Perfect Harmony

Cressy and Simon found they were soul-mates through a mutual love of music

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Early days…

The sound of music was what brought our real wedding couple together. Simon is a singer in a local band and met Cressy after she became a regular groupie at his gigs. They have been together for three years and here's how they fell in love: "I knew I loved Simon from the word go; despite the fact that we were both in relationships with other people at the time. It felt like pieces of a jigsaw fitting together. I knew I wanted to marry him as soon as we got together. Simon says he always knew he'd marry me; he even told our friend that just after we'd met. We just 'fit'."

The proposal…

Will you marry me? Cressy tells us how Simon popped the big question: "We bought a house together in February 2007, renovated it and moved in in the May as soon as the house was habitable. Simon proposed to me on the first night in our new house. It was a surprise. He gave me a card which read 'to those we love the most we say the least' Inside he'd written 'Just say yes...' then he went down on bended knee and produced a beautiful platinum solitaire diamond ring - which I love almost as much as him!"

Hen and stag parties…

Cressy, not content with one hen do had two. Firstly, she went with her two sisters and two of her closest friends to Marbella -for a wonderful girly weekend. Cressy recalls: "We had a great time and have loads of stories but nothing I'd be allowed to put in print! Secondly, my friend Tanya organised a more local hen night out in Kingston with the girls from work and all my buddies. We had VIP entry and service at the Oceania night club - it was a great night."

For his stag night Simon hired casino tables and croupiers and took over his friend's wine bar, Windsors in Chertsey. All the boxes for a good stag night were ticked - dodgy strippers, too much beer and a very drunk groom-to-be.

The venues…

Horsley Towers was the backdrop to Cressy and Simon's wedding day. Cressy filled us in on how they came about choosing the venue: "After much research on the internet, we looked at four local venues but only Horsley Towers met all our criteria. We wanted somewhere that was licensed to hold civil ceremonies, which could hold the reception and evening party and also had onsite accommodation. We're not religious so a church wasn't important and, for ease, we wanted everything under one roof - something our guests really appreciated. Also, we had family travelling from all over the country and we wanted somewhere they could stay.

It was wonderful because not only does Horsley Towers look like something out of a fairytale - the Victorian house has turrets, a clock tower, a hidden chapel and a lake and is surrounded by 300 acres of parkland - but also we were lucky enough to have exclusive use of it for the weekend. Most of our guests stayed and we all had breakfast together the following morning."

The attendants…

Cressy's two sisters Holly and Melissa supported her on her big day. They wore 100% silk Julian Macdonald evening dresses in a pale Champagne colour. Cressy recalls: "They looked amazing and did me proud! The nice thing about the dresses is that, as they're not typical bridesmaid dresses, the girls not only felt elegant and confident but they will be able to wear them again without any problem. Everyone said how beautiful they looked."

Simon's friends took on the important male roles. Tom Mapes the best man has known Simon for years and the ushers were his two friends Tim Clark and John Adcock. The groom, best man, ushers, Cressy's dad and Simon's dad all wore matching tails, but no top hats. Simon's waistcoat and cravat were pale gold to match the bridesmaids' dresses and the others had cream. All were hired from Impeccable.

The dress…

The bride looked stunning on her big day and tells us all the important details about her bridal gown:"It was a Maggie Sottero dress. Quite simple; it was fitted to below the hips then flowed out into an A-line style. It was pale ivory in colour with a lace overlay. It was-is-the most beautiful dress I've ever seen. The photos don't do it justice. It was the second dress I tried on and I knew it was 'the one' immediately. No other dress compared after that. I bought it at Maid in Heaven in Ashford and the service I received was fantastic.

For her accessories Cressy wore a veil for the ceremony and photos, which she swapped for a small tiara for the meal and evening disco. Her grandmother's diamond earrings were her 'something borrowed' she wore a blue garter, and 'something new' was her dress veil and shoes. For 'something old', Cressy was given an antique piece of lace from her great grandmother, which she had sewn into her bouquet.

The decorative touches…

Cressy tells us about all the finishing touches which came together to create the big day: "The décor was quite simple but elegant. The tables were decorated in classic white and the chairs were covered with white linen covers with ivory sashes. The table centre pieces were again simple yet elegant; we had fishbowl vases filled with cream roses.
For favours, the men had miniature bottles of Bells whiskey -after our surname- which I tied with a cream ribbon. For the women we had pretty ivory-coloured boxes with ivory-coloured sugar almonds inside- very traditional."

The best bits…

Cressy fill us in on what they both enjoyed most about the big day: "The whole day was wonderful, from start to finish. I enjoyed doing my speech -not traditional but fun- and, for me, the ceremony was so very moving and special. Seeing Simon's face as I walked down the aisle and everyone clapping and cheering as we walked back down together is something we will always remember."

Top tips…

Here are a few tips from Cressy which may help future brides and grooms.

* Book the venue as early as possible. Without securing a date you can't book anything else.
* I would also say it's worth paying more for a good photographer. Don't skimp on the photos- you'll be looking at them for the rest of your life.
* It might be worth considering using a toastmaster. Ours was invaluable! He made sure the whole day ran smoothly and to time so we could just relax and let things happen.

And finally... Cressy had a little visit from something she loves. Here she tell us all about it: "One magical thing happened. As I've mentioned, I love dragonflies and while we were having our photo taken by the lake, a beautiful turquoise dragonfly landed on my shoulder! It stayed for a few moments before slowly fluttering off. It was very special for something like that to happen on my wedding day and it felt like a good omen."

The honeymoon…

Newlyweds Cressy and Simon jetted off to Bermuda and New York for a much needed 12-day honeymoon. Would they recommend it? "Absolutely! Bermuda is idyllic, very beautiful. It was totally relaxing and romantic. New York was great too because there was so much to do; lots of shopping and sight seeing."

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