Rich and Fran chose Romsey Town Hall as the venue for their April wedding. They wanted a day that was fun and personal but didn’t break the bank. With a lot of help from friends and family and a truckload of DIY, they created a wedding day that was the perfect reflection of them and their love.
“Our wedding was defined by our families and friends and the huge amount they supported us”, began the bride. “We are both very close to our families and our friends are just like a little family to us too. From start to finish our wedding was a real team effort. Having my grandma, aunts and uncles making pompoms the week before and then turning up to the venue the day before the wedding to see my oldest friend hanging them up with my cousins was really humbling. On top of that my Mum pretty much organised the whole thing and my Dad made nearly everything. We owe them so much and are so incredible grateful. They didn’t say no to any of our crazy ideas, even though at first they weren’t convinced by us eating lasagne and curry (our favourite meals) or having a male bridesman.”
“The ceremony was so special. I was so nervous but we actually both really enjoyed it. My only regret is that we didn’t have it filmed. It went by in such a blur and I would love to be able to watch it back and relive those special moments. We didn’t want it to be too traditional and I insisted on having The Cure’s ‘Friday I’m In Love’ instead of a hymn. This was such a highlight and hearing the whole congregation singing it is something I’ll remember forever. Our ceremony concluded with us dancing back down the aisle (literally!) to ‘You Make My Dreams Come True’ by Hall and Oates.”
I said this was a DIY wedding and on boy was it! These guys really did go all out to make their wedding personal. Fran added glitter to her and her Mother’s shoes, they looked amazing and saved her a truckload of money. Friends and family helped to make the pompoms and she made the bouquets. “Working with my parents was one of my favourite things about our wedding”, she explained. “But my all-time favourite moment was when we were lined up with our bridesmaids and groomsmen jumping for some photos. They looked brilliant and really sum up our day. Our photographer, Nabeel, was amazing and our guests loved him too. I was adamant after reading wedding blogs that I wanted a great photographer and although my parents took some convincing, I’m so glad I did. Nabeel was wonderful and we love the photos!”
“My advice to anyone else planning a DIY wedding would be to know when to stop!” Fran concluded. “There were a few projects that we abandoned because they weren’t really working or it just didn’t seem worth it. The ones we did do I loved but no one would have known or cared that we didn’t make the houmous. Life’s too short!”
