Real Life Wedding Leanne and Richard

Hear from Leanne and Richard and a find out what made their wedding day so special.

How did you both meet and how did the proposal occur?

We met online, on plenty of fish, which I’m not even sure exists anymore!!! Rich is originally from Winchester so we regularly go back there for days out, lunches etc and we usually take walks up St Giles Hill because I love the view. We were celebrating Christmas together early as I’d be flying home to Dublin to be with my family and he was staying in Southampton, we had a lovely day in Winchester planned and when we took our walk up to St Giles Hill he got down on one knee at the viewing deck. He has always said that he wanted to propose somewhere that would never change and that we could always go back to.

What did you love most about Lainston House?

Lainston just had such a classy feel about it, the grounds and the building are just stunning and I’m not sure what’s not to love. From the minute we arrived we felt so welcomed and the staff really couldn’t have done more for us.

Did you have a theme or a particular style for your day, and how did you make it

Before I started actually planning, I thought I wanted this huge day with lots of additions like lights, photobooths etc but actually when it came to the planning, I realised I just wanted to keep it simplistic, classic, and clean looking. I had A LOT of Pinterest boards and that helped me decided on the greens and whites, it just felt fresh and simple.

Tell us all about THE dress…..

I found the dress in the second shop I went to, Chameleon in Bournemouth, they have the most stunning collection. I had already done a bit of research and had an idea that I really wanted to try an Eva Lendel dress, chameleon had quite a few. Unfortunately, my mum wasn’t there when I found the dress as she lives in Dublin but she was on facetime at every appointment. I thought I’d be a lot more emotional about finding THE dress but I wasn’t I just felt nervous and got butterflies when I put it on, I knew that it would fit the church perfectly and be ideal for that classic look I had in my head.

What do you remember most about the day itself?

Honestly, the whole day and I’m so happy that’s the case. From the morning to the first dance, I remember it all. Everyone kept telling me to soak it all in and I really made sure to do that. But what I remember most is the first dance, or the first serenade as it ended up being because Rich isn’t the best dancer so he sang to me instead!!!!

Were there any special moments during the planning or the big day?

I had surprised Rich with owl ring bearers on the day as they’re his favorite animal and I thought it was something just really different. They were fantastic and really added something super special to the day.

What advice would you give to future couples starting their wedding planning?

Pinterest will be your best friend, always keep lists, and just enjoy it. If it starts to become stressful take a step back, it’s meant to be an amazing time in your life. There are so many things out of your control on the day but just take it as it comes and soak it all in.

Suppliers

Photographer @chloecaldwellphotography
Videographer @keanboothweddingfilms
Flowers and styling @laurel_designs_studio
Leanne's Dress @chameleonbride
Rich's Suit @moss_bros_winchester

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