Advice for brides

Top tips from real bride Hollie, including, what she wished she had known before her wedding day

Hollie & Andy married at Chilston Park Hotel and I asked Hollie to reflect on her day to give us her top tips, along with her advice for couples getting married…

1) Choose a theme that is true to you, that way, it’ll never go out of ‘fashion’ as it’s a personal choice. We chose Regal, romantic with touches of lace & light pink – I am a sucker for a love story especially if it’s in a Jane Austin book

2) Make a Pinterest Board. It keeps all ideas together and you can see what works and what doesn’t work. Don’t forgot to print your Pinterest pictures out to look back on and remembering all those late nights thinking about your dream wedding. Feeling brings the ‘feels’ back. I think I printed out 50 and popped them in a scrap book.

3) Wedding dress. When trying on the dress, don’t forget to prance about the bridal boutique floor to make sure you can sit, dance and put those hands up in the air! As much as the dress is beautiful – you need to make sure you can keep it on for 12 + hours. I ended up buying another dress for the evening so I could dance the night away.

4) DO NOT keep checking the weather, you are not in control. We got married on one of the hottest days of 2017 … then we had thunderstorms/rain at around 11am, oh and then a power cut but it was good fun as we just danced and sang around the bridal suite. It’s meant to be lucky right?!

5) Take time. Go for a walk together – talk, laugh, reflect and it’s a great time to look in to your wedding party – see what they are up to from afar.

6) Videographer. We nearly didn’t have one! So thankful we pushed the budget to do so as I love watching our video back.

7) Photo Book. I am so glad we have time after the wedding to decide whether we wanted a photo book or not. Worth every penny.

Things I wish I’d thought of…

Chilston park have an amazing roll top bath in their Tudor Suite. I wish I got Hubby to take a picture of me in the bath, in my dress with some bubbles (champagne of course)

I wish I researched into wedding flower resin preservation before our big day, unfortunately once your flowers start to dry up its too late. I absolutely loved my flowers!

The wedding blues – This is real…..well it was for me. I planned so hard for this day – every single detail. It was hard to except the day was over – but then our photos arrived! The blues subsided as I knew the day has been captured beautifully and the memories secured in our minds.

Walking down the aisle. So everything was ready to go, me and my girls were ready, the day was about to commence and as soon as I turned the corner to walk down the aisle with my dad …I saw EVERYONE! The tears then started but luckily my flowers covered my ‘ugly cry’ face!…..but I’d totally forgotten that everyone was here for Andrew and I! Please remember that your big day is about 2 people! Not 100!

Oh and you will spend the next year saying ‘my’ wedding – and that’s ok (when your partner isn’t around)
I still say it now and get told off ‘OUR wedding babe……..OUR wedding’ oops!!