Katie married Tom on 28 August 2014 in the town of Sorrento, in Southern Italy. The couple had been together for 14 years, and Tom proposed to Katie on their first date anniversary, at Leicestershire's Bradgate Park. They married at the 14th century San Francesco Cloisters in Sorrento, and gave their guests and team about a year's notice, beforehand. The pair wanted a laid-back and fun day, where everyone would be able to relax - so they opted for a late afternoon wedding.
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The night before the wedding we did pizza-making at Villa Ida, rather than doing the formal rehearsal meal. We wanted the activity to be an icebreaker, making the big day even more special and intimate.
Bizarrely, Federico, the son of the owner and master pizza-maker was also a registrar. Once he found out we were getting married, he was determined to be the one to marry us. In true Italian style he pulled up five minutes late on his Vespa saying, 'Don’t panic I am here!' He then walked in and greeted everyone with, 'It is like being with my family!'
My wedding dress was a Fifties Duchesse dress from Suzannah in London. I wanted a shorter dress, and I also wanted one that I could wear again - so the plan is to eventually have it dyed.
The veil was from Suzannah’s too, with extra bling added. Apparently, it sparkled in the sunshine. My shoes were Jimmy Choo.
Tom got his suit made from Zebra in Chesterfield by Pal Zileri. His matching belt and shoes were from Barkers in Northampton, and we had his tie made from Liberty print material.
Wherever we could, we wanted to buy and use British. Combining British and Italian worked well and was naturally very stylish.
For bridesmaids, we had our two nieces Jasmin and Lottie, my godmother’s daughter, Millie, and then my youngest brother Quito as a page boy.
The bridesmaids outfits were from the Jonnie B range at Boden, and they wore Toms for footwear. Quito’s outfit was from La Miniatura Kids and Tommy Hilfiger, and his shoes were from La Tortuga Zapatos.
Our ceremony took place in the San Francesco Cloisters. It's an oasis of calm in busy Sorrento.
We wanted to walk down the aisle together as Tom and I felt that it was more our style. We had a mandolin and guitar play during the ceremony, and as we walked down the aisle they played The Dixie Cup's We Are Going To The Chapel.
Relais Blu (our reception venue) organised mini-buses to transport us and all the guests from the ceremony. Relais Blu is a very spacious, contemporary, stylish venue. It has lots of space and the outdoor areas worked really for us. The view was spectacular.
We had 60 guests from the UK, Spain and Germany. Some guests flew into Rome and braved the drive down. The majority flew into Naples and either drove or got the train to Sorrento.
We had Prosecco and delicious appetisers up on the rooftop over looking Capri, with a mandolin and guitar playing throughout. We then headed into the private room for the main meal with the most incredible view.
There was homemade ravioli with tomato and cheese to start, followed by baked lamb and vegetables. This was followed by a fresh fruit course to cleanse the palate before the cake. All the food was top-notch Italian deliciousness.
At Relais Blu the room is white and the main feature is the view. We didn’t want to take away from this so kept the décor simple and stylish. We did small personal touches such as handmade crackers with lavender sprigs and paper fortune-tellers for guest entertainment. We took Polaroid pictures at the pizza-night and used them for the seating plan later on.
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