Jul 11, 20154 min read

Emily & Mike | Whitwell Station, Reepham, Norfolk

Very envious of watching many brides walk down the aisle, it was finally my turn. Mike and I met on a night out in Norwich. After a few dates we realised that we had so much in common. We were both graduates that had backpacked around the world; shared the same taste in music and loved Glastonbury Festival. Only a month before meeting Mike, I had attended a job interview for a photography role on P&O cruises. It wasn't long after our first few dates that I received an acceptance letter and start date. Despite graduating during the peak of a recession, I knew I had to stick around, besides I could have applied again.

Over the next five years, from working alongside Ryan and photographing the most romantic weddings, I started dropping some serious hints. My jokey husband soon picked up on this and decided to have lots of fun. I was constantly tortured with engagement pranks, one of which was a surprise weekend in Paris. On the first evening he took me to the Eiffel Tower and just as it lit up and sparkled, he slowly went down on one knee. I felt my belly fill up with butterflies and started to shake with excitement. He looked up at me and smiled... and then he did up his shoe laces!

After reaching the top of a sacred mountain, Wat Phu, Loas, trying really hard to tear me away from photographing the view, Mike called me over. For real, he presented me with a ring and a romantic speech. I was finally engaged!

I would say I am quite a sentimental gushy person therefore wanted every detail of the wedding to mean something. I grew up in Reepham, Norfolk so without any hesitation chose Whitwell Station as my venue. This also meant that I could get ready in my old bedroom and be with my family the night before. Before setting a date, I ensured Ryan was available. After investing so much time and money into one very important day, the only thing you have left is a wedding ring and your photographs and you can replace a wedding ring! Working with Ryan for so long and knowing what he can achieve, he was the only photographer that I trusted.

I like to think that Mike and I are quite down to earth friendly people so didn’t want our special day to be too formal. With our love for music we decided to adopt the idea of a Wedfest. Thanks to trusty Pinterest, we were flooded with some great ideas. We also throw in a bit of Star Wars but I quickly drew the line when Mike asked so sweetly if our first dance could be a lightsaber fight!

Choosing a first dance was incredibly tough. The problem with our favourite Indy / Rock bands is that they don’t really produce first dance material. We had booked one of the best bands in the county (Energy), so the pressure was on to find a song allowing enough time for the band to rehearse it. A night off from wedding planning, we went to see the Subways perform at the Waterfront. Halfway through the set, they played an acoustic version of one of our favourite songs. It was perfect; at last we had a song! After looking on iTunes, Spotify and searching through the net, we soon realised that the song was nonexistent. In desperation, we emailed the band and asked if they planned to release the song. I honestly thought that the band would be too busy touring to worry about something as insignificant as my wedding, but in a couple of days they responded to our email with the studio recording of our song... what absolute legends!

Just over six months of some serious wedding planning, it was my wedding morning. I was terrified, mainly because I was worried that I would do something silly and embarrassing, like fall over down the aisle or mess up my wedding vows. My hairdresser Kristti, makeup artist Laila, Ryan, bridesmaids and family were amazing.

Another great thing about Whitwell Station, is the opportunity to rock up to your wedding on a train and then as you pass your guests, wave like a princess.

I can honestly say, with my hand on my heart that the entire day was a complete success – not one thing went wrong!

From my understanding, the average wedding can take up to two years to plan, considering that I pulled it off in six months; I count myself as incredibly lucky. The main reason for it going so smoothly was because I knew and trusted my wedding suppliers. To have a perfect wedding, you need a good team of people that you can work with. If these people are complete strangers, it is crucial that you become acquainted as quickly as possible; they are not mind readers and need to understand exactly how you imagine your perfect wedding.