Ten years ago, I got married. I was 27, which at the time, seemed really young to get married, compared to my friends who were mostly either single or a long way off heading down the aisle. It was a magical day – I mean, I know everyone says that about their wedding day, but it really was.
We were married at Solsgirth House, a beautiful venue with a ballroom, chapel and lovely grounds. There was a lot of laughter, wine drinking and a ceilidh. Then there was a disco (Beyonce, Crazy In Love was a highlight) and bacon rolls for everyone. Looking back, there’s not much I’d change.
Want a peek into my day?
The other day, I dug out my wedding photos and looking through them, I realised a few things…
- I married a good ‘un. If you can look at your partner and see your best friend, then you’re onto a winner.
- Great friends are something special, aren’t they? I’m still friends with everyone who came. Those friends are worth hanging onto, and making the effort to meet for a coffee or dinner, even if you’d secretly rather be in your PJs watching The Great British Bake Off.
- When I tell people I’ve been married for ten years, I feel OLD. But then I think ahead – in another ten years time, I’ll be 47 and the five-year-old will be approaching her 16th birthday. Suddenly, I don’t feel old. I feel like a spring chicken. Hurrah!
- I really should get organised. My wedding photos are still in the box that they came in, when the wedding photographers sent them to me. Maybe by our 20th wedding anniversary, I’ll have put them into an actual photo album…
- When I got married, I had no idea of the joy I’d have showing the photos to my daughter, ten years later. She LOVED looking at them, asking who some people are, seeing her (now 10-year-old) cousin as a baby and telling me how young I look (THANKS).
- You can put in as much planning as you like, with a wedding day, but it’s the people who come that will really make it special. Not the canapรฉs or the centrepieces or the favours.
- Bridezilla behaviour fades into a distant memory. Pretty much every bride loses her mind a little, in the run up to the wedding. It’s like you lose a sense of perspective and the smallest of details (BUT WHAT KIND OF BUTTON HOLES SHOULD THE USHERS HAVE?) and do you know what? You won’t remember any of that, in years to come. Rose-tinted glasses are a wonderful thing.
- Trends and tastes change… and that’s OK. I look at photos of my wedding dress and I still love the shape of it, but there’s no way I’d choose something with a modern flower shape in crystals, if I was getting married today. Likewise, my wedding invitations and order of service made me do a small shudder when I see photos of them. (I haven’t included a snap here, but let’s just say white feathers and diamante feature… It’s all a bit TOWIE). And actually, that’s OK. Everyone looks back at their wedding photos and cringes a little, right? I’m just relieved I didn’t get married ten/fifteen years earlier, when puffy sleeves were on trend.
- I’m glad we did things our own way. We split the guest list in three – we invited a third, my parents invited a third and Mr P’s parents invited a third – meaning everyone had their important friends and family there. We also chose not to do a traditional receiving line, and instead, in between courses of the meal, we went around all of the tables to chat to everyone. It made the day feel more like our day.
- Going brunette for your wedding, when you’ve been a blonde for years, might SEEM like a great idea at the time (“It’ll look more classic in the photos!”) but you’ll just look back at your photos and wish you’d been blonde and more ‘you’.
Mostly though, I look at my wedding photos and I WANT TO DO IT ALL AGAIN!
All photos: Lighthouse Studios
Brilliant post, Alison, and you were absolutely gorgeous! So true about sharing the photos with our children. My nan’s present for our wedding was for a videographer to document the day, and watching our wedding DVD is one of the children’s favourite things. Happy anniversary. 10 years too for us this year!
We’ve been married 7 years now and without a doubt it was the best day of my life. I loved every minute and cried at the end because it was over. We’re going to renew our vows at 25 years just to do it all over again. I loved this post and can relate to so much. I had highlights for years and was very very blonde when I met Dave but grew the highlights out for our wedding – and haven’t had them done since, as I just wanted to be me for my wedding day x
Lovely post and photos! Happy anniversary wishes ๐
Congratulations! It looks like a lovely day. I am soooo glad that I am not the only bride who did the brunette thing “but you will be able to see my hair bling better than on blonde” #cringe xx
Wow your photos are stunning!
Love this! It’s funny how much trends change isn’t it? Yet still even though my wedding wasn’t very pinterest I wouldn’t change a single thing about it. We paid for ours completely ourselves, bar my mum bought my dress and the bridesmaid dresses. It felt so much like it was all about us, we only had 35 people during the day and then as it was five days before Christmas we had 100 people to the evening do. It was amazing and I would do it all over again too! Your photos are beautiful. xx
You look so different with darker hair! I think it really suits you, but I completely get that it feels strange to make a dramatic change just for one event when you look back at photos. My mum decided to have a short pixie cut when she got married, even though all her life she has been associated with her long blonde hair – funny isn’t it? I love the idea of splitting the guest list and giving parents an allocated amount. Pretty sure if we ever get married, both our families will want to invite ALL the friends and that’s a LOT of people already.
I loved this post Alison – your wedding looked so wonderful! xx
Aw what a lovely post. I also got married when I was 27 (but I have 5 more years on you so I am well old lol). Last year I got the chance to dig out my wedding dress from the loft after 14 years. I went to a ‘Brides Night Out’ where 100 ladies dressed up in their wedding dress for charity. Ok I *may* have had to have my dress made bigger to fit in it again (damn you kids), but it was so worth it. And I get to wear it again in October when we do it all again. Ah I love weddings x
I was 26, looking back I was such a baby!
Haha, I really need to put my wedding photos in an album too- they’re not even printed off yet! I know I said it on FB but you look simply stunning lovely. Here’s to another 10 years for you both! x
I just fell over our blog and when I read this post you really make me laughing. I will marry next year and I will be 27 too. Not a Bridezilla yet, but I cant garantee it will not come ๐ Its so lovely to read how you fell about it 10 year after your wedding. Time flies so much. I wish you all the best,
greetings from berlin ๐
Lisa
Thanks for sharing, and your wedding photos were gorgeous! It looked like a wonderful day for you and everyone that joined! I just love how pictures capture our special moments and then let us see them as memories later.
Your wedding pics are so amazing and lovely. I really like it.
It is such a beautiful and lovely wedding pics. Thanks for sharing your life best day.