Royalty for a Day: Paul and Lucy Sandwell (née Blackhall)

The Sandwells were made to feel extra special at their country house wedding

WEDDING DATE: 21 April 2011

CEREMONY AND RECEPTION VENUE: Ellenborough Park, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

TELL US ABOUT THE PROPOSAL – HOW DID IT HAPPEN?

We were on holiday in Southam. When Paul got down on one knee, I thought he was messing about with a sweet. I wasn’t really listening and when I looked up, he was just looking at me with a slightly worried expression. I realised what he was doing so after quickly saying yes, I made him repeat the proposal!

THE BIG DAY

The day was absolutely perfect from beginning to end. As I walked down from the room and turned the corner to walk to the chapel, there were about five members of staff covering the windows with opened umbrellas! It did the job – Paul said that when it went dark inside the chapel, a whisper went round about me arriving.

The staff at the venue where amazing and made us feel as though we were royalty. They couldn’t have done more for us and made the day run so smoothly. There were so many highlights for me but it was brilliant when we went off on our own to take the photos, having those precious moments to catch up with each other.

THE HONEYMOON

Paul organized the honeymoon and I had no idea where we were going – all I knew was that we needed to be at a port at 2.30pm. It turned out we went to Bruges for a weekend, just the two of us, and then had a family holiday with our son in Majorca.

BEST BITS

The whole day from start to finish was definitely the best bit! It really is the most special day and I felt like a princess all day long. We were really focussed on the fact that this was the start of our married life together, not just a day, and that probably helped us to stay calm and relaxed.

The Details

Dress: Simply Bridals

01242 243388, simply-bridal.co.uk

Groom’s outfit: Slaters

01242 224494, slaters.co.uk

Venue & Catering: Ellenborough Park

01242 545454, ellenboroughpark.com

Photography: Adam Drake Photography

01453 298131, adamdrakephotography.co.uk

Cake: Marks and Spencer, marksandspencer.com

Total cost of wedding

£9,500