Real Bride Vanessa on the morning of her wedding

Vanessa and Steve met at work in May 2020. “It was the middle of the pandemic and we had our first date at St George Park in Bristol,” says Vanessa.

Real Bride Vanessa in her WED2B wedding dress

“We were together for six months before we got engaged. This is funny because the day we got engaged we actually passed the WED2B shop in Bristol. There was a lovely dress on display and I said to Steve, ‘This is beautiful’. He said nothing to me. Later that evening, after dinner, he proposed and I said Yes!”

Vanessa's off-the-shoulder WED2B wedding dress

Dream dress shopping

Vanessa headed back to WED2B’s Bristol store to find her dream dress, “It was a very quick visit,” she says. “I got in and I fitted two dresses. The first one was beautiful but it was too much for the kind of wedding I was having.

"When I tried on the second dress, Freda, it was perfect and I knew immediately knew that it was the one I wanted. No alterations were needed, so I said yes to the dress!”

(For similar styles try Rion, Bruna or Drew)

Vanessa and Steve's registry office wedding

An intimate registry wedding

“Our wedding was at the Bristol Registry Office on the 20th June 2022, which was also my birthday. We wanted a very intimate registry wedding and that was just perfect.”

Vanessa and Steve repeating their wedding vows

“It was a lovely sunny day,” says Vanessa. “We were blessed with good weather. After the wedding, we went for a boat ride along Bristol Harbour, which was the day’s most memorable moment. It was beautiful, as everyone kept waving and congratulating us on our wedding. I felt like a queen. It was glorious”

Vanessa and Steve's wedding photos
Vanessa and Steve's sunny registry office wedding

Celebrating with family and friends

“After the ceremony, we went for a meal,” says Vanessa. “Then later we went home and had a small party in our garden with friends and family.”

Vanessa in her Sheath wedding dress and cathedral bridal veil

Beautiful shoes on a budget

“I got my wedding shoes for just £5 and decorated them myself,” says Vanessa.

“It turned them into beautiful shoes worth hundreds of pounds. It was amazing.”

Vanessa's beautiful budget wedding shoes

“We tried to avoid extra spending, so we ordered our wedding cake from M&S. It only cost £40 and it was delicious. We also didn’t have a DJ, we just had nice background music. Most of our entertainment was interacting with one another and sharing some lovely stories.”

An intimate City registry office wedding

My top tips...

“Keep it simple and do what makes you happy,” says Vanessa. “Buy a lovely dress because that is the most beautiful part of your day."

“Try to avoid getting into debt to have a wedding that pleases other people, as it would be so stressful trying to pay back the debt. A stressful home is not a happy home!”

Vanessa and Steve at their registry office wedding

Vanessa and Steve’s Dream Team

Photographer: Chrissie Decker

Wedding dresses Bristol: WED2B

If you would like us to feature your big day, like this intimate registry wedding, then please click here to share your story and photos with us and we’ll be in touch. Or click here for more details about WED2B’s bridal shops Bristol.