A Proposal in Ekaterina’s Palace followed by a Wedding in Clearwell Castle
Tell us about the proposal – how and where did it happen?
‘The proposal happened in Tallinn, Estonia as I had to ask Aleksandra’s parents’ permission face to face, my parents accompanied me and I proposed to Aleksandra in Ekaterina’s Palace in Tallinn which Peter the 1st built for his wife.’
What was your first step in planning your wedding?
‘The very first step to planning the wedding was looking at venues, this meant that we could look to set a budget with a time frame once we had found the perfect venue. Aleksandra had always wanted to get married in a castle so the choice was pretty clear as soon as we pulled up at Clearwell Castle.’
Inspiration: Did you use blogs or magazines for ideas?
‘We had no inspiration from any outside sources just what we already knew that we wanted, some advice was given from family but I am not sure any was taken!’
What were your wedding “must have’s”?
‘The wedding had to have some form of entertainment that could be understood by all due to some language differences, so we had a magician. We had to have a trusted photographer with a portfolio that matched our desired photos as well as a venue with accommodation.’
Styling your wedding: how did you personalise your big day?
‘We had no particular theme although the party took a slight ‘Russian’ twist toward the end. We personalised the day with our music choices.’
What accessories did you wear on the day?
‘So the page boy and myself both wore blue suits and the bridesmaids had matching pink dresses. Aleksandra wore a trailing long white wedding gown and veil. I am not ashamed to admit that the first time I saw her and heard the music we had selected it brought a tear to my eye.’
The Ceremony…
Did you have a band or DJ for your evening reception?
‘We had a DJ and our first dance was a waltz in which we trained for in Hereford at the ‘All seasons’ dance academy.’
Did you go on a honeymoon or mini-moon?
‘We went on three honeymoons increasing in length each time. First, the Cotswolds immediately after the wedding, Centre Parcs at Christmas with the family and then in January the next year, Thailand for two weeks.’
Based on your own experience, give us some top tips:
‘Everything went perfectly and the only thing we would have changed is keeping the photographer all day. The only advice I have to give is that the most important thing is to focus on the must-haves as the ‘nice to haves’ mount up in price. Also being flexible on the day and how soon you can have a wedding was the biggest saving for us.’
Tell us about your Suppliers :
Photographer – Martin Dabek Photography
Wedding Cake – Woods of Whitchurch
Magician – The Bath Magician
Bridesmaids Dresses – Monsoon