2) When was it you knew they were the one?
There wasn’t a particular moment where it clicked, but we just knew we were entirely committed to one another due to being long distance for about five years before we moved in with each other (Devon-Nottingham for families, Bath-Nottingham for university, and then Bristol-London for our first post-university jobs). Absence makes the heart grow fonder!

3) Could you give us the story of the proposal?
We were in Italy with my family, staying in Tuscany near a lovely town called Lucca. Our villa was beautiful; up in the hills with fantastic views of the valley below. He had told my family beforehand that he was going to propose, which was a nice touch, but they all began to get frustrated when it got to the second to last day of the week holiday and he hadn’t done it yet – come on Ben, hurry up! He was clearly waiting for the right moment, and Ben knows I am not one for a big show of public affection, so thankfully it was just us at the villa when it happened. He and I had just been for a walk to get some gelato, and then when we returned to the villa the rest of family conveniently popped out to do the same, leaving just us two. Ben told me how much I meant to him, and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, and then popped the question! Of course, I said YES!

4) If you don’t mind sharing, can you tell me something quirky, funny or silly about your partner?
Ben is the slowest, faffiest person – it’s so frustrating! I am ridiculously organised and efficient with my time, and it is always Ben who takes the longest to get ready when we’re going out!

5) What is your perfect day together? 
I would like to say going for a nice walk in the countryside, going sightseeing or doing something interesting, but in reality, it is sofa, snacks and Netflix!

6) Apart from the obvious, what are you most looking forward to on your wedding day? 
It will be amazing to have everyone we love and care about all in the same room, celebrating such a happy occasion.

7) What was it that inspired you to go for the theme or the decor you chose for your wedding?
It was all a bit random really! Since I would be wearing white, I knew I wanted my bridesmaids to be wearing a colour that suited me, since they’d be surrounding me in a lot of the photos. I’ve always loved blue and wear it a lot myself, so ended up with a lovely cornflower style blue for the bridesmaid dresses and it went from there really – we ended up with a blue theme for most things. In terms of decorations, Lapstone Barn is a beautiful venue in its own right, so we kept everything fairly simple. 

8) Please tell me one thing you wish you had known at the beginning of your wedding planning process, that you could pass on to future bride’s reading this blog?   

Don’t get carried away with trying to make everything perfect – focus on the things you remember from attending weddings yourself as a guest. For example, do you remember the bridesmaid and bride bouquets, the centrepieces, the type of table cloth/napkins or the wedding favours? Most likely no. So don’t spend a fortune on them and keep things simple. Your bank account will thank you later!
Focus on the important things; good food, good wine and good music. You can’t go wrong if everyone has a good time! No-one cares if the centrepiece flowers match those on the cake, or that the bridesmaid bouquet had three types of flower in it, or that you went for premium napkins and table clothes rather than a classic white standard one. Obviously, you want things to look nice, it’s your big day, but don’t stress about those little things and waste your hard-earned money.

9) When searching, what were you were looking for in a wedding venue?
Again, it was all a bit random really. Ben is from Devon and I am from Nottingham so our families are based in each location, but we both now live in London which is also where most of our friends are. We knew wherever we went people would need to travel, so we were quite open to a location anywhere in the UK. We decided on the Cotswolds because it is well-known as a beautiful area of the country, and I always wanted to get married in the countryside so it was perfect. It was also quite a central location for people travelling from Devon, Nottingham and London.
The search for a venue was also quite random (starting to see a theme here…). I knew I wanted to get married in a barn-style venue, so we Googled “nice barns to get married in the Cotswolds”, picked five to go see one weekend, and hired a car for the trip. After viewing them, we actually really liked them all, however, we chose Lapstone Barn because we just got a lovely feel for the venue. It felt right. We really loved the open countryside views surrounding the barn, and there were loads of different functional spaces for guests to gather, eat canapes, play games, mingle and even sit around a fire pit. The staff were professional but relaxed, we didn’t feel like we were in a sales office like we did at some of the other venues, and they also were the best value for money!

10) Could you tell me the process you went through when you were looking for a wedding photographer?
From the different venues we viewed, we had accumulated a few vendor recommendation lists, which was really useful. I would highly recommend anyone viewing venues to gather this sort of information from them, even if you don’t choose them as a venue in the end. We contacted a few photographers for quotes and saw a few of their portfolios, but we ended up choosing to work with Duncan because we really liked his style; the natural moments he captured and the photos in his portfolio has a nice soft tone and feel to them. After a Skype call, we knew Duncan was the right person to capture our big day!