Hello again lovelies – have you had a moment to enjoy the wedding we shared this morning yet? Our community of Lovettes is growing every week and we’ve shared some introductions to some wonderful new blogging brides of late. Today, it’s the turn of Suzannah Elizabeth Smith to say hello and introduce her wedding plans to you. Suzannah is set to marry her beau James in June next year. I’ve loved reading through this introductory post. We’re all, intrinsically, that little bit nosey curious aren’t we? I love that we get a look behind the scenes of the lovely brides whose weddings we end up sharing on this blog. I love the ‘how the met’ stories and getting to know their personalities and what marriage means to them, and best of all, that we get to really feel a part of their wedding planning journey. I hope you enjoy reading through Suzannah’s contributions as a Lovette. Over to you Suzannah, and ‘happy Saturday’ folks!
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James and I met back in early 2010 in the gym, yes really the gym! After a somewhat sweaty conversation over the water machine we went our separate ways only to have a proper meeting following an awkward social media friend request on our first date in a cosy little pub where we mooched the evening away chatting as though we had known each other for years. It turns out that our Mother’s had really known each other for years, after chit chats in the school playground many a year before.
Numerous dates later, James asked me to be his girlfriend on the evening of my beloved Nana Dora’s 98th birthday, the 24th April 2o1o. The day I last saw my Nana, yet the day that James and I officially became an item, a very bittersweet memory that I hold fondly in my heart.
My parents, two brothers and I had travelled up to Lincolnshire on that bright spring day to celebrate with dear Dora-May; a birthday lunch and a cup of tea in the sunshine. Afterwards, I gave her a quick squeeze and kiss on the cheek before we all zoomed back to Suffolk and of course I to James.
I remember turning back as we left to see Nana smiling a very soft smile, content and full of wisdom at the knowledge of what I can only imagine to be the joy and happiness that a very long, honest life gives you. Losing Nana Dora later that year will always be a difficult memory but I take comfort in the fact that James and I found each other that evening, a sweet reminder of that very happy day.
Now just over five years later I feel so much has happened that trying to type it all into one little introduction seems likes a ginormous task. The biggest change is that I have qualified as a children’s nurse so a large proportion of my time is spent doing shift work. I absolutely adore my job through good times and bad and I am thankful to James for standing by my side when I’ve been shall we say just a little sleep deprived post nightshift.
It was on our late summer holiday in October 2013 that James got down on one knee in a rather soggy Corfu. We had spent the first day of our holiday sat watching the rain, a few beverages later and a run home from the restaurant in the pouring torrent made us laugh so hard in each other’s arms at our wet misfortunes that when I went to freshen up in the bathroom, the last thing that I expected upon my return to the bedroom was James stood in the middle of the room looking at me so very distinctively with cheek, nerves, mystery (and just a little booze) in his eyes, dropping to one knee and asking if I would do him the honour of becoming his wife, ring in box I remember squealing in delight and falling into his (still soggy) arms so very much full of joy.
I have vivid memories of our rainy week in Corfu, sat by the swimming pool wrapped up in towels trying to keep warm and edging into the freezing cold water when our one hour of sunshine appeared. Lazy mornings in bed followed by coffee and our books on the terrace and little strolls through the resort hand in hand engrossed in our newly engaged happy trance. Our wonderful families kept our secret so that when we got home we could announce our news having had it sink in that I would become a wife, James’s wife. Now eighteen months have passed, we have invested our savings into a home of our own and been joined by two little ginger additions named Tilly and Ted, our gorgeous and much loved not so little kittens.
We are ‘tying the knot’ on the 4th June 2016 at Ivy House, a beautiful sixteenth century barn nestled down a little lane in Oulton Broad on the Norfolk/Suffolk border on the banks of the broads. We chose The Ivy for its gorgeous location right by the water’s edge. Our families will both be meeting for dinner along with our bridal party the night before to ‘break the ice’ and get the greetings out of the way ready for our wedding weekend.
The girls and I will be staying in the bridal suite whilst the boys will stay on the opposite side of the hotel, only to meet again at the top of the aisle after my Father and I make the small stroll over to the barn. I’m hoping and praying for sunshine so after our civil ceremony we can mooch around the grounds, have our photos by the summer house overlooking the lily pond and entertain ourselves with giant garden games, jenga, croquet and the like with the soft sounds of string music in the background. I very much enjoy drinking tea so as well as a champagne drinks reception we will be serving mini traditional sandwiches with bite sized scones, jam and clotted cream and of course plenty of tea served in fine vintage china, a traditional English garden wedding if you will.
Naturally, having such a long engagement means plenty has already been done, I have booked my bridal make-up and hair, ordered handmade olive green gowns for my (six!) bridesmaids, hired a stylist and put down a deposit for our flowers, creamy white roses, blush peonies, gypsophila and ivy.
Undoubtedly one of the most important parts of the wedding is yet to be done – shop for that big white thing – My wedding gown. My girls and I are still in shock at my unusual patience in waiting till the moment is just right to begin shopping for the most important dress of my life. As I type the ‘one year to go’ mark is quickly approaching and by the time that this post is published I imagine the countdown will well and truly on; so just this afternoon I have made bridal appointments for the end of June. I simply cannot wait.
I’m incredibly thankful to Annabel and all at Love my Dress for giving me the opportunity to join the Lovettes team, I love writing as an escape from the crazy busy, shift working, cat loving, tea drinking, wedding planning world that I live in so am very much looking forward to documenting my wedding planning journey and networking along the way with my fellow ‘Lovettes’ and readers alike.
Love Suzannah xx
A little background on Suzannah
As this is Suzannah’s first post for Love My Dress, we thought it would be nice to share some of her original Lovettes application with you all – to help you get to know her a little better. We’ll be doing the same for all our new Lovettes when it comes to sharing their first posts.
Suzannah Elizabeth Smith is marrying James Goodfellow in June 2016.
Beverley Harrison will be taking their wedding photographs
You can connect with Suzannah via her website and Pinterest
How They Met:
We pretty much covered this above.
About their wedding:
We are getting married on the 4th June 2016 at 1pm at Ivy House, a beautiful sixteenth century barn nestled down a little lane in Oulton Broad on the Norfolk/Suffolk border on the banks of the broads, around twenty minutes from our home. James will be thirty and I will be twenty four. Our families and wedding parties will be coming together on the 3rd of June for dinner and drinks and to set up for our day, we will then say our goodbyes and go to separate parts of the hotel in anticipation for the next morning. It was very important for us to have everyone around us and we liked the idea of making a weekend of our wedding so the venue needed to have accommodation and thankfully Ivy House provides 20 rooms for our guests so one of the most exciting parts of our marriage that we are most looking forward to is having everyone all together.
I’ve already booked my bridal make-up, ordered local handmade bridesmaids dresses for my (six!) maids and paid a deposit for our flowers. Our colour scheme is olive green with blush, peach and creamy white roses, peonies, gypsophila and ivy. I hope to use some lace from my Mother’s wedding gown to wrap around my bouquet whilst adding a locket of my beloved Nana Dora’s with a picture of my late grandfather inside. The girls will wear floral crowns with soft curls and pearl drop earrings and bracelets as they walk the aisle and I hope to wear fresh flowers in my hair. I haven’t yet tried a wedding dress on and hope to go shopping with my Mother and Mother in Law (to be) at around the one year to go mark.
James’s best man is going to behis brother which is a really nice touch as they have always been very close and he is having friend’s from his days at school to accompany him as groomsmen as well as my brothers at the top of the aisle. We are planning on having around eighty day guests and extending an evening invite to a further one hundred and twenty friends and family friends in the evening for drinks, dancing and bacon rolls.
Taking a walk over to the barn and down the aisle with my Father I know will be a very emotional moment as I am and always have been incredibly close to my Parents; we have booked a string duo to play classical music prior to the ceremony, as I walk the aisle and as we sign the register, this again was something that meant a lot to me as I had always envisioned walking down the aisle to one particular song which is confirmed. This will be an incredibly precious moment making all of my wishes come true. We plan on asking a couple of friends to do some readings for us and then hope to make our vows to one another, this is what we need to work on over the next few months, making our ceremony personal to us, it’s still a surreal thing to talk about but I look forward to doing some research into different options for becoming man and wife and making it true to who we are.
Following our ceremony we hope to have garden games (in the sun!) on the lawn with soft string music in the background as we mooch around the lily pond, garden house and maybe even take a little stroll down to the edge of the protected Norfolk broads. We are planning a sparkling afternoon tea drinks reception with Prosecco, cups of tea in vintage pretty china and mini sandwiches and scones served with jam and clotted cream on cake stands as our canapés, all whilst our wonderful and much admired photographer, Bev works her magic. We have an emergency rain option and I do plan on purchasing some big white brollies and trusty wellies so we can still make the most of the beautiful Suffolk outside all be it a bit damp if so be it – It will be our luck that it rains after our engagement downpour!
In the late afternoon we will move over to Ivy Hall a brick built permanent marquee style building were we are to have our wedding breakfast. So far we have only confirmed our favourite dinner, bangers and mash with all of the veggies and we look forward to picking our other options later this year.
Upon the arrival of our evening guests and cutting of our hopefully homemade-ish cake there shall be plenty of dancing with our wonderful 60’s band, The Austin Beats. A first dance is something we are a little nervous of but I’m sure with a little practice we will be able to come up with something to show. The rest is still in the pipeline, on my Pinterest boards and whizzing around my head. We plan on our day being about our family and friends, celebrating what we have as a couple with pretty little vintage touches, floral hearts, lace and lots of scrumptious tea and cake.
What does marriage mean?
Marriage to me is building an unbreakable union between James and I, my best friend. It is making our vows to one another in the presence of our families and closest friends. It is vowing to love one another through good times and bad, to laugh, cry and reason together. It is the start of our future, the start of our family. Marriage to me is a proclamation of my love for this wonderful man, a thank you for making me the woman that I am today, for loving me and taking me as the one for him. It is going forward together as husband and wife and making new memories whilst never forgetting the joys of meeting one another. It is enjoying life and all of its prettiness together, exploring, loving and building our future not as I, but as we.
Favourite Hollywood Icon?
If my wedding had the personality of a Hollywood starlet I would imagine it to be that of modern day beauty Anne Jacqueline Hathaway for her natural beauty and understated elegance. The way in which she has held herself as an honourable and well distinguished actress in many a Hollywood lime-light yet remains poised with dignity and holds herself with grace. I also think that her wedding gown by Valentino was simply stunning, something a little different from the average ball gown yet distinguished her as a blushing bride. I hope to be myself on my wedding day and hold my own with the values that I believe in. Something I feel Anne has done and continues to do.
Favourite Love My Dress wedding:
The wedding of Georgina and Nick has been bookmarked on my browser since the early days of my engagement after a local search on Love my Dress. As a local wedding just up the road I fell in love with this beautiful post in our gorgeous part of the world, Suffolk. The images of the bride and the groom in the fields, the lavish greenery, a venue that I had visited and a happy couple with blush and peachy tones similar to my own tastes.
Many a time I have referred back to this post to look at the ginormous floral arch, the images of the cosy, candlelit barn and the pretty little handmade details including the very clever table plan and polaroid guestbook. I think this post has got many an image that ‘shares the honest love’ a recent feature on Love my Dress, the way Georgina looks at Nick as she approaches him at the top of the aisle, their images in the fields and their first dance, wrapped up in each other’s arms, beautiful inspiration for making my wedding personal to us and simply celebrating us. I also found my bridal make-up artist Emily from Love Moi from this post and got her booked up ASAP which I’m so very thankful for.
