My Wedding Day

On 24th October 2022, I made a lifelong commitment to my best friend and became Mrs May. Let me tell you how it all went down.

I woke up in the deluxe suite of the Staverton Park Hotel feeling a little tired from a lovely family meal and some hotel issues the previous evening, but excited to start my bridal prep. What followed was one of the more interesting washes of my life due to a broken shower. If you've ever seen Elf, you know that scene where Will Ferrell is using a comically small shower and splashing water on himself in a vain attempt to get clean? That was me, on my knees in a bathtub on the morning of my wedding.

The rest of the morning was a flurry of hair, makeup, dresses and travelling to our wonderful venue. If you've ever been to Dodford Manor, you'll know exactly why we chose this as the location for our big day. It is gorgeous. The venue comprises a series of stone barns arranged around a central courtyard, with plenty of fields (complete with very brave sheep!) and country lanes for romantic walks. Wedding days at Dodford start in the beautiful stone-floored Mortain Barn, which can then be transformed into your drinks reception location, before you and your guests move through to the Oak Barn and Dairy Bar for your main reception.

At around 11am my bridal party (made up of my fantastic maid of honour, bridesmaid and mum) and I rocked up at Dodford’s Bridal Booth: an ensuite room, hidden away at the back of the Mortain Barn. It features an arrow slit window with one-way glass so I could catch a glimpse of guests arriving. There were plenty of laughs as Mode Bridal worked their magic on the hair and makeup, my mother-in-law joined us to help with dresses and Amore Fiore delivered our stunning autumnal bouquets to tie in with our burnt orange colour scheme. Mr May With Words drew the line at pumpkins, but I did managed to sneak in some artificial leaves... shh!

Mode Bridal did an absolutely stellar job of hair and makeup, and Jessica definitely understood the assignment when my parents' neighbour, affectionately known as Auntie Pam, made a surprise appearance through the wrong door and walked in on all the prep. There were shrieks of “That way, Auntie Pam!” as Jessica blocked me from view. Special shout outs to Epic Love Films who caught every detail and even offered to carry some spare tissues in his pocket for me, and Sky Photography who kept us all laughing and got some amazing candid shots of my mum absolutely bossing the thousands of buttons on my dress.

The dress? I'm glad you asked. I pride myself on efficiency and so dress shopping was not a long, drawn out affair for me. I went to the dress shop in my hometown and tried on a few different styles, but had a very clear vision in mind. Fitted, fishtail, lace sleeves, not too fussy and NOT a meringue. Ironically, the dress that got the initial teary reaction from my mum and maid of honour was a big poofy number that I did love but just didn't feel like me. The dress that gave me that "fireworks in my tummy" feeling was a fishtailed design by Stella York, with a plain skirt, a long pooling train edged in lace, a sweetheart neckline, lace straps which were later used to attach custom sleeves, and tiny sparkling details over the lace bodice. I chose to top off my bridal look with a long veil which fell over the train of my dress. I always said I'd never have a veil. Brides, try the veil. Trust me.

My lovely dad and I are not overly outgoing people and we intensely dislike being the centre of attention, but I was determined to capture the first look with my dad. It ended up being a lot more emotional than I'd thought, with tears on both sides. The morning flew by quicker than the GT40 that my husband arrived in, and the ceremony was upon us. As I stood arm in arm with Dad and waited for our cue, I honestly felt like the world might fall out of a place that a sophisticated bride would not be crude enough to mention. For the purposes of this blog, let's pretend I'm sophisticated. While I tried not to hyperventilate, my Dad turned to me and, in a family tradition

based on the 70's sitcom The Good Life, he uttered four words.

"Good luck, old man." The shakes subsided and my stomach calmed.

"Thanks, old man." Off we went.

After performing our guest arrival songs (Love Me Like You Do and If I Ain't Got You in case you're wondering), dreamy acoustic duo The Distractions launched into a tender rendition of Can't Help Falling In Love as my dad escorted me down the aisle. I do not remember any faces that I passed. I vaguely remember seeing my husband at the end of the aisle and telling him "Ooh, don't start all that, you'll set me off!" as he started to cry. I mainly remember trying desperately not to fall over or vomit. My voice held steady during vows and I just about managed to hold back the tears, which was something I was really worried about. The ceremony went smoothly, thank goodness, apart from the moment where the registrar mistakenly said the best man's name instead of my husband's. Next time, Dave...

Our ceremony went by very quickly, and after walking back down the aisle the Dodford team ensured that we got a few minutes to ourselves to celebrate with a glass of fizz. Once we had taken it all in, we returned to our guests and did some serious mingling. It was so lovely to have the opportunity to thank all of our guests for coming and to get plenty of group photos with our wedding party. Of course, someone smashed a glass but there's always one!

While our guests were enjoying the music and canapes, we took the chance to sneak off with our photographers and videographer to get some beautiful outdoor photos as

the new Mr and Mrs May. Dodford's stunning grounds were the perfect backdrop as we donned our wellies and got the first chance to have a proper chat about the day so far. There was lots of giggling, and Sky Photography encouraged us to give

each other a playful shove which very nearly ended up with me thrown into the bushes. We took a walk by the barn where our guests were being seated for the wedding breakfast. Due to the Oak Barn's floor-to-ceiling windows, we got the chance to watch all our guests who were not paying attention to us. Until my dad noticed us, pointed and announced "Wellies!" prompting everyone to look and wave. Subtle!

We made our entrance as Mr and Mrs May to a very kind welcome, and launched straight into speeches. We chose to have speeches before the meal as we wanted those people giving speeches to be able to relax afterwards and enjoy the food. My Dad who is not accustomed to public speaking gave a wonderful speech that had most of the room in tears, followed by a very emotional speech from my groom and finally a sweet and funny offering from the best man. Caught up in the emotions of the day, I was hardly hungry but the food from Jenkinsons Caterers was so good that I couldn't resist and I tucked in while enjoying the beautiful playlist of violin covers that we carefully selected.

During dessert, I went to find the Dodford Team to ask them to turn the heating down and was met by Simon from Sky Photography who was buzzing with excitement. The conversation went as follows.

"Frankie, do you like going out in the dark?"

"Erm...yes?"

"Great! When you and Brendan are ready, can you meet me in the courtyard? I want to try something. It's never been done in the UK before. Are you in?!"

"Absolutely."

We met Simon as required, and went out into the night to Dodford's fields where Simon attached a light to his drone and circled it around us in the sky to create a halo.

The final effect was mesmerising.

Following the experimental photography, we went inside to cut the cake and then led our guests outside for a sparkler exit which was my absolute favourite part of the day. All of our guests so happy and cheering us through a tunnel of light is an image I'll never forget. After returning inside the fairylit barn, we performed a choreographed first dance to Put It All On Me by Ed Sheeran ft. Ella Mai. The song is very upbeat and halfway through we invited guests to join which got the party off to a great start. Terry from Smooth Moves Events followed our first dance with noughties hits and I changed into a pair of fluffy white slippers, while Dodford got the drinks flowing. Dancing award of the night goes to our two wonderful groomsmen who were absolutely hilarious on the dance floor and encouraged others to throw some shapes. Even if one of them did break the train of my dress, meaning that I had to carry it for the rest of the night!

The evening continued with some essential wedding guest drama, me finding out that Brendan was enjoying a cigar (I detest smoking!) and plenty of dancing. There was even a fleeting visit from Kensington the dog before it was time to call it a night and tipsily pile into our taxis back to the hotel.

When giving wedding advice, people always want to tell you how fast the day goes by and to savour every moment. I rolled my eyes at this advice, but they were absolutely right. In an instant, our wedding day was over and I had a husband. It truly was the best day, and I'm so grateful for the beautiful photos, videos and memories we have to look at for years to come. I am absolutely delighted to be able to call Mr May my husband, and I can't wait to see what adventures life has in store for us.

Here's to the next chapter!

Frankie x