John and Hayley first met at college when they were both studying for a theatre degree. “John proposed on our seventh anniversary on Fistral Beach in Cornwall,” says Hayley. “It’s a favourite place of ours. He got down on one knee, popped the question and I was so shocked I asked him to ask me again! We then got married on our anniversary, so all the dates tie in together.”

The happy couple at their Hertfordshire wedding Wedding dress featured: Serena by Bellami, styled with Bayswater bolero, Layla belt, and Rococo veil from Amixi

Shopping for the dress

“My experience at the Milton Keynes’ WED2B was just amazing,” says Hayley. “Fiona in the store helped me with all the dresses and, when we found the one, it was a magical. I had a clear idea of my dream dress but I didn’t tell Fiona, as I wanted to keep an open mind and be guided by her. I hadn’t told her anything yet this amazing woman knew what would suit me and put together exactly what I wanted. My mum and the girls were all in tears! As a plus-size bride it was important I got the wow factor too. I wore WED2B’s Serena dress with a gorgeous Layla belt, Bayswater jacket and Rococo veil, which had beautiful beading from head to toe. It was a stunning lace dress and teamed with the jacket it looked elegant and timeless.”

The newlyweds at their Hertfordshire wedding Wedding dress featured: Serena by Bellami, styled with Bayswater bolero, Layla belt, and Rococo veil from Amixi

A Hertfordshire wedding venue

The couple married at Letchworth Hall Hotel, a Hertfordshire wedding venue. “We loved how the function room opened up into the beautiful grounds, as it was important to us that our guests could mingle outside when it was warm,” says Hayley. “It had a bar in the room, which meant you could easily stagger from the bar to the dance floor too! The room was also flexible, which meant we could keep costs down by having the entire day in one place. We stayed the night before, so we could get ready there and the hotel let us set up that evening too. This meant a lot of the stress was taken away and there was no rushing on the morning of the wedding.”

Walking down the aisle at their Hertfordshire wedding Wedding dress featured: Serena by Bellami, styled with Bayswater bolero, Layla belt, and Rococo veil from Amixi

The big day

The Hertfordshire wedding was on 13th July 2019. “We had three readings during the ceremony,” says Hayley. “One was by my best friend, and she wrote her own poem about love and relationships based on mine and John’s favourite things. Our second reading was by our college tutor and was from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. Lastly, my bridesmaid’s children read a poem they had written about all the fun times they’ve had with us. We also chose a selection of music by string quartet groups, some of which were pop songs. My dad walked me down the aisle to Pachelbel's 'Canon in D' and we walked out to ‘Millionaire' by Scouting for Girls, John’s favourite band.”

Love is in the air at this Hertfordshire wedding Wedding dress featured: Serena by Bellami, styled with Bayswater bolero, Layla belt, and Rococo veil from Amixi

Pretty greens, pinks and golds

The colour scheme for the day was mint green, light pink and gold. “We hired a floral arch, which we used for the ceremony and made use of throughout the day,” says Hayley. “There were also floral light up ‘LOVE’ letters and 6ft pink blossom trees for our table centrepieces. We made two picture boards too, with pictures of us from the last 11 years together. Our four-tier cake had layers of chocolate with caramel sauce, Victoria sponge, lemon drizzle and gingerbread. We also had two gingerbread men at the bottom of the cake dressed as a bride and groom. Our cake topper had the words ‘My a’th kar’, which is ‘I love you’ in Cornish.”

Green and pink decor at this Hertfordshire wedding

Party time

“I kicked off the speeches by telling the story of how we got together using Kylie Minogue song titles!” says Hayley. “Then we had a roast dinner with all the trimmings, followed by chocolate tart then tea and coffee with truffles. We also held our own pub quiz and the prize was money for the winning table to buy their first round of drinks. There was a photo booth too, which went down really well with the guests.”

Gorgeous decorations at this Hertfordshire wedding

So much fun!

“Our highlights were spending time with and seeing our guests enjoy themselves,” says Hayley. “The photo booth was also hilarious. Having our guests film the day on hired cameras was one of the best investments we ever made. We got to see so much more of our day and have a wonderful keepsake.”

Fun and games at this Hertfordshire wedding

My top tips…

"Invest in a decent photographer!” says Hayley. “The photos are all that’s left after the day, so make sure they’re ones you can be proud of. If you find standard wedding videos too stuffy, check out Shoot It Yourself. You can hire a camera or two from them and your guests film the day from their perspective. Once you’re done the company edit together all the footage. It’s a great investment, as the day goes by so quickly you won't remember it all. If you want a pub quiz don’t try and host it yourself, ask someone else to do it. Lastly, enjoy the day. Take five to 10 minutes alone somewhere, just to take stock of what a great day it is and the fact that you’re married.”

A beautiful floral decorated 4-tier wedding cake at this Hertfordshire wedding

Hayley’s Dream Team

Photography: Binky Nixon Photography (binkynixon.com)

Hertfordshire wedding venue: Letchworth Hall Hotel (all.accor.com)

Florist: Carole Smith (carolesmith.co.uk)

Stationery: Imagine Invites and Events

Blossom trees and table name holders: The Wedding Lounge (theweddinglounge.com)

Floral arch, love letters and lanterns: My Party Hut (mypartyhut.com)

Videography: Shoot It Yourself (shoot-it-yourself.co.uk)

Hair and Makeup: Zoe Towell (facebook.com/pg/Zoeshairandmakeup)

If you would like your big day to be one of our real weddings please click here to share your story and photos with us and we’ll be in touch.