Toby and Christine's Wedding in Wotton-Under-Edge, Gloucestershire

Being overseas and planning a UK wedding, I had some challenges to overcome. For example, it was much cheaper for me to fly to Dubai than the UK regularly, so I decided to shop for my dress there. I found my dream dress (by Martina Liana - 1406) at iLume Bridal Studio (who also have a store in Cardiff) and was blown away by the low cost of dress alterations in the UAE (I paid £80 with a generous tip and had the dress back in 2 days). Toby also had his green suit tailor made in Dubai at Suited & Booted, of course he had the same suit also made in purple! Flying them back to the UK was daunting but successful. I carried the dress on board with me and was able to hang it in the wardrobe the flight attendants use for their personal belongings.

I went for a tropical green mismatch look for my 7 bridesmaids. I was really nervous about how it would turn out as I was unable to get all of them in a room together before the wedding, but I hope you agree that it worked perfectly.

I flew back to the UK 8 weeks before the wedding and made planning my sole focus. I used Notion.so for everything from the start. I created a wedding-specific dashboard with everything that needed to be done and spent a few hours timing everything out. What could be done from abroad? What did I need to work on physically in the UK? This helped me organise my timeframe and be as efficient as possible. The venue was also incredible at answering my questions from afar.

Back at my mum and dads in England, I was finally able to print the Canva designs I had been working on for our menu, order of service and other bits. My mum handmade 100 purple envelopes (!) to fit the scratch cards we had as our wedding favours which also doubled up as place settings. My bridesmaids helped me to create the crisp wall (which went down a treat), the seating plan, and our welcome mirror sign, too. I was having undramatic wedding dreams by the end of it all, but I managed to get everything finished a week before, so I had time to unwind before the big day, which I was very grateful for!

The day went perfectly (despite a bit of rain). With a large bridal party, I went out of my way to find a team that could get us all ready stress-free. Lucille & Co. were unbelievable from day one. Along with my quote, Harriet provided me with a mock schedule for the day. Having all 7 of my bridesmaids, 4 flower girls, and both mums fully ready by 1 pm (for a 2 pm ceremony). Harriet created the perfect updo for me, and Lisa at Blush & Brush did my make-up. Both of them made me feel like a film star.

Being legally married, we had free reign of our ceremony, and my older brother Jean-Louis officiated for us and did a wonderful job. I recommend anyone on the fence does this. It's so special having someone close to you both create a personal ceremony for you.

The wedding breakfast catered by the venue was delicious, and Anna Baker (also located through Hitched) made us a superb three-tiered cake. There wasn't a single slice left at the end of the night. We had mini golf (supplied by Putterfingers) for our guests, who were eventually able to get outside and play once the weather cleared up. The absolutely amazing Truly Medley Deeply band performed in the evening. They were a huge hit with everyone. Finally, one of the coolest things about Tortworth Court is that they are a firework-friendly venue. You don't get a firework-friendly venue and not have fireworks at your wedding! So Chase Lane Fireworks ended the night for us with a bang.

Our photographer, Sam Gibson, did such an incredible job capturing the day. We are not comfortable posing for photos so we chose Sam due to his ability to take excellent candid photos. Despite our awkwardness, he was able to catch some beautiful couples portraits. He was very conscious of our desire to be fully present in the day as we had vocalised that we did not want to spend hours posing for photos, so he would catch us at times where we were just waiting for the next thing anyway... Like before the confetti throw and before being announced at the wedding breakfast. Our picture gallery has completely blown us away (and our guests).

I had never planned anything this big before and it's quite a strange feeling to be walking into a day you've put so much time, money and energy into planning. I felt so much pressure up until the actual day itself. But, thanks to all of the suppliers, I was able to switch off and soak up one of the best days of my life. Everything felt so personal and whilst the wedding was traditional in some ways, every bit of it was 'us'. Toby and I had so much fun, which i think you can tell from the photos. It was everything we wanted it to be, and more.