A year on since their Cooling Castle wedding, I still remember Siobhan and Dan’s special day well. With plenty of laughter and amazing finishing touches, they did their day, their way. So as they celebrated their first wedding anniversary, I recently caught up with Siobhan who shares details of their day.
Siobhan, tell us how you met
We met at Greenwich University. My course started a few weeks earlier than Dan’s and I was in a student nurse’s flat the day Dan moved to uni! I was very angry that particular day as Celtic had just lost to Rangers so I was having a rant about the football in the kitchen. Dan still says to this day that I was the crazy girl who he knew he wanted to be with! Our friendship blossomed and we soon became an official item!
And what about that proposal?
It was beautiful! Dan had planned a private hot air ballon ride over the Peak District, however the wind had other ideas! Unfortunately we didn’t get to go on our hot air balloon ride and the weather is constantly against us as each time we’ve tried it’s been cancelled. We are still waiting now!
Dan took me into town and while there he treated me to some new earrings. Later that day we went for a lovely walk in Chatsworth. He got down on one knee and proposed on the other side of the river when a crowd of deer appeared! It wasn’t the proposal that Dan had planned but it was beautiful!
When and where did you get married?
We had a church marriage at St. Mary’s in Langley before having our wedding reception at Cooling Castle Barn on the 7th July 2016.
Did you have theme for your wedding day?
We didn’t have a theme as such but our table names were our favourite animals, which our wonderful florist Amanda managed to incorporate into our floral arrangements. The top table was named ‘deer’ of course! We just had a day which reflected our personalities and loves.
Tell us how you chose your wedding dress?
I didn’t know where to start with wedding dresses! I knew I didn’t want a really big princess dress or a tightly fitted one. I tried a few on at a wedding fair and I was really surprised by the styles that suited me. It was the complete opposite of what I thought I wanted.
I ended up falling in love with a fitted mermaid style lace dress. When I walked out the whole store turned to look and I knew by everyone’s faces that it was the one!
I did make an alteration to the dress to include full length sleeves from it being strapless.
Who did you have as your bridesmaids?
I had my sister Danielle and one of my close friends, Katie as bridesmaids. They wore floor length mint green dresses and looked beautiful. I also had my gorgeous cousin Fiadh as a flower girl. She wore an ivory dress with butterflies on it.
What did you love the most about wedding planning?
Spending time together as a couple. Dan was very involved in the planning as we complimented each other’s ideas well. All the planning came easy and we gave all the suppliers ideas of what we wanted but we were also open to listening and adjusting based on their experiences. We spent a long time researching and checking things out, which I think was reflected in our day.
What 3 top tips would you offer other brides?
1. Be yourselves – let your personalities and love show.
2. Don’t try to please other people. It’s your day and will only happen once. Go for what you both want!
3. Take time on the day to be alone with your husband and take in the atmosphere and all the little details you have spent months (or even possibly years) planning!
How did you decide on Marc as your wedding photographer?
We met Marc at the Bluewater Wedding Faye. He was one of the very limited photographers offering developed photos as well as photo books. This was one thing Dan was very clear he wanted and therefore we narrowed down our options very quickly.
We both found Marc very appreciable and his work stuck out to us for being original and not full of staged photos.
The engagement shoot confirmed Marc’s work was exactly the style we were after and we booked him straight away. Marc is easy to communicate with, goes above and beyond what is expected and blended in very well. The result of this is that our wedding photos are above what we ever imagined. Marc has provided us with lifelong memories and captured our day just as we remember it! We highly recommend him!