"On the third day, I made my excuses to Stephanie and said we should retire to the room in the afternoon as the sun was getting a bit too much. When we got to the room I suggested we had a Jacuzzi together; however Stephanie said she was tired and fancied a siesta. Having to think quickly I said 'you have to get in the Jacuzzi I have a present for you'. It did the trick.
While we were in the Jacuzzi, room service knocked on the door to deliver Champagne, flutes and the ice bucket which I had ordered earlier. I got out and collected it and the ring. I then placed the Champagne on the side, asked Stephanie how much she loved me and then I got down onto one knee and asked her to marry me. Stephanie grabbed the box from me, opened it and when she realised it was a ring she said in disbelief: 'Did you just ask me to marry you?' She had missed everything, so asked me to do it all again. Fortunately for me she answered 'yes' and I could give her the ring and relax again."
Hen and stag parties…
Stephanie celebrated her hen do in Brighton with a close group of friends, her sister and her mother. Stephanie fills us in on the details: 'My hen party was lovely. We went to Brighton for one night and had a meal at the Seven Bar on Brighton Marina, followed by dancing at Revenge Night Club.'
For his stag do, Jon's arrangements didn't go quite to plan: "Jon went to the Comedy Club in Leicester Square but had bought tickets for the wrong show so got totally abused (good humoured) by the rest of the stag party. Instead of going to the comedy show Jon was dragged around several pubs and clubs in central London getting very merry along the way."
The venues…
It's always hard trying to find the perfect venue but Your Surrey Wedding magazine came up trumps for Stephanie: "When Jon and I returned from Santorini my first wedding magazine I bought was Your Surrey Wedding which has a feature including the Woodlands Park Hotel that caught my eye. Jon knew it well as he had been there as a best man at a friend's wedding. As soon as we entered the reception area Jon turned round and said 'this is so you' and I knew this was the venue for me."
The attendants…
Three bridesmaids and two flower girls formed Stephanie's bridal party. They were Stephanie's sister Belinda and two best friends Mandi and Tasha. The two flower girls were her nieces Katie, age three and Isabelle, 20 months.
The bridesmaids wore Champagne and ivory satin dresses from Forever Yours and the flower girls wore white and Champagne dresses from the Debenhams wedding range. Stephanie tells us how she made the walk down the aisle for her flowergirls' more fun:"The flower girls held teddy bears rather than having the traditional flowers, as I did not know how they were going to react when they walked down the aisle. The teddy bears worked a treat."
Jon kept his groom's party simple by just having his brother Simon as best man. They both wore lounge suits hired from Hugh Harris in Woking. Stephanie had bought Jon cufflinks as a wedding gift from Links of London to wear on the day.
The dress…
Stephanie reveals all about her bridal look: "My wedding dress was made by Pronovias and was totally different to what I had in mind. I really did not want to try it on at first but I was persuaded and so pleased that I did. The dress was so different to anything that I had seen and it fitted perfectly. I loved the halter neck and the beautiful lace, and I thought it was very flattering.
Because the dress was lace and had a lot of attention to detail, I wanted to keep my accessories simple so I chose a small tiara made of pearls and crystals together with a matching bracelet. "
The flowers…
"I chose an over the arm bouquet of white arum lilies, rolled leaves, and looped grasses. They were bound with an off white ribbon with silver bullion and pearl pin detailing."
The best bits…
With so many special moments, we find out what Stephanie loved most about their wedding: "My best part of the day was seeing Jon's face when he saw me for the first time at our wedding ceremony. It was apparent by his expression that he was overwhelmed by how I looked. The sound of the harpist playing made it so magical and romantic."
Top tips…
It's always useful to get advice from other brides; here Stephanie reveals what she learned from the planning and the wedding day: "It was an emotional rollercoaster because I was trying to please everyone and realised it was impossible. The best thing to do is have a plan and stick to it! Don't listen to everyone telling you what you should do, as it is your special day. If anything does go wrong it will give the day added character, so don't dwell on it."
The honeymoon…
Dubai was the exciting destination that our happy couple chose for their honeymoon. "We stayed at the Miramar Al Aqua Beach resort, Fujairah, Dubai which is an amazing hotel about an hour and a half outside of Dubai."says Stephanie, "The hotel had a huge sandy beach almost deserted and the warmest sea we've ever experienced. It was very peaceful and away from the hustle and bustle of Dubai itself but close enough to get there for the shopping and sights."
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