Meant to be

After meeting through friends, Sara and Chris fell madly in love

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Early days…

Sara met Chris at a flat warming party she had after moving in with a female friend of Chris' from university. Sara says: "It was a Eurovision fancy dress party. Chris came as Monaco, dressed in a suave black suit pretending to be a successful gambler, and I came as Sweden and dressed up in an Ikea box."

The proposal…

Chris proposed to Sara on holiday in Mykonos, it was a complete surprise. As she explains: "He had contacted the hotel that we were staying at in advance and the staff had organised a candlelit dinner for two on the beach. We had music in the background and the food was fabulous. Instead of dessert, my plate had a ring box on it, when I opened it Chris got down on one knee and proposed. It was a wonderful surprise. I immediately said 'yes' and we opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate."

The venues…

Sara tells us about the arrangements for the wedding ceremony: "We were married by our friend Lindsay who is the chaplain at the school where I work. We were very keen for her to marry us at St Mary's Church where her husband is the vicar and she also carries out sermons. The church is beautifully simple, warm and inviting."

The reception venue was The Garden Room at Hampton Court Palace. Sara explains the couple's choice: "I am a history teacher and I studied Tudor history at university so it seemed very apt to get married in a Tudor palace. The area also held special significance for Chris as his parents, who sadly both passed away in the last four years, got married in East Molesey where his mum was brought up. We, and some of our guests including a few who had been present at Chris' parents wedding, stayed in the hotel Carlton Mitre."

The attendants…

The five bridesmaids were all friends including Rebecca, who Sara had previously lived with and was more importantly, the person who had brought the couple together. The three flowergirls were Chris' young nieces. The bridesmaids wore navy Dessy dresses and the flowergirls wore white dresses, shipped in from America, covered with navy roses.

Chris had one best man, Ewan his oldest friend, and four ushers. They all wore matching kilts in Gordon tartan, and jackets with handmade ties in the same navy material as the bridesmaids' dresses. The buttonholes were a white rose with a purple thistle.

The dress…

The bride's dress was from La Sposa and was a delicate lacy halterneck gown in ivory. Sara adds: "I absolutely loved my gown and I also wore a long veil which had lace round the edges to match the dress. I had diamantés and pearls in my hair, and I wore a bangle that Chris had given me for my birthday.
"My something old was my nan's engagement ring, my wedding dress was new, my garter was blue and I borrowed one of my bridesmaid's nail varnish."

The flowers…

"The bridal bouquet had white and cream roses with pearls and green foliage, in a simple round design." says Sara, "The bridesmaids had something very similar but they also had purple thistle in their bouquets to match the groomsmen's buttonholes."

The decorative touches…

We hear about the special details that completed Sara and Chris' big day: "During the canapés and champagne reception we had a string quartet play outside The Garden Room. We also had big garden games such as chess and Connect 4 to keep adults and children entertained ? which worked really well in the summer sun. We also hired babysitters to allow the adults the chance to let their hair down, and I made a box for each child filled with fun things to do.
"Because it was summer and The Garden Room is so light, we tried to keep the floral centrepieces as pale as possible so we had a mixture of white, cream and blue flowers. The chairs were decorated in cream covers with matching ribbons. All stationery was in navy and silver to match the colour of the bridesmaids' dresses and the men's kilts.
"As a surprise for Chris I also got human size balloon people made, one of me and one of Chris. These were placed on one side of the entrance to The Garden Room and they made it on to the dance floor to join in with the festivities by the end of the night."

The best bits…

Sara fills us in on the best part of the day: "The best part of the day for me was the ceremony. Coming into the church and seeing friends and family, being married by someone you know and seeing Chris at the end of the aisle, was an incredibly emotional experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole day. We were both fairly relaxed in our approach and subsequently everything went according to plan."

Top tips…

"Be calm and take in as much of the day as possible" says Sara. "It goes so quickly. Enjoy and savour the time that you get together alone as man and wife, such as between the church and the reception, as you will not necessarily get this again until the day is over. It's a wonderful time as it is just the two of you."

The honeymoon…

The newlyweds jetted off to the Seychelles for a much needed 10-day break. Sara tells us why she recommends the destination: "It was the perfect idyllic getaway. It allowed us to soak up the excitement of the wedding, whilst relaxing and enjoying being on our own."

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