Bridgette and Andy met through friends twelve years ago. Although they lived 2 hours apart (Bridgette in North Wales and Andy in Worcestershire) they carried on talking via the early days of internet chat rooms and texts and of course the good old-fashioned phone! Both had been married previously and had children and full time jobs so trying to fit in time together around other commitments was a challenge but didn’t stop them finding time to get together once or twice a month. Read on to hear about their beautiful woodland wedding and Patchwork honeymoon to romantic Puglia, gifted by family and friends.
How did you get engaged?
Andy: After two years of living 2 hours apart I moved an hour closer and then two years after that I moved to Llangollen. Bridgette didn’t rush to get me over her threshold, but I didn’t take it personally and quite liked the slow burn…! After that we moved into our first “real” place together in Shropshire and now live in a picturesque village called Clive in Shropshire.
We got engaged on a beach in Little Haven, Pembrokeshire in 2016. It was my 50th Birthday and Bridgette had no idea it was going to be her day too! I had a book of memories printed and at the back of it my proposal. We’d previously watched a program on TV where the the bride to be blubbed when being proposed to and Bridgette had told me that’s the sign of a great proposal. Well I’m pleased to say my proposal ticked the blub-o-meter! We then took up residence in the local harbourside inn and toasted our engagement (a lot!).
That’s lovely. And what kind of wedding did you plan?
We both love walking and nature, so wanted a wedding location that fitted that ideal. Having had our low key civil ceremony on the 8th May, we had our celebration day & evening in our local area on the 23rd May. The celebration was carried out in a local woodland, Corbett Wood, where we both love to walk and our wedding reception was held in an Elizabethan Barn called Pimhill. We crafted a lot of the decorations ourselves, including our Origami Cranes Backdrop and our Woodland Chandelier. We loved being hands on in the process and ended up buying enough fairy lights and festoon lights to supply Blackpool if ever they need any!
What was your first dance?
Always in My Head by Coldplay
What was your favourite part of the day?
Its really hard to pick out one part but if pushed it would be sharing our ceremony, in a stunning location, on a gloriously sunny day surrounded by our friends and family.
Why did you choose Patchwork for your honeymoon fund?
We’re pretty well sorted for crockery and cutlery, toast racks and kettles. What we really wanted was a way to enable our guests to donate to our honeymoon experiences. We’d carried out some research, found Patchwork and read the very positive reviews. We loved the format and creativity it allowed to tailor our patchwork page to match our personalities and honeymoon plans. It also gave our guests the chance to choose a donation level they were happy with. They thought it was perfect!
What was the best bit about using Patchwork?
The creativity and ease of use, for both us and our guests. None of them had seen it before and all commented on its style and how easy it was to use. It made the honeymoon more special knowing we had the ability to experience elements of it gifted to us by our friends and family.
You travelled to Italy; would you recommend your trip to other honeymooners?
We’d never spent anytime in Italy before and chose Puglia because it’s a “hidden gem”, not widely visited and contains fantastic food, drink and coastlines. We also got to stay in the most amazing and romantic Trulli, a cone house specific to the area.
Thank you so much Andy and Bridgette for sharing your patchwork story and honeymoon adventure with us.
If this has inspired you to make your own patchwork, find out how here – you can customise one of our readymade patchworks or create one from scratch.
Suppliers:
Dress: Kate Beaumont
Photographer: Chris Harris at Ivory Fayre
Engagement and Wedding Rings: Victoria James
Celebrant: Jill Barcroft
Hair & Beauty: Sophie Bruno
Suits: Jennis & Warmann
Bridesmaids Dresses: David’s Bridal
Lighting, and craft supplies: Amazon and our bad selves!
Transport: Split the Difference – Vintage VW Camper Hire
Venue: Corbett Wood, Shropshire and Pimhill Barn
Flowers: Joanne Flethcer of Fletcher & Foley
Cake: Jane Tasney at Gertrude Olive Cakes
Caterer: Kevin Guerlin of Ironbridge Catering
Bar: Tipples Mobile Bar