Real Life Wedding at Royal Berkshire

Harry and I met at work, in an insurance firm in the City of London. The proposal was very romantic! Harry had privately hired the viewing deck at the top of The Shard in London, which was scattered with rose petals and candles everywhere! We got in the lift to go to the top as Harry told me he’d got tickets for the nighttime tour. The lift doors opened and I still didn’t realise what was happening, until Harry got down on one knee…I think I cried for the rest of the evening!!

The venue itself is obviously absolutely beautiful. Whilst it’s very big, it has a real cosy and alpine feel which was perfect for our winter wedding. However, if we’re honest, what we loved most about the venue was the staff. After we booked the wedding we decided to go back for a night’s stay at the hotel as everyone was so friendly and accommodating. We were made to feel so special throughout the planning and on the day of the wedding. Even when our families incorrectly booked their rooms onsite, the staff couldn’t do more to help rectify what was our mistake!

We had a classic white, winter wedding. The venue kindly put up their Christmas decorations early, to fit with our winter wedding and all the flowers/décor were completely white.

My dress was by Enzoani and from a shop local to where Harry and I live, called Bellissima Weddings. It was very simple at the front, very fitted with an extremely long train. The back was mesh with diamantes scattered across the entire back. It was finished with a cathedral length veil.

For me, walking down the aisle with my dad and seeing Harry standing at the top was a real highlight. I totally underestimated how overwhelming that feeling would be, but I wish I could do it all again! For us as a couple, seeing the room transformation from the ceremony to the wedding breakfast was amazing! Most importantly, we just remember seeing everyone having such a great time. I think with Covid spoiling so many plans and preventing people from seeing each other, this was one of the first events where life felt back to normal which was the cherry on top of the cake for us!

We both thoroughly enjoyed our tasting evening, during the planning of our wedding day. We decided the menu and it really was a taste of what was to come! The food was amazing and that goes without saying, but again the staff were just so accommodating which made it a really memorable and enjoyable experience.

If you have a budget, stick to it! Little touches are lovely, but there is so much going on during the day that you nor your guests really notice them! The day also goes by so so fast, just try to savour every moment as much as possible, even though it’s so hard to!!

Also if your budget allows, I would really recommend a videographer. Saying our vows is such a blur for us both, we can’t wait to watch them back once we receive our video. It’s also really lovely to capture the speeches too, as whilst you know how good they are at the time, it’s hard to remember exactly what was said afterwards!

Most importantly, the day is all about the two of you and nothing else matters as long as you’re having the time of your life!

Photographer: @matthewthwingphotography
Videographer: Hawaiian Shirt Company (Tom Hewett)
Flowers & styling: @lilysflowersweddings
Lucy's Dress: @bellissimaweds
The Suits: House of Cavani, bought from Del Tailors