F&S | October 2019

The Couple: Fleurre & Sam

Length of Engagement: 2 years

How it started…

We went to primary school together, he was good friends with my sister so our families were always friends. I moved away, but we always got on like no time had passed when we saw each other.

Then one year we went to a festival together and after a long weekend in each others company realised we didn’t want it any other way!

Popping the question…

It was at the same festival we had got together at; my mum had given me her engagement ring for when the time came, and Sam had secretly packed it.

He also ordered a ring box to be delivered to his parents’ house to present it in, under the guise of ordering me a gift that he didn’t want me to discover in the post, so his parents wouldn’t suspect anything either.

Both sides of the family go to the festival, so we were all there together, and it was a really rainy year. Sam managed to wait for the only dry, bright moment that we were all together and casually gave me the ring box, claiming it was something he’d seen for me at one of the festival shops.

I opened it and of course saw my mum’s ring and burst into tears! We had talked about getting married, so I knew it was something we both wanted, and doing it in such a sentimental and romantic way seemed too special to hope for, so although it was in the back of my mind I really didn’t expect it.

The Barns…

The Barn at Upcote had the style and feel we liked and we fell in love with it straight away, we could just see ourselves there and so didn’t feel the need to look anywhere else.

Also it has everything we needed in one place, so we didn’t need to change venue in the middle of the day which was a major selling point for us. The staff were all really friendly whenever we came to see it or spoke to them as well, they really couldn’t do enough for us.

Three words…

Romantic, Relaxed and Beautiful

Time to celebrate…

We had a friend of ours DJ in the evening. He had taken a lot of time and care to speak to us about what we wanted, and made mixes based on what we said. We didn’t want the typical wedding tunes you might expect, so it was really important to us to have someone we trusted in charge of the music.

Our family and friends love to tear up the dance floor, so our party hits descending into “dancy” drum and bass tunes went down quite well!

Memorable moments…

Arriving with the bridesmaids, hearing everyone crying with me as I walked down the aisle, the ‘I do’ kiss, and realising how awkward Sam and I are around a couples photo shoot and first dance. Also the moment the drum & bass started and Sam and I ran onto the dance floor together!

Funny story…

A bride in a huge dress trying to pee! Funny every time. Even funnier as the night went on because the dress got heavier because it kept getting wetter from the rain, and we were all getting drunker… You get the picture!

Food…

We wanted something more relaxed than a 3 course meal, but not a buffet, so in the day we had a selection of 3 dishes which were on each table so people could help themselves.

We used Orchard Catering and they were brilliant! They had enough options to include vegans, vegetarians and carnivores, service was quick and unobtrusive.

Advice for other couples…

Allow room in the budget to go over, because there are always things you don’t know you need.

Get really organised with your ideas, we had a planning book with space for suppliers, budgets, everything and that was really helpful.

Remember why you’re doing it. Two nights before the wedding we were having a nightmare with a supplier turning out to be a scam, drivers cancelling, guests pulling out and a ring not delivered… But it all works out in the end if you try and stay calm. And drink Gin!