Real Weddings: Jenny and Dani

wed1 Jenny: We got engaged in August 2016. When we first started to plan the wedding, we were looking at the end of 2017, and wanted to have a big party with all of our family and friends present. Unfortunately, in January 2017 Dani’s mum was taken seriously ill and it made us reassess our priorities about what getting married meant to us. So, we decided to have our ceremony with just our families and planned it all within three weeks. We are still planning to have a big party with all of our friends and family sometime in 2018 so that no one misses out on celebrating with us.

How did you meet?
Dani: We met at university in Lancashire, where we were both studying. It was as if you were watching a teen rom com – attractive young somebody sees equally attractive young somebody across the crowded bar – except it was a pub in Preston on a Thursday night in the
middle of October 2007. We didn’t start dating until 2014, but since then we’ve never looked back.

Who proposed, when and where?
Dani: I proposed to Jenny. We were at Heathrow Airport, just about to fly out to Australia for our summer holiday. On the coach journey down, Jenny mentioned that she couldn’t wait for a glass of wine, and I thought “gotcha”! So I attached the ring to my keys and once we arrived, you can guess where I headed: to the bar! Jenny had to do one final errand for work, so I waited with the ring at the bottom of a glass of wine. When Jenny arrived, I kept asking, “How’s the wine?” But she didn’t seem to notice what was going on. After what seemed like forever, she noticed, and after five minutes of questioning, the penny dropped. This is whilst the pub was trying to kick us out, and the final call for our flight out had just been announced. Amongst the madness, she eventually said yes.

Did you have a theme for the wedding, and if so, why?
Jenny: No, we didn’t have a deliberate theme – we just wanted our families to be there. Inadvertently, the theme ended up being Easter, as my niece pointed out that it was one more sleep until Easter and she couldn’t wait for an Easter egg hunt! We love how five year olds think.

As two brides, did you have conﬂicting ideas on the wedding dresses?
Jenny: Not at all. We bought our wedding dresses from a shop that was closing down in Nottingham and it was the last day they were going to be open. Dani was away, so I rang her and asked if she wanted me to do a ‘lucky dip’ to pick out the dress. She wore that one on the day and looked beautiful.

Tell us about your ceremony. What made it special?
Jenny: I loved that Dani held my hands through the ceremony, and looked at me throughout; she made me feel like I was the only person in the room. Dani: We asked the registrar if she could ask our family to make a vow to love and support us throughout our life together. I thought that was pretty amazing and unique.

What wedding breakfast did you serve to your guests?
Jenny: We had leek and potato soup, roast gammon and Eton Mess.

Do you have any budget or top tips/advice for other brides-to-be?
Dani: We bought ribbons and pins to make our own wedding bouquets, flower girl bouquets and button holes. The dresses were a steal – we were lucky to find the shop. The dresses we wore on the day should have cost around £2,000, but we only paid £300. Also, my sister-in-law cooked for the 15 guests as our wedding present.

Where did you go for your honeymoon?
Jenny: We had a mini-moon: two nights in the Randolph Hotel, which was another wedding present from Dani’s aunt and uncle. We even got upgraded once we said we had just got married, and stayed in a beautiful suite overlooking the Ashmolean.