Tell us about where and when you first both first met and What were your first impressions of each other when you first met?
We both initially met on Tinder! Haha! After a few back-and-forth conversations on WhatsApp we then met up at a coffee shop in Cape Town called Cafe Neo. We both really liked each other from the word go :) People always say "when you meet the one you're going to marry you will just know" - well I knew from the moment I saw Doug!
Tell us about who proposed to who and where did it happen?
Doug proposed the day before my graduation at the Oxford Botanical Gardens. My whole family and my really good friends were all there for my graduation so we had an amazing celebratory dinner!
Give us three words each to describe each other and what they mean to you?
Bride: Three words to describe Doug: loyal, humble, loving (Doug is my real-life unicorn - I never thought I would find a man like him and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have done so. He is always so supportive of my dreams and encourages me to follow them no matter what. Doug epitomises the verse "love is patient, love is kind..." and I could not imagine life without him.
How did you find and choose your wedding venue, Burley Manor in the New Forest?
Doug grew up in Burley (the New Forest) so it was a no brainer really. Although we both lived in Cape Town at the time most of our close friends and family were all in the UK.
Tell us about your wedding dress; the designer, how long it took you to find the one featured in your wedding video at Burley Manor in the New Forest?
My dress is Gail from Anna Kara and it took me a while to find. I went to a few shops here in Cape Town and I left two of them in tears. The customer service in the UK was just incredible and I eventually found my dress at Morgan Davies Bridal in Hitchin :) Wedding dress shopping was stressful for me!
Tell us about what the Groomsmen wore featured in your wedding video at Burley Manor in the New Forest?
They just wore charcoal grey morning suits from Moss Bros with ivory waistcoats and wine-coloured ties (Doug and I have discovered that the colour "wine" and "burgundy" are not the same!)
Was there any surprises featured in your wedding video at Burley Manor in the New Forest? Tell us more..
The sunshine on a winters day in England? I think that was the biggest surprise really ;)
Did you have any readings and if so, why did you pick them?
My mum picked her own reading which was "I do" by Bonnie Mohr and Doug's mum, Denise, read "The Song of Solomon" which is just beautiful!
Tell us about the finishing touches like favours, sweet carts etc & name any suppliers & companies featured in your wedding video at Burley Manor in the New Forest, that helped make your perfect wedding day come true:
Photographer - Kasia from Peppermint Love Photography
Make-up Artist - Fiona from FLC Hair and Makeup
Hair Artist - Fiona from FLC Hair and Makeup
DJ - DJ Dozzer (the best DJ EVER!!)
Band - The Jetters (AMAZING!)
Toastmaster - Matthew Elkington (bride's brother)
Florist - Lauren from Concept Flowers
Transport - we rented a few buses to transport guests around :)
Wedding Cake - Emma from Fancie Buns
Rings - Hatton Jewels for both our wedding rings and my engagement ring
What was your favourite part of your wedding day at Burley Manor in the New Forest?
The whole day! I literally loved every single second of our day.
Was there any funny moments that you will always remember, in your wedding video at Burley Manor in the New Forest??
My veil kept falling off as my dad and I walked into the church - my dad kept saying "where are the bridesmaids?!" haha!
The snow machine fail - haha!
Driving around in torrential rain and then the sun coming out to shine some blessings on us!
Why did you choose us, Ground Films, Hampshire Wedding videographers to film your wedding and what did you think of your experience being filmed?
I literally spent hours and hours watching wedding videos and the cinematography from Ground Films surpassed all others. I think the key was that I cried in other peoples wedding videos and that's how I knew the magic of the day was coming across in the filming and I wanted the same for our wedding.
To be honest, I hardly noticed that we were being filmed during the day. I did give James artistic license to do whatever he liked because I knew that that was how the magic would shine through :)
Any advice for future wedding couples thinking about having their special day filmed by Ground Films, Hampshire Wedding videographers?
I was initially hesitant about spending a portion of the budget on a videographer, but one of my bridesmaids, Lauren, told me that her wedding day went by in a flash and she couldn't really remember the speeches, and so she advised that I HAD to get one! Thanks Lauren ;) Doug and I are SO glad that we did!! Although I love static photos I wanted to remember some of my dad's and Doug's speech and special moments during the day that I may have missed. I wanted to be able to relive the day with family and friends (and future kiddies) and the best way of doing that, I thought, was by capturing it on video.