WHY DID YOU CHOOSE CLEVEDON HALL?

After deciding to have our wedding in England, we scheduled a week long tour of venues with our families all over the South West of the country. We saw many beautiful venues but come the end of the week, we still had not found that perfect fit. Luckily, we had a feeling we had saved the best for last. Walking into Clevedon Hall took our breath away.

The timeless elegance was exactly the style for which we were looking and for the first time, we were seeing a venue in which we could truly envision ourselves getting married. We knew our over seas guests would be more than comfortable and there was enough bedrooms to fit our families and wedding party.

What was the biggest draw, though, was how personally Clevedon could cater to us and how safe we felt in everyone's hands. From our initial Zoom with Lauren, it was clear the staff at Clevedon could truly create our dream wedding and were more than willing to help us execute all of our unique ideas.

Furthermore, we knew we could trust them to help us while we were on a ship contract in Australia for the months leading up to the wedding. Everyone was more than willing to go above and beyond.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAVOURITE, MOST SPECIAL MEMORY FROM YOUR DAY …

There were so many beautiful moments from start to finish. Nothing could be dreamier than starting the day with my bridesmaids and mom in the bridal suite. The gorgeous space and natural light made the perfect getting ready back drop. We had a string of romantic comedy movies on the television accompanied with my handcrafted playlist and it was such a special time with my girls.

The moment we were both most looking forward to was of course the ceremony in The Great Hall and it did not disappoint. Although I was slightly worried about tripping down the stairs, we both could not wait for the moment I walked down the grand staircase and aisle. We did not do a first look, so this was the first time we got to see each other. It could not have been more perfect. Although we were so excited to see each other, I am afraid I may have run down the aisle.

Working abroad, we did not have the opportunity to sample our menu options before the day and we were so excited to finally try the food. As many warned, neither of us had much of an appetite, however. But when that salted caramel brownie came out, we were both suddenly STARVING. Nothing could have tasted so good and it was the culinary high point of the day!

We loved getting to thank so many of our family members in our joint speech. But the most special shout out for me was getting to say thank you to my (the bride's) 94-year-old grandmother. She made the journey from Ohio and her strength and love is never failing.

As performers, we had to do something a bit fun for the reception and take advantage of our talented friends. The solution: aDisney karaoke competition where we had our friends fighting for the mic. It became the most fun sing-along and dance party.

DID ANY TRADITIONS FORM PARTS OF YOUR DAY?

We loved getting to blend the perfect mix of American and English traditions for our wedding day. Our favourite two traditions we incorporated was our Celtic ring warming and Cookie Table.

For our ceremony, we decided to use the Irish tradition of ring warming. Our rings were passed around the guests for them to infuse their good wishes into them, essentially warming them with their love. This was made all the more beautiful with Max's cousin singing "I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz as the rings were passed.

For the reception, we knew from the start we wanted to have a Youngstown, Ohio inspired Cookie Table. The tradition of the wedding cookie table originated in the immigrant communities of eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Although begun as a measure of frugality during the Great Depression, the Youngstown cookie table stands as a testament to an abundance of love and generosity. Family and friends bake cookies for wedding guests to enjoy during the reception and to take home with them. For our Cookie Table, we utilized the delicious talents of Big Bakes Bakery. They were the perfect treat to keep everyone moving on the dance floor.

TELL US ABOUT THE STYLING OF YOUR DAY E.G. FLOWERS, COLOURS …

Overall, we wanted our wedding to feel elegant, timeless, and romantic. We took inspiration from romantic, historical English sources like Pride and Prejudice and Bridgerton. We knew early on our wedding colours should be colours that felt like us. So it was very easy to land on pink for the bride and green for the groom.

Luckily Clevedon Hall is such a stunning venue, we felt we we had to do little to enhance it's natural beauty.

The Flower Shop Bristol styled and supplied the perfectly simple but impactful flower arrangements in order to achieve this. We used roses in honor of the bride's name and for their romantic sensibilities. The Library, in which we had our wedding meal, was another great source of inspiration. We sourced stacks of old books for our center pieces and had each table named for a great American or English writer. We were also very lucky that the bride's sister is a graphic designer and could help us execute many of our design elements.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR OUTFIT CHOICES AND WHAT INSPIRED THEM …

Similar to our décor, we wanted our wedding day attire to be elegant, timeless, and romantic. A perfect blend of our personal style and the grandness of Clevedon Hall.

Max wanted a special suit and something unique for the occasion. He decided on a green suit as a slight nod to his many days playing Peter Pan for Disney Cruise Line. He chose a crisp black bow tie to enhance the look's formality and to tie in to his groomsmen's black suits. His suit was custom made by Zebel and had a special embroidery of the date on the inside in pink for the bride.

As a professional dancer and a performer for a very magical cruise line, I have worn my fair share of beautiful dresses. So the only way I knew for my wedding dress to stand out from these beautiful pieces was for it to be the most ME it could possibly be. I wanted it to be classic with a twist. Sweet and vintage inspired with a wow element. When I tried on the Justin Alexander Cybill gown, I knew it was the one. It was a timeless, classic silhouette and fabric that could have worked for the most royal of princesses. But the high neck gave it that flirty, sweet element that was perfectly my style. Oh, and a huge Bow of course.

DO YOU HAVE ANY WORDS OF WISDOM FOR FUTURE COUPLES?

Our biggest piece of advice would be something that was given to us before our wedding day: Do not leave each other's sides. Everyone is there to celebrate your love together so let them see it! It also gives you the opportunity to truly enjoy the day together.

From a practical stand point, try to stay as organized as possible. In moments of stress, being organized gave me the most peace of mind. It made us feel more in control in the lead up to the big day.

FINAL COMMENTS FROM THE HAPPY COUPLE …

With so many people traveling from abroad, we wanted to make the most of everyone being together.

The fact that Clevedon gave us the opportunity to host a three day event gave us so much special time with our guests. It also allowed us to do even more fun things that were uniquely us!

The Great Hall was the perfect setting for our screening of About Time on night one. We loved the idea of having a movie night and it was truly the perfect kick off to our wedding! Everyone snuggled in and enjoyed the movie, popcorn, and candy floss. On the final day, we were able to host a Games Day extravaganza featuring a round of Mr. and Mrs. and some special music trivia.

We finished our time together with the most beautiful roast dinner. Getting to have this amount of time with our family and friends was what truly made it the wedding of our dreams.