Tell us about the proposal, how did it happen, where did it happen etc.
I proposed to Alex in the beautiful city of Bath. We were on a night away to celebrate his graduation to being a doctor. I proposed in the pouring rain by a beautiful canal on the way back from the restaurant… didn’t quite get down on one knee because I only had one pair of jeans with me! Said yes though!
What was your original vision for your wedding day? Vintage, colourful, glitzy etc. Did that vision change?
We had a few “wants” for our wedding. For it to be by the sea (Alex and I have spent most of our lives in different capacities around the sea and it is very special to us.) We wanted good food and live music. We were very set on those things throughout.
How did you find the planning process? Were you relaxed, or did it cause a lot of stress?
Alex comes from a disaster management background and I come from an events management background so I feel combined we were covered throughout planning. We approached everything logically and I don’t recall having any stressful moments, even planning the seating chart! One of the biggest challenges I did find was selecting the music for our special day. We wanted to make sure it was special to us while enjoyable for our guests.
How did you decide to choose Oxwich Bay Hotel as your wedding venue? What were the reasons? Did you have anywhere else in mind before deciding that Oxwich was the place for you?
We explored a variety of location across Gower for our special day. Oxwich was ideal because since moving to Swansea the majority of our happy memories have happened in Three Cliffs, so to be able to look out onto it during our big day was ideal. I loved the service we received from Oxwich throughout the whole process, I really felt they had everything to make our day special.
What did the Grooms and Groomsmen wear?
We knew from the start we didn’t want the whole matching suits, we wanted our own individuality to shine through whilst having elements that complimented each others’ suits. We decided on Mark Darcy suits (after trying a million suits on).
What music / readings did you choose for the ceremony and reception and first dance?
We had the wonderful Jordan Marks sing for the ceremony. As I walked down the aisle he sung “Chasing Cars,” which is a very special song for us both. During the ceremony both the mums did a reading, one was about giving their little boy away on his wedding day the other was two people being joined together forever. During the signing of our register Jordan sung a beautiful rendition of “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”. During the vows I made it to line number three before I had to take a brief stop as I had a tear… at which point you could hear the room erupt into tears! The ceremony was just perfect in such a wonderful room. And as we exited Jordan sung “Happy Together.”
The sun was shining on our special day and during welcome drinks Jordan performed a set outside the marquee for our guests while we disappeared for photos on the beach.
As the room was reset for the evening we cut the beautiful cake and led into the first dance which was performed by Alex’s cousin’s band. The song was called ‘The Story’… It is from a Greys Anatomy episode (the joys of marrying a doctor…) We got about 20 seconds in when everyone came to join us on the dance floor.
Who were your bridesmaids and why? Tell us about their dresses.
My best Woman was one of my closest friends Angela. I worked with her on cruise ships we have been best of friends ever since. Her beautiful dress on our day matched the colour scheme of our wedding, which was sea colours.
Who decorated the venue and what was your theme? Did you do a lot yourself?
Working in marketing, I gave our wedding a full on brand of colours, fonts and feel. We are not vibrant people so we never wanted tons of flowers and decoration, we wanted the beautiful surrounding to be the big feature with natural decorations to compliment. We chose a palette of pastel sea colours which were used all the way from the invitations, to table place cards, cufflinks and even the cake.
We simply don’t have the time to do the DIY wedding thing so we brought in suppliers and family to help.
The tables were decorated with driftwood and shells as well as sea holly and ivy, which were our flowers. Our flowers were created by the talented Simone Robbins Florist.
What was your cake like and why did you choose this design?
Our cake was a work of art! I spent most the day just looking at it. We used Michelle from Scrumdidly Cakes. It was two tier cake, the bottom tier was white chocolate and raspberry and the top tier lemon and elderflower. It was decorated with a white chocolate ganache and was painted with our colours in water colours. The cake was finished off simply with two oyster shells and some sea holly.
Who was your photographer and how did you decide they were the right photographer for you?
During our planning process we spoke with several photographers but there was only one that stood out and made us feel completely at ease and that was Martin Ellard from My Big Day Photography. Alex isn’t a massive photo fan and Martin was able to put Alex at ease on our big day and got the most out of every moment. Nearly all of our guests commented and how much they liked Martin. I cannot praise him enough! He was worth every single penny and more. I will also point out that unlike most photographers he was with us from Alex’s BBQ beach breakfast at 8AM and stayed until about 10pm! Amazing guy!
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Alex booked us a surprise minimoon to Crete which we went on the next day. It was a perfect place to go relax!
What were the most memorable moments of your special day?
The most memorable moments were walking down the aisle seeing the faces of everyone special to us including Alex’s. Also walking into the stunning marquee as Dr & Mr Wilson-Evans and having a wonderful day with all our friends and family.
Do you have any advice for other couples who have either booked or who are looking at Oxwich as a potential wedding venue?
Book it! The level of service and care we received throughout our whole process was amazing. The deal we had for our wedding was the best value out of any other venue in the Gower. And I have to say the operation on our special day was flawless. And that view from the marquee is just the best for photography and adding a calm effect to your day…. Big piece of advice- put your top table so you have the view! After all, it’s your special day!
