In Sickness and In Health

Nothing could ruin Louise and Owen's big day not even the groom falling ill

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Early days…

Louise and Owen met at school when Owen was a new starter at Louise's sixth form. They have been together about 10 years and knew they would always end up together after they met. Louise tells us the moment she fell for Owen: "From day one I always knew there was something special about Owen and we became best friends almost instantly. I can't remember ever not loving him."

The proposal…

Owen knew within three weeks of meeting Louise that he'd marry her one day. He arranged a trip to Prague for a weekend away, which Louise found out about just three days before they left. Owen recalls the romantic weekend:" On the Saturday night we went out for a lovely meal and then for a walk near the Charles bridge. Louise was looking over at the view and felt a tugging on her arm and turned around to see me on my knees asking her to marry me." Louise adds: " To say it was a shock was an understatement! I said yes through my tears."

Hen and stag parties…

Louise thought she had got through her hen party gimmick free until she was on her way home. Louise remembers: " My hen party was in Guildford. We started off with a reserved table at HaHa for something to eat, then we went to the White House by the river and then for a boogie at Flares. Owen picked us up; we were a little worse for wear and then we dropped off home some quite tiddly friends. Initially no L plates or feather boas were involved but then my future sister-in-law turned up. By that time much wine had been drunk and they managed to persuade me to wear a pair of pink flashing willies on my head! There were about 12 of us in all and seven of us were hardcore and went all the way to the end."

The stag party went to an activity day in Dorking which included quad biking, archery and paintball. After that they went to London for the evening and stayed overnight so that they could enjoy the evening properly without the hassle of getting home. Owen adds: " We certainly made the most of the night and got back to the hotel at nearly 6am. Sunday was spent relaxing quietly! One of the ushers crashed his quad bike and had to go to hospital for x-rays on his wrist. Luckily nothing was broken and he rejoined us in the evening."

The venues…

When they decided to get married Louise knew instantly where they should hold the ceremony. They got married at St Margaret's Church in Fernhurst because "It's our local church and also where Louise was christened. It's a beautiful little church in lovely grounds. We didn't consider any other location."

The reception was held at the picturesque Lythe Hill Hotel and Spa in Haslemere. Louise recalls their thoughts on the venue: 'It was in the most beautiful location out of all the venues we looked at. It also had a clear-cut pricing structure which was helpful. The whole wedding area was for us only and was superbly laid out so that dancing wasn't on top of the people wanting to relax and sit out of the way. The bar was separate and, if we had needed it, Lythe Hill also provided a separate area for the young children to play in."

The attendants…

Originally Louise wanted three bridesmaids but her best friend had to pull out as she discovered she was pregnant and worked out she would have been about eight months at the time!

Her sister Sarah came over from New Zealand with her husband and four month old baby and was matron of honour. Sister-in-law-to-be Emma was the other bridesmaid. They wore lovely knee-length dark platinum-coloured strapless dresses with a crystal front.

Owen had a few helping hands on the big day. His dad Mike was best man and he had four ushers, Richard Newbigin, Tim Powell, Bob Burton and James Foster. The whole party wore traditional morning suits and accessories were kept simple; they wore individual cufflinks bought for them as gifts, and either red or white button holes.

The dress…

Louise fills us in on the details of her gown: "I wore a gorgeous diamond-white strapless dress. Crystals adorned the front of the bodice and swept down and around the outer chiffon layer and around the back of the dress. It was a stunning gown from Maggie Sottero called Martina. My accessories included a cathedral-length veil adorned with tiny Swarovski crystals. I had a pair of diamond stud earrings and tennis bracelet, and decided not to wear a necklace. I also wore a ruby and clear crystal tiara comb set to one side to tie in with the red flowers and cravats."

Louise was traditional and had something old, new, borrowed and blue. Something old was the earrings, something new was the bracelet, something blue was a ribbon that was sewn into the dress, and she is sure she would have borrowed something!

The bouquet was a striking red and white tear drop design with roses and lilies. Some of the flowers had crystals scattered inside. The bridesmaids had similar bouquets of white roses in a round loose style and with greenery.

The decorative touches…

Louise describes the room where they celebrated their reception: "The room spoke for itself and didn't need any interference at all, but I chose to have bunches of white balloons scattered around the room to give it a bit of height. The table centrepieces were fish bowls with a mixture of white and red flowers including gerberas. The top table was decorated with a long white and red flower arrangement at the front."

For their favours Louise and Owen gave guests boxes of chocolates from Thornton's which were decorated with a red ribbon. Louise tells us about their delicious and colourful cake: " We had fun with the cake as everything else was very traditional. It was a round three-tiered, ice white cake decorated with masses of sweets. The actual cake was made up of a layer of fruit cake, one of sponge cake and one of carrot cake. Extra bowls of sweets were put out so guests could nibble away. The kids certainly loved it!"

The best bits…

Louise tells us what the couple loved most about the big day:" The best part of the day was the church ceremony and walking in to see Owen standing there waiting. The rest of the day was brilliant and we thoroughly enjoyed every minute. I loved the evening reception with the disco; we had a special Rocky Horror Show dance video as I'm a huge fan"

Planned to perfection....Did you encounter any problems during the organising? "I hate to say it but absolutely no problems at all during the organisation. Iim quite relaxed and any possible problems were just thought around. Lythe Hill Hotel was superb and incredibly organised. We managed to poach a reverend to conduct the service from another parish as our local vicar retired just after we booked the wedding. The key is definitely to be well organised but not to do anything too far in advance or too late as you'll change your mind, forget things or double up on orders"

Top tips…

"Relax! You won't notice many of the details on the day at all so don't get stressed about things that really don't matter. Let the professionals you have chosen do their jobs and just enjoy it. I had a pamper day with close friends and family the day before and it was a great way of taking your mind off things and relaxing. Research your suppliers carefully and ask for recommendations. Don't make any rash decisions and don't let the whole wedding planning take over your life."

Last but not least... Something you don't plan on is losing the groom half way through the day. Louise recalls the eventful day: "Owen got terribly sick during the meal and lasted until the starter and then spent the rest of the night being sick in our hotel room.

Unfortunately my whole family had come down with some 24-hour sickness and diahoreah bug the week beforehand and it seemed to catch Owen out at totally the wrong time. He missed all the speeches and the evening reception. Luckily his godfather stepped in and read Owen's speech on his behalf and my brother recorded it all so he could watch it back. I had to do our first dance with my sister which was unusual to say the least!

We saved the cake for a future 'cutting the cake' party we'll be having so that Owen can have a good bop and a beer or two with everyone."

The honeymoon…

The happy couple jetted off to the amazing island of Koh Samui in Thailand. Louise and Owen stayed at the Nora beach resort for two weeks. Would they recommend it? " Yes. The people were lovely. We had great weather despite the humidity and the hotel was superb. It was ideally located just outside the main area of shops and hotels. Best of all the beaches were fantastic."

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