Amy + Martin

How did you meet?

Martin and I met whilst working abroad on a Television show in Majorca- it was on a rooftop at sunset and we caught each other’s eye (I thought he was Spanish until we started chatting and heard his voice). My friend Emily encouraged me to talk to him, and our friend Andy played a third wheeling cupid throughout the night!

When did you know they were the one?

There wasn’t a specific moment, it was more of a gradual feeling – I just couldn’t picture life without him in it. He is always there for me and we both support each other in everything we do.

What are your three favourite attributes of your partner?

Martin is the kindest person I know – he has an amazing way of putting anyone at ease. He is so calm (most laid back man in the UK haha) & we balance each other out. Finally, he is so thoughtful – he does lots of little things for me that are so sweet.

Who proposed and how?

Martin proposed on New Year’s Eve 2019, when we stayed at a cute cottage in the UK – he had actually taken the engagement ring on a trip around the Philippines, and unfortunately I got ill so there hadn’t been a romantic moment to pop the question. The ring was in his dry bag being kayaked across to remote islands every night. I don’t know how he managed to hide it from me!

At the cottage he had created the most beautiful setting (which I also nearly ruined complaining I had been left in a cold hot tub haha)- he had had been secretly setting up candles and rose petals everywhere, and had made me a special book about our relationship. There was a note to go and find him upstairs and our song was playing when he proposed to me! It was so romantic and also one of the best days of my life.

Where did you fall in love with your dress and why?

I first saw my ‘Tommy’ dress in a smaller boutique shop, and at the time due to covid restrictions, I could only dress shop with one person so I took my Mum with me (both of us wearing masks which didn’t really go with the wedding dresses haha). We both saw the ‘Tommy’ dress and thought WOW, and when I tried it on I fell in love with it. We then visited the flagship store of Made With Love in London (as it had been a brand I have eyed up since we got engaged) and I tried the dress on again and it was just so gorgeous. It fit beautifully, it has so many details on that are so dainty and so my style, and then combined with a stunning plain Holly veil we knew it was the perfect combination, it was THE dress.

What was the best moment for you at the wedding?

The best moment of the wedding was when I saw Martin standing on the island, as I got out of the car with my Dad. Walking towards Martin, I thought I’d be emotional but I actually couldn’t cry as I literally couldn’t stop smiling or take my eyes off of him. The day itself was so special, as after not seeing family or friends properly for so long, it was so incredible to spend time with them all- my grandparents even came along and they had been isolating since the start of covid. To have everyone we love in one place was truly so special (missing a few due to travel restrictions but they were in our minds)- and even though our wedding missed the UK ‘freedom’ date by 2 days, it still felt like a totally normal day as luckily nearly all of our wedding was outside, we could have all 130 guests or so, and the weather was a perfect summer’s day.

What were your favourite details?

My favourite details of the wedding are hard to narrow down as there were so many!! My amazing Mum Jane (cheeky plug – check out @janescountryroses on Instagram) did all of our bouquets, flower table pieces, courtyard decorations etc (no small feat when I had 10 bridesmaids!). We had one of Martin’s friends Josh play amazing Ibiza saxophone tracks, and for each part of the day we had special music for each moment. My mum helped me source lots of personalised details for the tables, such as ‘love is sweet’ bags with our details on, ‘Amy and Martin’ love hearts, personalised advice cards, and even personalised photo booth print outs using my own illustrations from our invitations and the invite calligraphy by my friend Meera. The table names were all places that are significant to us, and our first dance song (also my arrival song) was by Vance Joy ‘I’m With You’ which is a song Martin sent to me quite early on in our relationship. We had our first dance under the maypole fairy lights at Preston Court and it was actually magical- we couldn’t have wished for a more perfect day!

What advice would you tell other brides?

Enjoy the day and every single moment because it goes SO FAST! It’s a day filled with so much love it’s almost a blur of happiness. Take a moment after you have got married for just the two of you, to be like ‘WOW we actually did this!’ And in the build up to the big day, easier said then done I know, try to relax because on the day, you won’t sweat the small stuff. All the planning is worth it but ultimately the wedding day is about the two of you celebrating your love together.

Any standout vendors?

Oh where to start!!! ALL of the vendors! From our venue contacts at Preston Court– especially Jess who is amazing, Anna and Susie, to our caterers Will and Becca Burnett who created us the most sensational menu- they did us a massive favour taking on our wedding when they already had a busy schedule and their food was unreal. Alex Tenters who did all our wedding photography (and took these incredible pics) is a legend, as are Alan and Laura our videographers from This Modern Revelry– they all made us feel so comfortable and the day was so chilled!

My Mum’s sensational flowers- she was up until so late the night before creating all of the beautiful pieces! Helen from BluBelle Creative who did our gorgeous island flowers, Tiggi from Salty Carnival Kiss who did all the lanterns and fairy lights in the barn, and gave us all our vintage fairground games (the hook a duck was a hit with my 2 year old nephew!). Harry Kilb who ran our day and made sure each moment had the right music, the right equipment etc- and played some epic tunes all night! Neil and Maisie from Odyssey photo booths who were so kind in the planning stage and constantly changing restrictions. Melissa (Fairy Dust Bakery) created the most gorgeous semi-naked wedding cake, which we cut under a maypole of fairy lights! Our friend Beth (who owns Queens Peckham salon) gave me the wedding hair of dreams, my little sister Lottie who did my make up, my other sister Grace who hand drew each chalkboard and my sister-in-law who helped with creative bits. My brother Matt proof read all of the speeches, and my Dad and Uncle Andy organised the transport and lent us his gorgeous car. Our bridesmaids and groomsmen were wonderful, and our friends Jack and Josh performed throughout the day and night. Our friend James created some important artwork for us.

We just can’t thank all the vendors, friends and family enough who helped to make our wedding so so special.