On 9th August this year something magical happened…
Georgie married her soulmate, Cory, at Dodmoor House in Northamptonshire, rightly claiming it ‘The best day ever!!!’. After what can only be described as a heart-wrenching journey to secure her dream wedding dress they went on to have a wonderful summer wedding in the presence of their closest friends and family and their utterly gorgeous pups, Dorris & Dottie, complete with matching floral collars…super cute!
Georgie recounts her day in vibrant detail. It’s romantic, stylish and touching…you’ll just about feel like you were there.
Notes from the Bride
Georgie says…
We chose Dodmoor House not only because it was a stunning venue with beautiful backdrops, but because the staff were incredible. We had viewed a few venues by the time we discovered Dodmoor, and felt the most welcome and at home at Dodmoor than anywhere else. The staff went above and beyond. They genuinely wanted to get to know you, as a couple, not just what you were after in a venue. We were a match for them, as much as the venue was a match for our big day.
My dress was a Millie May, which I was very lucky to get in the end. My dress was purchased by my lovely parents as a gift, on 9th August 2020, coincidentally exactly 2 years before our day (at this point, we had not yet postponed to 9th August 2022). 9th August was also the anniversary of my Grandmothers death, 11 years prior. I definitely think my Grandma was there with me, as later that day when I was looking through pictures of the dress, I noticed it had what looked like tiny fairies in the lace. My Grandma, Christine, was famous for her love of ‘fairies’. She would take my sisters and I on ‘fairy hunts’ when we were little, so I definitely think she helped me choose the one! Earlier this year (2022), the shop I purchased my dress suddenly closed down. My mum had paid in cash, and we had no communication from the shop owner regarding my dress, therefore we didn’t get a refund. I discovered that the shop owner never paid the designer for my dress, so at this point, just a few months before the day, my poor parents and I were thousands of pounds down, and without a wedding dress! My parent ended up paying a second time, this time directly to the designer, and I finally got my perfect wedding dress. I’m so grateful to them, and could never thank them enough for ensuring I had ‘the one’.
My veil was a beautiful cathedral length, with crystals scattered throughout, to tie in with my shoes and my jewellery. My jewellery was a wedding day gift from my soon-to-be husband. It matched everything perfectly, the boy did good! My bridesmaids, Mum and I had our hair and makeup done by the amazing Annabelle Kate MUA and her assistant. They both made us all feel so relaxed on the morning of the wedding, I truly couldn’t of asked for more lovely ladies to join us on the morning!
My handsome groom, Cory, and his groomsman hired suits from Fogarty’s. We had seen Fogarty’s at every wedding fair we had been to since getting engaged in 2018, and always loved the range they had. Cory went for a dark grey suit with tails, with a lighter grey double breasted waistcoat, and a nude coloured tie.
Aside from the flowers, our styling was kept minimal, as to not detract from Dodmoor House itself. It’s so beautiful and characteristic already. We worked with Special Events MK who provided our chair drapes, which added a romantic element to the aisle and the Catesby Barn for our wedding breakfast. Apart from that, we made everything else ourselves! We made our welcome sign, table plan sign, our ‘it was always you’ sign, table numbers, place names, favours, personalised tissues, some stationery, I could go on. I’m very creative, and Cory loved saving money wherever we could, so it was a no brainer! We went for a minimal, romantic and modern look, and everything came together so beautifully.
I always dreamed of my wedding day being full of flowers, so this is what we aimed for. Our florist, Florry Florals, did an amazing job and really bought our vision to life. Claire suggested we worked around a flower called Eustoma, as it had that beautiful pink shade that matched our mismatched bridesmaid dresses. Claire incorporated lush foliage throughout with a sprinkling of gypsophila. Claire created the flowers of my Pinterest boards dreams, and we couldn’t thank her enough. We even had matching dog collars for our two sausage dogs, they looked so cute!!
For the daytime caterers, we went with Olive Herb Catering. So many guests have mentioned the food was incredible! And for our evening caterers we had Goujon Monkey. We went with them as they had a cute retro Citroen van, and because their food looked amazing! They did not disappoint. We enjoyed a plate, at the very end of the night when everyone had left Dodmoor. (Top tip, ask a bridesmaid or groomsman to grab a plate for you both and pop it in your room for later! It was a life saver, as we hardly got to eat throughout the day!)
Our cake was made by Bake It Pretty, and Abby was great throughout. The cake was simple but gorgeous, and it tasted amazing!! My dad made a miniature of our 3 pets, dachshunds Dorris & Dottie, and our kitten, Dory, using a 3d printer, and hand painting them. It was so lovely to have them all there on the day with us and such a nice personal touch. Thank you Dad xx
We found Sophie Ann Photography back in 2018 and clicked straight away! Being booked in for 4 years, you kind of become friends haha. Cory and I finally met Sophie in 2021 for a pre-wedding shoot, and Sophie instantly put us at ease. I would defo recommend meeting your photographer prior to the day, so you feel comfortable in front of them and their camera! Sophie was amazing on the day, and clearly works very hard as we actually got some sneak peaks the day after our wedding, which was incredible to re-live 24 hours after. It definitely helped with the wedding blues!
Best part of the day
We have 3 haha! Number 1, when we saw each other at the end of the aisle. You really do get tunnel vision, you don’t see anyone else but each other. Our next favourite part of the wedding day was when we sneaked away, after the ceremony. We had said the ‘I do’s’, grabbed a drink, said hello to everyone and sneaked away. We sat in the courtyard of Dodmoor and just couldn’t believe we had got married!? The adrenaline is so real. Our 3rd favourite part of the day was our last private dance. As we had said goodbye to most of our guests, the DJ started playing Shania Twain – From This Moment as requested, we kicked him out (Sorry Scott!), and had one last dance, just the two of us. Its funny, the day is all about you two, but you never really get time alone! We would definitely recommend sneaking off and taking a few minutes out together to take it all in.
From one couple to another…
Buy a wedding day fragrance!!! When I was sorting through wedding bits a few days after, I smelt my now husband’s (eee still so weird to say) aftershave that he wore on the day. It immediately brought me back to when I got to him at the end of the aisle and I cried!!! It brought back all the memories.
Do a private last dance.
Write each other letters to open the morning of the wedding and schedule time (longer than you think, for the tears) to go somewhere private and read it.
Spend as much time together as you can on the day!
