How to create a perfect purple wedding day, courtesy of Non and Mike. They were married in September 2011…
WHO: Non and Mike
WHERE: St Catherine’s Church and The National Waterfront Museum, Swansea
WHEN: September 2011
PHOTOS: Aga Tomaszek
The proposal
“Mike and I were walking the nine miles around the Pembrokeshire Coast, when he popped the question,” remembers Non. “I love sweets, so Mike had brought along a bag of cola bottles, and all the way around, he kept on asking me to guess in which hand he was holding the cola bottle. About six miles in, he must have swapped a sweet for the ring, and to my surprise I picked the hand with the ring! He then asked me in Welsh (he’s a learner, it’s not his first language!) to marry him.”
The bride’s outfit
“I didn’t have any design ideas in mind for my wedding gown, but I remember going to Blue Bridalwear (bluebridalwear.co.uk) with my sister, and realising that her designs, cut and style of the dresses were unique, beautiful and really suitable for tall girls like myself,” says Non
The groom’s outfit
Mike wore a Gibson suit from Hawkes in Cardiff. “We both agreed that he was better off buying a nice suit that he could wear again. It just so happened that he also bought the same suit as my Dad!” says Non.
The bridesmaids
“The four girls who accompanied me down the aisle were so supportive and such fantastic friends,” explains Non. “My sister was nine months pregnant at the wedding, but I could never of imagined not having her next to me on the day. The others symbolised different stages of my life. As well as my sister, my best friend Delyth was five months pregnant, so I was keen to find them bridesmaids dresses that would not only make them feel comfortable, but were special and flattering. The other two wore lovely plum dresses from Dessy.”
The ceremony
“Because we had our service in a church we had a Bible reading. My sister, who is a published writer, wrote two poems for us, one in English, the other in Welsh. A group of friends also sang Calon Lan. It has become a tradition for them to sing at each other’s weddings, but being on the other side and hearing them sing for us was an emotional and memorable experience,” says Non.
The flowers
Were created by a local florist based in Swansea.
The reception
“The museum is a wonderful, stunning, modern, airy building, which lent itself to so many of our ideas,” explains Non. “At times it was hard to stop thinking of more ways to decorate and add detail to the wedding venue. We bought some garden parasols, 100 colourful paper lanterns, coloured vases, fairy lights and frames. We wanted to make the most of all the different rooms in the museum and complement the atmosphere as much as possible.”
The honeymoon
Was to Dubrovnik in Croatia.
