Donna & Connie's Orange Themed Wedding

The proposal was a surprise! I proposed to Connie in Thailand on the beach. We had gone on holiday and were staying on a small island called Koh Kood and on our last day, we had the whole beach to ourselves and I managed to nervously write in the sand, 'marry me Connie?' She thought I was joking at first as I had been teasing her saying that I needed a few more years before I was ready to get married, so it wasn't the reaction I was expecting! We laughed a lot about it, and I got down on one knee and convinced her that I was serious! She said 'yes'!

We had approximately 60 guests at our wedding and held it at Hayne Barn, in Devon. It's a beautiful barn wedding venue where so many people can stay onsite in posh bell tents, yurts, or log cabins. It is also close(ish) to go surfing, and we love walking, so it ticked all the boxes for a cheeky mini-moon after the party!

We really loved the idea of a barn wedding, something rustic and relaxed. We used orange as a highlight colour and just did what was comfortable for us. I love Doc Martins and have always wanted a tailcoat, and Connie always wanted a tux so we did what was good for us and added in a flavour of ourselves. We wanted everyone to be relaxed and have a good time. That was the most important element for us! We had an amazing caterer, Andy and Debbie from Buen Apetito, who prepared three types of paella. They cooked in front of the guests and the food was sensational! They also cut our cake for us and were just fantastic humans to have as part of our day. We served prosecco or awa di lamunchi (a lime lemonade from the Caribbean where we live) for the toasts, wine on the table, and the bar served anything from craft beers and wine, to cocktails and malt whiskey. Our wedding cake was a triple chocolate fudge cake from M&S. It was a beast of a cake and super rich and delicious. Connie made a gorgeous cake topper of us with our two dogs. We had Michael Buble's How Sweet It Is. It wasn't meant to be this song, it was meant to be Smash Mouth's I'm A Believer.but we couldn't get the dancing to go that fast so we went for a slightly slower song. Matt and Lianne, from Inspired Party, took care of our DJ needs as well as doubling up as our Master of Ceremonies for the day. We ended the night with a random jam session in the barn with a bunch of guests singing and playing whatever instruments were around. We were lucky to have such an amazing group of people all come together to make our day. The day was fantastic! If there were hiccups, we didn't know about them! The venue was gorgeous, the owners were awesome, and we had an amazing party. And our photographer, Mike, did a wonderful job. We didn't want too many formal photos, but we definitely wanted lots of silly ones that caught us and our guests enjoying themselves. A true representation of what went on - Mike captured everything brilliantly! If we were to give advice to other couples planning on getting married, it would be to always have a budget in mind for everything you are doing; oh, and take the time to enjoy the party!