A Real Wedding | April & Matthew

Oct 26

April & Matthew had less than a year to plan their big day and we were delighted to find out in their own words, details from the engagement to the day itself and everything inbetween!

Tell us about your engagement?

We decided to go on a big holiday in 2022 to mark 10 years since we first met at university and Matt, knowing how much I adore Manhattan and that I’d always wanted to return at Christmastime, suggested we go there. (I loved Gossip Girl growing up and I re-watch Home Alone 1 and Home Alone 2 every Christmas, so this trip was already a dream holiday for me!) Matt planned out the whole trip and, unbeknownst to me, he had my dream engagement ring couriered from the designer in LA the day before he was planning to propose. Christmas Eve was absolutely freezing, so we caught a taxi from our hotel to the Upper West Side. Matt had tickets for us to see The Nutcracker at the New York Ballet, which he was keeping secret from me, but he said we’d need to cut through Central Park to get where we needed to go. It’s a place in the city we both love and it looked so stunning in the winter sun.

Matt sneakily led me to an area I hadn’t seen before – called Wagner’s Cove – and he got down on one knee by the frozen lake. It was a breath-takingly beautiful proposal, he recited a poem from memory that he felt represented his love for me (which was extra surprising as we have a private joke about him being bad at recalling song lyrics!). He also said some beautiful words to me that we’re keeping private but which I still think of to this day when I need a warm and fuzzy glow. The rest of the day was perfect: we continued our walk through the park, went to see The Nutcracker (I couldn’t keep my eyes off my new ring during the performance), had a meal out to celebrate and ended the night at the big Midnight Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral.

Who did you choose for your bridal party?

My bridesmaids were my oldest friend from school, my adult best friend and my new sister-in-law. All three got married before I did and their experience was super helpful to us in the wedding planning phases. It was really special to have them with me for my hen party and on our wedding day as they all live in different countries from each other. It was a bit surreal to all get together in person on these important dates. Jenna flew in from Philadelphia, Abi travelled up from Cambridge (no mean feat in your third trimester!) and Jemma came over from Amsterdam. They all looked radiant in their dresses and I’m so glad we went for multiway because we had zero stress about sizing or finding a single style they all liked.

What made you choose your venue and tell us about your theme?

Tissington Hall is such a stunning setting and it’s the perfect place to celebrate a wedding. It’s located in a tiny, picturesque village that our wedding guests essentially took over for the weekend! We fell in love with the architecture of the house and the beautiful grounds, including the spectacular rose gardens. We were set on an autumnal theme for our day as we met in autumn, it’s our favourite season and we could see how the greens, golds and terracotta tones associated with this time of year would work aesthetically… Looking back at our photographs, I think we made the right choice! We also wanted to pay homage to this remarkable county we live in, so our sweetheart table was called ‘Tissington’ and then each of our guest tables took the name of a nearby village or a market town that we both enjoy visiting.

Favourite part of wedding planning?

I loved shopping for my wedding dress! I’m very decisive and had a clear sense of what I wanted from the start: an intricately detailed A-line dress with a bit of sparkle, a slight bohemian feel and some really pretty floral or leafy embroidery on it. I was lucky enough to discover the perfect range for me, Essense of Australia, at my local bridal boutique, and I picked my day dress on the first visit. I loved how the look came together on the day with my pearl veil, earrings, headband and shoes, as well as the autumn flowers and coordinating makeup tones. I bought a short dress, designed by Milla Nova, for the evening party – finding that was very fun too.

Hardest part of wedding planning?

From getting engaged over Christmas to getting married at the start of autumn, we had a lot of planning to finalise in under a year! The most stressful time was around the hen party and stag do. My bridesmaids and Matt’s groomsmen planned amazing events for us but in the run-up it felt like we had so much to do with RSVPs, budgeting and communicating our latest guest counts to suppliers. I think we got a bit burned out at that point, but the hen party and stag dos were great resets for us both. We had a blast celebrating with our closest friends and family, who all reminded us of how much fun we had to look forward to at the bigger, main event.

Brides favourite moment on the day?

I loved Matt’s speech, it was incredible. He not only recited it from memory (proving me wrong again about his memory) but he spoke so articulately about our relationship and the love we have for each other. It was a very emotional part of the day for me, but above all I was incredibly proud of him for showing all our guests what we’re about as a couple. Since the wedding, multiple people have told us it was the best speech they’ve ever heard a groom give! I know it will have meant a lot to my family and friends especially to get that insight into us.

Grooms favourite moment of the day?

Obviously the service meant a lot to us both, but Matt really loved our drinks reception. It was a moment in the day when all the official stuff was out of the way, not to mention the formal photographs, and for the first time we could fully relax and soak up the positive vibes from our extremely loving and supportive guests. We had a beautiful reception in the grounds with a champagne tower in the courtyard. We also had the chance to greet guests as we walked around the gardens and explored the historic rooms in the hall that were open to our group.

Your tips for future couples?

Try to build in time for each other on your wedding day. Lots of married couples told us that the day just flies by and it can feel like you hardly had any quality time with your other half. With this in mind, Matt and I decided to have a ‘first look’ in Tissington Hall’s courtyard. This was a great opportunity to say ‘hello’ and catch up about our mornings before the ceremony took place in the church. We also had a sweetheart table at the wedding breakfast, which meant we got to sit down and talk together as we ate. It definitely felt like these key moments helped to pace our wedding day nicely, and when we nipped out between courses for golden-hour pictures it didn’t feel like I was seeing Matt for the first time. This way of structuring things helped us to relax more.

Anything either of you would do differently?

I honestly can’t think of anything to change in hindsight.

Tell us about your honeymoon plans?

We had a mini moon in the Peak District to stave off post-wedding blues, which was relaxing, but now we’re looking forward to spending a fortnight in Jamaica in November!