We love hearing the proposal stories, the planning and all about the Big Day!
So we asked Michelle to share her story.
It’s safe to say that at the ripe old age of 43 I never thought my wedding day would be something that I am writing about, but it finally happened. My fiancé proposed to me a few days before my 40th birthday on a beautiful beach in St Ives, Cornwall, on one of the most beautiful days. It was perfect, the first place we visited for a weekend away with the most beautiful care and attention being put into the proposal.
We were set to marry in 2020, but the excitement got the better of us and we began searching for our perfect venue. It actually didn’t take us very long to agree that the Berry Head Hotel in Brixham had totally stolen our hearts. It was perfect for us, close to home for friends and family and truly beautiful, the staff were amazing and nothing was too much trouble, they were on hand whenever we had a question and helped us to truly envisage what our big day was going to be like. So after my fiancé telling me “we aren’t booking anything today (and no date actually in mind), we walked away having paid a deposit and finally had our date, August 17th 2019, a whole year off of what we had originally planned.
It was all becoming so real and my excitement was kicking in and taking over…what to plan next…it could only be The Dress for me, but where do I start? I don’t know what I want? I’m too fussy…nothing is going to look right…this is going to take me ages. I had a number of appointments booked at various places…nothing prepared me for walking into ‘The Bridal Box’ in Lucius Street Torquay. I instantly felt at home and couldn’t have been made to feel more welcome, an instant home away from home and a blossoming relationship began.
I was pretty much given free reign of the boutique whilst discreetly being watched in my thought processes. It was safe to say when I had selected the dresses that I was interested in there was a theme going on, with all of the dresses having elements of each other in them. This was exciting for me as I had walked in with no idea as to what I wanted, but it was soon clear that picking my dress wasn’t going to be as hard as I had imagined.
The first dress I stepped into…wow…my Ava…nothing prepared me for this amazing moment, I was overwhelmed and right there and then, without make-up, without my hair up, without accessories, I knew that I had found the one. That instant connection, the excitement, the feeling of knowing that this was going to be the dress that I marry my fiancé in, stepping out in front of my sister, daughter and friend nothing prepared me for that moment, the overwhelming sense of emotion, I will never forget that…the look in the eyes of my loved ones told me instantly that right then and there in that moment my decision was made. For a second I was brought back down to earth by the amazing ladies in The Bridal Box “let’s try on some more so you have some comparisons to make” a few curve balls thrown into place so that I was truly in the know, and that I wasn’t choosing too early or being too hasty. I think I tried on another four or five dresses, in all fairness, it could’ve been more…but however beautiful each and every dress was my instant connection was with Ava and I knew she was the one. I stepped back into her, shoes on, hair up (which was amazingly put up by the ladies), veil on…and in that one magical moment I was a Bride. Tears all round, happiness, joy, relief, I was committed. With this in mind I had another appointment the following day, at another boutique, I knew it was a pointless exercise, however, I’m not one to let people down so I attended, assuring the ladies at The Bridal Box that I would be back for Ava, I made another appointment there and then for the following day.
My next appointment at the alternative boutique was very routine, my feelings were not the same and in that moment my decision was confirmed…Ava was the one for me. The same afternoon I arrived back at The Bridal Box, this time with my Mum and Mother in law to be. I stepped back into Ava, hair in place, veil, shoes and stepped out from behind the curtain, the reaction again was overwhelming and once again confirmed my decision, everyone loved Ava like I did. Dress done ❤️! My experience with The Bridal Box could not have been topped, the open invitation to visit whenever I needed reassurance or reminding of what my dress looked like, the feeling of being part of a family, the personal touches that were added to each and every visit…were all truly amazing.
Helen, love her, couldn’t have been more patient with me during the year of fittings etc, I would have the most monumental meltdowns in my own head about my dress not fitting, about putting on weight and every time I turned to Helen for support with these feelings. She was an absolute God send to me, reassuring me, calming me, measuring me 😍 for the umpteenth time, I will be forever grateful for her listening ear and amazing patience.
My advice to any new brides would be to truly enjoy every single moment of your planning, including, choosing your venue, flowers, photographer, make-up artist, hair dresser and DJ. I treasure my every moment and wouldn’t change a thing…be confident in your choices and simply go with your heart, because believe me your heart never lies. Don’t get swept up in what others want for you, listen to advice but believe in yourself, I did and I was so proud watching everything come together, and I can say with the upmost confidence that my day was perfect from beginning to end.
