Toby and Suzie Kemp's Perfect Wedding

Where did your wedding take place, why did you choose that venue, and how big was your wedding party?

Our wedding took place on Saturday 16th April 2011 at Crewe Hall, a Jacobean mansion in Cheshire and an absolutely stunning venue. Crewe Hall was actually the first and only wedding venue we looked at – we fell in love with it at first sight!



We had 93 people at our wedding during the day, and around 150 in the evening. Crewe Hall has been converted into a hotel and the majority of our guests stayed the night at the hotel.



Did you have a theme for your wedding, and what sort of look and feel did you want to create?

As we got married in April we decided to have a spring themed wedding. We had green bridesmaid dresses and the ushers and page boys wore green ties. The groom, best man, ushers and my dad all wore grey suits from Moss Bros, and I had a couture wedding dress designed and made for me by Sarah Willard. As I am petite I didn’t want a big wedding dress, but something flowing and flattering to my figure.



We wanted a calm and peaceful look for our day, so had green bows on the chair covers, green apples as our name settings on the tables, and seasonal flowers of pinks, whites and greens for our bouquets, button holes and centrepieces. We had a sweet station set up for the evening reception where people could create their own pick and mix, and that was extremely popular!



Please tell us about the running order and format of your day, including details of any live music or entertainment.

The wedding began at 12.00 noon in the drawing room, where we were married by Adele Large, the Crewe Registrar. It was a very moving service and we had two readings by friends.



A string quartet played before, during and after the ceremony and created a lovely peaceful background.



We then had drinks in the hall of pillars and then moved outside to the garden terrace for photos and more drinks!
 


Our wedding breakfast was held in the long gallery, and after speeches we held a wedding raffle. Every guest had been given a golden ticket on their place setting and we drew five tickets, and each winner received a free bottle of champagne!



The evening reception was also held in the long gallery and we had a buffet in the library. To start off the evening reception we cut the cake, which was a three tiered wedding cake made by a family friend.



We then had our first dance which was “You Make It Real For Me” by James Morrison. This was a recording as the song came out the first summer we were together, and then Soul Education played for our evening entertainment.


 
Soul Education were absolutely brilliant! They sounded amazing and had our guests up and dancing. They played a mix of old and modern tunes with lots of brass and jazz notes.



How big an impact did live entertainment have on your wedding day and would you recommend it to others?

Without live entertainment our evening reception would not have been half as good. Some of our guests even had a dance-off to a Michael Jackson song! Everyone commented on how good Soul Education were, and it really gave our evening reception a focus. I would recommend that every bride and groom have live entertainment as a DJ does not give out the same vibe or create a party atmosphere.



What were your favourite moments of the day?

The wedding ceremony was my favourite part of the day. I’d promised myself that I wouldn’t cry, and yet when it was my turn to say my vows I cried! It took me a moment to recover and then I was able to continue! It’s such an emotional day, and until that moment I hadn’t even had much time to think about what I was saying, and then it suddenly hit me.



What pearls of wisdom or words of advice would you extend to future brides/grooms who are planning their perfect wedding?

Take a moment to really think about what you are doing - marrying the love of your life. It’s not just about who sits where, or if somebody’s forgotten something!



Toby and I made a point of sneaking out of our evening reception to have five minutes to ourselves. We went outside and sat together looking out over Crewe Hall. That is a memory I shall keep with me forever.