What’s your love story, how did you meet?
We met through a mutual friend just over 10 years ago – we were both still at school and have been together ever since! We have definitely changed a little over the past 10 years – we don’t dare show you any of the embarrassing photos from the early days…
How did you get engaged/proposal?
We went away with Gareth’s relatives (and now our bridesmaid and groomsmen!) Craig and Rebecca, alongside our goddaughter (their daughter) to Tattershall in Lincolnshire. Gareth had planned for us all to visit the nearby National Trust site at Tattershall Castle (which immediately seemed suspicious!). He took me (Abi) to the foot of the castle and got down on one knee. Craig captured it all on his phone, and Rebecca was gobsmacked as she didn’t know it was going to happen (eventually!). It was lovely to share the moment with our goddaughter (and flower girl!) and we can’t wait to show her the photos when she’s older.
Why did you choose your venue?
Abi grew up near Hazelwood Church and her parents got married there – the sentimental value that the church holds made the decision a no brainer. We visited a couple of venues nearby and after finding Haarlem online we popped along to take a look around. As soon as we walked through the doors of the mill everything felt perfect for us as a couple – the warm wooden elements paired with the amazing natural light and cool industrial features were everything we wanted and more! The team at Haarlem were so friendly and welcoming, and we love their locally sourced passion – especially being the foodies that we are!
What’s the style/theme/vibe of your wedding?
We’ve gone for a country style, green toned wedding, mixing the traditional element of Hazelwood’s picturesque church with our cool restored land rover and Haarlem Mill’s warm yet industrial vibe.
Is there anything special at your wedding that you’ve included and why?
There are a few sentimental elements weaved throughout the wedding that mean a lot to us. From our collection of generational wedding and memorial photos to our Macmillan Cancer Support wedding favours, we’ve tried to incorporate our lovely families, including those that are no longer with us, throughout our wedding.
What are you most looking forward to about your wedding day?
Are we allowed to say the food?... We’re already drooling at the thought of the pie in the evening!
All jokes aside, we’re so excited to see our planning come to life, and for all of our friends and family from lots of different places coming together.
Any future advice for Brides/Grooms planning their day?
Abi: We planned our wedding in just over 12 months, and although it was plenty of time, I felt like some jobs couldn’t be done as early as they actually could – anything you can get done early doors, do it!
Gareth: Be the groom – live it large – agree with the wife to be.
Can you tell who filled out the rest of the questionnaire?...
Kind words and/or why you chose us to capture your day:
We’re not the most comfortable people in front of a camera and find staged photos a little, well, awkward. Having scrolled through hundreds of wedding photographers and struggling to find anyway that matched our vibe and photo style, we eventually came across Sharon. We actually found Sharon by seeing the end result of a Facebook friends engagement shoot (shout out to Jack and Emily!) and having instantly fallen in love with the style we reached out to Sharon via her website. Shortly after, Sharon contacted us and arranged to pop over to our house for a brew (our favourite type of meeting!). As soon as we met Sharon, we knew she was the perfect person to photograph our wedding day. She was super friendly and instantly put us as ease. We arranged our pre-wedding shoot and after feeling very nervous to get in front of the camera, we came away feeling super relaxed. When Sharon sent the photos through the final photos we were blown away, and we are so excited for Sharon and Mike to join us and photograph our wedding day.
