It’s that time of the year where we aren’t so busy and we both go through the weddings we’ve covered over the Summer. We update our website photos and remind ourselves what fun we’ve had! As we came across Anna and Jonny’s day, we both broke out in smiles which continued until the end of the album, and had to share with you all! Here’s a Milsoms Kesgrave Hall wedding.

Anna was kind enough to answer some questions about their day too, so that might be helpful to anyone planning a Suffolk wedding.

Tell us a little about yourselves.

 ‘I am an Account Manager at a Marketing Agency in Cambridge and Jonny is a Business Development exec for a research company – very different fields indeed! We really enjoy going to new and exciting places together and eating lots of food together (this did have to be limited before the wedding to make sure I could fit into my dress!)’

How did you meet?

 ‘We met through mutual friends over 10 years ago now when i was only just 15! Needless to say my Dad was not a fan of my 18 year old new boyfriend… Luckily for me, it was meant to last forever and here we are.’

Tell us about your proposal

‘We went on holiday with my family and two of our best friends. I had given up on any hope of getting engaged after over 6 months of nagging so had no idea at all. Jonny insisted on taking a disgusting PE bag out with him for dinner (which I now know contained the ring), which I was not impressed with and proceeded to drink every single alcoholic beverage in sight! On the way back to the villa, he asked me to take a picture on the beach and got down on one knee. When we got back to the villa my parents had brought every bottle of Moet that Lanzarote had to offer and had decorated with banners and balloons – it was the most amazing evening and one I will never forget! ‘

What was your vision for your wedding day?  

 ‘I just wanted to have fun and enjoy every second. Jonny and I are very family and friend orientated – our house is never quiet and we have an incredibly close group of friends. We wanted everyone we love to be part of our day and to celebrate with us.’

When did you start planning your wedding and how long did the planning process take?

‘ We got engaged in June 2017 and by August 2017, we had our date and venue booked! The planning process for me was incredibly enjoyable as organisation is one of my best traits but it got harder the closer we got to the wedding. All in all, we planned our wedding in around a year.’

We know you’re a great planner and organiser, how did the process go for your big day?

 ‘We booked our venue first. This was the bit I wanted to get right! We had our wedding in my family church which was the only bit I was certain about. My mum and dad were married at this church and my Grandad is buried there, making it very special to me and my family. From here, we looked at venues within a 20 mile radius. After looking at around five, we fell in love with Kesgrave and booked almost there and then. We wanted a venue that would accommodate lots of guests and being able to book out the whole hotel really helped to achieve this. We also wanted a Suffolk wedding venue with ample space indoors and out and a Milsoms Kesgrave Hall wedding really delivered on this. The accommodation was also beautiful which was a huge selling point, not to mention the grounds!’

’As for the other bits and bobs, I found this easier and used recommendation for lots of things. My key areas to get right were photography (which we got SO RIGHT with Lisa and Neil), videography and the flowers. I was over the moon with all my choices on the day! ‘

How did dress and suit shopping go?

 Luckily for me, I found the dress of my dreams in the first shop I visited! I didn’t want to take it off and brought it there and then! It was also incredibly lucky that a family friend owned the shop so I received a 5* experience throughout.

 I went with Jonny at first to get a feel for style and colour. He then went back with his Groomsmen and the Dads to decide on the final suit. (I did change the colour of the cravats the week before the wedding but that’s another story!!)

What was your most memorable moment of the wedding?

 ‘The most memorable part for me was walking down the aisle with my Dad. I felt every emotion on that walk and will never ever forget it.
The speeches were incredible and so funny. I was the butt of most of the jokes which made it even funnier, but they could not have done a better job. I was so proud of all three of them!’

How did you style your wedding?

 I wanted my Milsoms Kesgrave Hall wedding to be very classic and simple. We went for white Roses and greenery for our floral arrangements with a beautiful pop of purple in the Roses. Our flowers were done by Sophie at Kings and they were absolutely beautiful. I filled my house with them after the wedding and they last well over a week. We used dreamwaves DJ for our music – Spike, our DJ, was fantastic and we would definitely recommend him!

What made you cry?

 ‘Seeing my Dad for the first time when I was wearing my dress! I held it together as I didn’t want my expensive make up to run off my face but the whole getting ready procedure was very emotional. My Mum gave me her wedding ring as my something borrowed and this was also a really emotional moment.  The bit that made me cry the most was the first dance. During the chorus, our best friends (bridesmaids and groomsmen – we had 14!!!) joined us on the dance floor and I don’t think there was a dry eye in sight.’

What’s your favourite photo from your wedding day and why?

‘ I absolutely love the ones Lisa and Neil took of us in the field. Although my heels were sinking and my veil kept falling off, they are absolutely stunning. If I’m honest, I love every single one of our photos. Lisa and Neil are incredible photographers and were able to tell the story of our Milsoms Kesgrave Hall wedding day perfectly. We got married over 3 months ago now and I have probably looked at our photos on a daily basis!

 I couldn’t have wished for better photographers!’

If you could plan and redo your wedding again, is there anything you would do differently?

 ‘I would worry less about the small details. I spent a lot of time worrying that I didn’t have enough decorations or the room was going to look empty. On the day, it was completely perfect and I don’t know why I worried.’

Any advice for other couples?

1. Enjoy every second of your day as it goes so quickly
2. Step back and look around you at least once and take it all in
3. Don’t worry about anything – that’s what bridesmaids are for!
4. Don’t waste a lot of money on the cake as no one really eats in – we did ours ourselves

Remember to have as much fun as possible!

Credit where credit is due

Kings the florist- Flowers

Milsoms weddings – Venue

Hadley Butler – Videography

Dreamwaves events – DJs – Music

“Lisa and Neil are an absolute pleasure to be around and most importantly, produce the most amazing wedding photos. We loved them from our first meeting and knew that they would produce fantastic photos. As people who don’t like too many posed shots, their portfolio showed how creative they were and how beautiful their images could be. On the day, they were wonderful and all our guests loved them. They are fun but very professional and get the job down quickly and very well! We are totally in love with our photos and couldn’t be happier. Thank you so much to Lisa and Neil! We would recommend them 100 times over!”

— Anna and Jonny’s review on google.

If you’re planning a Suffolk wedding, give us a shout, we’d love to hear from you.