Katherine arrived early to get ready in our bridal changing rooms along with her three bridesmaids, the hustle of three ladies getting ready for one of the biggest days of Katherine’s life made the few short hours before the ceremony fly by. Once the final finishing touches had been put in place Katherine, and her bridesmaids made their way down the stairs toward the banqueting hall where the ceremony was to take place.
Katherine’s bridesmaids lead the way down the aisle carpet, as Katherine entered the room you could hear the audible whispers of all their family and friends commenting on how beautiful Katherine looked in her bridal gown. She made her way towards Simon who had a huge smile on his face as he saw his bride to be for the first time that day. The ceremony finished to the sound of applause as Simon and Katherine shared their first kiss as husband and wife.
Kir Royale’s and canapés were now being served in the front garden, which gave everyone a chance to congratulate the newly wed’s, Tom Halliday Photography was also able to take this opportunity to capture some wonderful photos of Katherine and Simon in and around the house and grounds.
All too soon the wedding breakfast was ready to be served, once every one was seated, and the food and wine started to be served the room filled with the wonderful sound of friends and relatives talking and laughing.
As the day turned to dusk, and the evening guests started to arrive, the celebrations could now begin with some great tunes from Parklands in house DJ.
Read about Katherine’s inspiration:
Where did you get engaged and how long had you been together before hand?
“We met at Swansea University in our Freshers week and had been together nearly 7 years when we got engaged. Simon popped the question on my birthday in April 2012. We were at a friend’s wedding the day before out on the Gower peninsula near Swansea and Simon took me out for a walk in the morning to my favourite beach where he proposed. It was horrible and rainy so I knew something was up when he was very insistent that we went for a walk. I was even more surprised when he got down on one knee in the wet sand. Despite the weather (and mild hangover from the wedding the previous day), it really was perfect!”
How many venues did you visit before you chose Parklands as your wedding venue?
“None! Having both worked at Parklands beforehand we always knew that we were going to get married here!”
What was your first step of wedding planning? Venue search, dress shopping, choosing a date etc?
“Booking Parklands was the first step, quickly followed by booking up the registrars and all the other suppliers….cake, florists, photographer.”
How many months/years in advance did you book your wedding?
“18 months. We got engaged on the Saturday and on the Monday we were already in contact with Parklands trying to find a date the following Autumn.”
What was the hardest thing about planning your wedding day?
Nothing was hard about planning the wedding. Although my wedding planner was my life saver. I had all the to-do lists, guest lists etc written down in it so it was easy to make sure I was on top of things. It went everywhere with me during those 18 months! I delegated a lot of jobs to others too so the stress was not all on me.
What were the highlights of your day?
“The whole day was perfect so it’s hard to choose just one aspect of it. Being surrounded by all of our friends and family was lovely. Everyone from my makeup and hair ladies, the photographer, the florists and the staff at Parklands were all lovely and helpful and helped to make the day run perfectly. I suppose rocking out to Nirvana on the dance floor towards the end of the night will be something that I cherish for a long time to come!”
Do you have any advice for Bride and Grooms that are just starting their wedding plans?
“Enjoy the planning process and delegate jobs! Also, if things don’t go completely to plan, you won’t remember it (and no one else will probably even realise). What you’ll remember is being surrounded by all of your loved ones and marrying the one you love. Consider having a photographer stay the whole day rather than just up until the wedding breakfast. Our photographer caught some amazing moments during the evening whilst everyone was dancing!”
Photography by: Tom Halliday Photography