St Martin’s Church, Alfreton and Santos Higham Farm
St Martin’s Parish Church Alfreton
Where did you meet? We met at work.
Where did he propose? At a waterfall in Thailand.
Where did you get married? St Martin’s Church, Alfreton, having attended a civil ceremony we felt the service was not as intimate and it was nice to feel our guests could get involved by singing hymns.
Where was your reception? Santos, Higham Farm. We chose this venue as it offered accommodation for relatives who lived out of the area, it has beautiful scenery, having attended a wedding there previously we knew the food was good, it had several areas for people to relax in and dance in as many of our older relatives do not appreciate the music!
Who was your caterer? Santos Higham Farm Hotel
What was on your menu? Basket of hot bread, butter and grissini (v) with sundried tomatoes, red onion and olives platter of starters; mixed marinated peppers, smoked salmon, served with brown bread and butter, Parma ham and melon, all accompanied by a crispy salad chef’s homemade sorbet duet of main course; roast loin of pork and supreme of chicken, served with sausage stuffing and a rich roast gravy accompanied by a medley of roasted Mediterranean style vegetables, new minted and duchess potatoes trio of chef’s desserts; sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce, baileys profiteroles with chocolate sauce, mini brandy snap baskets with homemade praline ice cream
Santos Higham Farm Hotel
Tell us about your wedding rings. The engagement ring was from Ernest Jones, picked by Gary it has twist of gold and diamonds and a cluster of stones. My wedding ring was purchased from Goldsmiths to match the engagement ring, again a twisted gold and diamond band. Gary’s wedding ring is a plain white gold band.
Tell us about your cake. A friend made our cake as a gift. She made cupcakes and a fruit cake for the top tier and I had a topper made which was of myself, Gary and our dog Cyril. It was Navy Blue and Ivory to match our theme with some silver on the cupcakes. Neither of us like fruit cake but neither of us managed to get a cupcake.
Who supplied your flowers, what did you have? Our Florist was Lesley’s based in Sutton-In-Ashfield and I have to say they were perfect! I had a vintage looking bouquet made up of dusky pinks and ivory flowers with, mainly roses. It had trailing Ivy and some fern. It was all wrapped and secured with lace and pearl pins. It had a few pearls in the bouquet.
Who designed your dress and where did it come from? My dress came from Gracie Blue Bridal Shop at Matlock and the designer was Paloma Blanca.
What shoes did you wear? I chose Diane Hassall shoes
St Martin’s Church, Alfreton
Who did your make-up? My hairdresser, Vicki Kimberley, works at Ashes hair salon in chesterfield, I would definitely reccomend her, she did my hair, the 2 mothers hair, my aunts hair, 3 adult bridemaids and 2 flower girls hair and re-touched everyone’s, she was there from 6.00 am to 12.00pm. My Make-up artist was Emily Stibbs, she worked at the shop I had my dress from, whilst she was a little on the pricey side she was well worth the money, the make-up lasted all day long.
Did you have cars? if so what and who supplied them? Our transport was from www.wedding-cars-derby.co.uk we had a Daimler and a Vauxhall V8 but sadly they were ceasing trading shortly after our wedding
What was your first dance to and why? Our first dance song was ‘Use Somebody’ by Kings Of Leon but it was a Pixie Lott cover. The song didn’t have a meaning as such we just both liked it.
How long were you in planning your wedding? 2 years
Were you on budget? NO!!!!!!
Santos Higham Farm Hotel
What advice would you give a couple planning their wedding? Make sure you make the right choices first time… we originally booked a venue that whilst it was lovely it was impractical for our needs i.e. no accommodation for long distance relatives.
Expect to pay more than quoted, our costs went up for the dress alterations, the venue etc…
Most of all try to take in the whole day as it goes so quickly and it is truly one of the best days of your life.
Kate, what was your most memorable wedding moment? I loved it all, I couldn’t pick one single thing out..
Gary, what was your most memorable wedding moment? Finishing the speech and being able to relax.
Sunset wedding photography by Neal Morgan