Joe and Helen’s February Wedding
25th August 2020
On a beautiful, sunny day back in February 2020, Joe and Helen were the last wedding couple to hold a wedding ceremony and reception at Layer Marney Tower prior to lockdown. Held in a month that is likely to be remembered by many for the powerful windstorms of Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis, Joe and Helen’s wedding day was the most perfect weather imaginable for February…how lucky!
In this blog, we chat to Joe and Helen about their experience of wedding planning and the special day itself.
When did the proposal take place and how did it happen?
On Wednesday 13th March 2019, I took Helen to London where I had booked for us to go to the top of the Shard. Once we were at the top, I handed Helen some red petals followed by an engagement ring whilst getting down on one knee.
Did you have an ideal venue in mind before you began your search? How did you research your venue?
It’s always been a dream to get married at Layer Marney Tower, having grown up very close to there and it’s surroundings very much fit what we both had in mind for our wedding. We’d researched a few but I wanted Helen to view Layer Marney Tower before we viewed too many.
How many venues did you visit and why did you choose Layer Marney Tower?
We viewed three venues including Layer Marney Tower and all on the same day. We chose Layer Marney Tower because once we viewed it Helen fell in love with it just as much as I had. The Corsellis Room (wedding ceremony room) had a wow factor and Helen could not imagine herself walking down any other aisle.
How far in advance did you book your wedding day?
We think it was roughly 9 months ahead of the wedding day. We didn’t want a long engagement.
Did you have a theme?
The theme we chose was a rustic/woodland theme with our table names being the names of butterflies.
How did you choose which suppliers you used?
Our DJ “Beatz Disco” was recommended by a family friend.
Our Photographer “Visions of View” we found through a search engine and fell in love with his work once we had seen his portfolio.
The magic mirror was provided by a work colleague.
Have you enlisted help from family and friends with the planning, or was it mainly the bride and groom that made arrangements?
The bride and groom made the arrangements but were helped by family who assisted with making our own table centre pieces, flowers, decorations and table plan etc It was nice as we were able to put some special touches to the decor, including Ava’s beautiful artwork.
What were the highlights of your day or particularly memorable moments?
The whole thing was amazing, we couldn’t be happier with how the day went. We were even very lucky with the weather, especially given the following day brought Storm Ciara with strong winds. Joe’s highlights were seeing Helen walk down the aisle in her beautiful dress – a real wow moment – and also managing to carry out his speech well.
Helen’s highlights were seeing Joe standing waiting at the end of the aisle, first dance and then followed by all of the dancing with our wedding guests in the evening.
Do you have any advice for Brides and Grooms just starting their wedding planning?
Be thorough with your research, don’t be easily led or influenced by others…it’s your day. Also be organised and keep a wedding planner throughout. It’s handy to have all the information in one place.
All images credited to Visions of View photography.
