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Early days…
Jennie and Paul found love on the internet through a dating website. Paul was the first person Jennie replied to and, after a few weeks chatting on the internet and then by phone, they finally met on Valentine's weekend, 2006. Jennie recalls: "The first meeting was actually a bit of a disaster. But we have been a couple ever since and I moved in with Paul in early 2007."
Paul tells us when he fell in love with Jennie: "I realised that not only is she very beautiful and intelligent, but she also has a child-like vulnerability that makes me want to look after and protect her" Jennie adds: "I fell in love with Paul within weeks of knowing him; he is the most honest, caring, loving man I have ever met. He is my soul mate."
The proposal…
Exactly 12 months after the couple's first meeting, Paul took Jennie away for a romantic Valentine's weekend at Great Fosters Hotel, Egham, and proposed over their evening meal. Jennie said 'yes' immediately.
Hen and stag parties…
Jennie and 15 of her friends travelled by limo to a restaurant in Guildford for her hen do. The drink was flowing and she had to do lots of forfeits throughout the evening. Unfortunately, by the time the male stripper arrived Jennie was a bit worse for wear; she didn't make the nightclub and missed the pink limo arriving to take everyone home.
"Paul spent a weekend with 10 close friends in Puerto Banus, Spain, although, he had no idea where he was going until he was taken to the airport. The best men had arranged with Jennie to have a weekend bag packed. Of course, like all stag weekends, it was a very quiet, sober event with suitably personalised t-shirts identifying the groom.
The venues…
We hear from Jennie why they chose Gatton Manor as their wedding venue: "We investigated a few venues, but decided upon Gatton Manor due to its lovely location, intimate atmosphere, and good choice of menu, all at a price we considered great value for money. We booked it 18 months before the wedding."
The attendants…
Jennie had four bridesmaids: Donna and Emma are close friends, while Leighanna and Sophie are Paul's nieces. All of the bridesmaids wore claret-coloured strapless dresses by Alfred Angelo with matching shoes.
"Paul had two best men: Nigel, who Paul has worked with for nearly 20 years, and Ian, who has been a good friend of Paul's for years. Paul's brother Adrian was an usher. The groomsmen each wore a PrinceEdward style two-piece dark grey suit with an ivory waistcoat and a claret-coloured cravat and handkerchief.
The dress…
Jennie's beautiful Alfred Angelo dress had a strapless ruched corset-style fitted bodice and full skirt with medium-length train. Jennie adds: "It was embellished with tiny pearls, translucent sequins and mini diamond-style beads, the sparkle was stunning. My 'something blue' was a garter, 'something borrowed' was the earrings I wore, 'new' was my necklace, I had nothing for 'old' - well apart from Paul."
The flowers…
Jennie loved choosing the flowers and we hear how she chose her dream bridal blooms: "We discussed with Toni Davey, our Wedding Planner from ISIS Events, the flowers we had set our hearts on for our wedding day - red and cream roses. Toni went away and put a story board together with ideas for us and we loved them all. Toni then liaised directly with Dorking Flowers the in-house florist at Gatton Manor to create the designs. My bouquet was a posy of red roses each decorated with pearl pins, with foliage and grass trailing. The bridesmaids carried posies of cream roses tied with red organza.
"Paul, his best men and the users had a lovely large red rose buttonhole. Paul's one was dressed with a pearl pin to match my bridal bouquet."
The decorative touches…
Once again, Toni helped the happy couple create some stunning finishing touches. She supplied Dorking Flowers with mini glass vases; each was filled with a large red rose and these were placed in lines on the dinner tables. On the top table a deep red cylinder vase filled with red roses made a lovely centrepiece and all the window ledges were decorated with clear glass vases filled with red roses and rose petals.
"On the terrace outside Toni had created a rose garden made from bay trees and shrubs that were decorated with red roses. Jennie recalls: "In the gardens there was a lovely rose arch that we wanted to have a photograph taken under and this was decorated with ivory and red organza bows as it was the end of the summer so all of the original roses had died.
"We could not have candles at the venue so in the evening we had some lovely table decorations of glass bowls filled with red sparkles and fairy lights. Around the dance floor we placed 4ft high glass vases filled with decorated twigs covered in fairy lights."
The music... After the wedding breakfast, the musical entertainment was provided by Andy Wilsher Sings Rat Pack who even enticed Paul into singing with him. This was followed by the resident DJ who played sixties, seventies and eighties music. Jennie adds: "We didn't actually have a first dance because Paul has two left feet. Instead two tall stools were provided for us, and Paul sang two songs to me. The first of these was Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol followed by Save the Last Dance for Me by Michael Buble. The sight of Paul singing did come as a big surprise for most of the guests!"
The best bits…
Jennie tells us what she loved most about the big day: "Everything about the day was wonderful. It all went exactly according to plan - apart from me being 20 minutes late for the ceremony due to a last minute make-up malfunction. But I suppose a bride is entitled to be a few minutes late."
Top tips…
Jennie says: "If you're a busy, full-time, workaholic, hire a good wedding planner to take the stress out of the arrangements. It is only when you start planning a wedding that you realise how much needs to be done. Nothing can be left to chance and you don't want any mishaps on the big day - a late bride being acceptable."
Paul's top tip: "Choose a best man (or best men) you can rely on. Don't worry if the bride is late and starts crying during the ceremony. Don't get too drunk, and make sure you circulate."
Finally: After the ceremony, so that the guests did not get too bored while waiting for the official photographs to be taken, the couple hired a magician to provide some close up table magic.
The honeymoon…
The newlyweds spent their wedding night in the honeymoon suite at Gatton Manor and then spent a wonderful relaxing two weeks at the Meedhupparu Resort in the Maldives. Jennie adds: "We would certainly recommend it. Although August is out of season, the weather was wonderful and the beach was literally a step down from our chalet. It was very relaxing. For one day we even had our very own desert island paradise, together with a picnic."
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