“A blush-pink, fabulously fluffy real wedding, and with a sprinkling of sparkle – we themed our day around the cake!”
The proposal
“We were on holiday in Mexico and Karl had been planning to ask me for quite a while,” remembers Claire. “He’d hidden the ring in his shoe in our suitcase and he began the proposal with, ‘You know I love you, right? Well, I want to spend the rest of my life with you…'”
“We got back to our room at 3am and immediately ordered room service. Rogan Josh never tasted so good…”
The bride’s real wedding outfit
“Maggie Sottero dresses are just beautiful; I knew I would wear one of her designs” says Claire. “I found the one in the second dress shop we went to, The Confetti Box. Although I absolutely knew this was the dress for me, I thought I should try on a few more just to be sure. The last shop assistant said to me politely, “Why are you still looking when it sounds like you’ve already found your dress?” She was right! We jumped in the car and made it back to The Confetti Box just before closing time and ordered the dress there and then!” Claire looked stunning in her strapless A-line gown, with a Swarovski-encrusted bodice and taffeta skirt
The groom’s outfit
Karl wore a slategrey suit with tails, a white shirt and a pink waistcoat and cravat from John Francis Menswear. “Of course he looked gorgeous, but his beaming smile just topped it off!” says Claire of her real wedding.
The bridesmaids
“I knew I wanted the older girls in pink knee-length dresses, with a ‘baby-doll’ feel to them,” explains Claire. The girls looked perfectly pretty in their sugar-pink prom dresses from Brides by Ventrella, and the exposed tulle underskirt added a fun and flirty 1950s feel. “My flowergirl, Annabelle, wore a ‘minime’ dress from Solitaire Wedding Centre – for just £68!”
The ceremony
“I love watching the ceremony back on video,” says Claire. “Everyone arriving is the best bit; it’s lovely to see how much effort our guests put in to looking fabulous! If you’re getting married in a church, definitely hire the chimes and not the bells – I couldn’t tell the difference, although my wallet felt £110 better off!” she adds
“The ceremony was truly beautiful – I was amazed how calm I was and how calm Karl wasn’t…!”
The flowers
The beautiful bouquets were arranged by Flowerstyle By Laurie. “I took a picture of my dress, magazine cut-outs of bouquets and sample fabric of the bridesmaids’ dresses to help the florist match the theme,” says Claire. “Sweet Avalanche roses with diamanté in the blooms completed the look”
The cake
“Our beautifully pink and fluffy cake from Occasion Cakes was the inspiration behind the whole day!” says Claire
The honeymoon
“We gave ourselves three days to get ourselves together and then flew to the Dominican Republic,” says Claire.
