Sentiments, Suppliers, and Sustainability
Lovebirds and party planners, this is for you… Our very own wedding and events Manager, Staci Williams, the genius behind all those swoon-worthy weddings and events, just tied the knot herself at none other than our own hotel. We couldn’t resist finding out all of her top-notch tips to make your special day an absolute fairytale. So, grab a cosy spot and get ready to dive into the first part of this wedding extravaganza – and yes, there’s a part two coming soon.
“Being in the wedding industry for over a decade, I had always dreamt of my own wedding day. Finally, the day arrived, and it was nothing short of surreal – a whirlwind of emotion, excitement, and elation that left me feeling overwhelmed in the best way possible. As my career had been centered around weddings, I had accumulated countless ideas and thoughts, and seeing them come together was an absolute joy. So, enjoy reading about my real wedding experience” – Staci Williams
Photographer – TH Photography
Cherishing Sentimental Moments
“Creating lasting memories was at the heart of my wedding planning. From thoughtful gifts to the groomsmen and bridesmaids, to incorporating meaningful elements into every aspect of the day, I ensured that every detail reflected our personalities and passions. I did this in numerous ways with gifts to the groomsmen of cufflinks and to my bridesmaids on the morning of a beautiful box filled with earrings, champagne and named flute with straw to keep the lipstick in place, a thank you card and the embroidered ribbon (I sat and made with our date in roman numerals and each name) for the bouquet tie.
These were wonderfully reciprocated with gifts to me on the day that were from each of them as my something old (three lockets with photos inside of loved ones), something new (personalised Mrs bag with my new initials on), something borrowed (a lucky horseshoe in my bouquet), something true (a personalised poem with dance references), something blue (a bracelet with a blue diamond inside – along with a blue themed wedding including bridesmaid dresses) and a silver sixpence for my shoe (from my sister who had the sixpence from the year both my parents were born).
Other sentiments we had on the day were a small ceramic shoe gifted by my Nannie Ivy that was on her wedding cake, that we had sat on the side of our cake too. Followed by speeches that were personal to us and to raise a toast to absent friends. One of my favourite places is the confetti fields in wick, I go every year (and drag Adam along with me) Last year (2022) we went along and picked our own delphiniums to create the confetti for the wedding day that we had in some top hats for our guests to use- note to self, there was far too much.”
Photographer – TH Photography
Music and Dance: A Joyful Celebration
“Music and dance has been a huge part of my life to date and to find ways to tie this in was a fun challenge. The church allowed us to play music during the ceremony where I could have six thoughtful songs at the opportune moments from our entrance to signing the register and the recession out of the church. We had some instrumental musical songs and the Bridgerton soundtrack during the drinks reception with outdoor speakers to set the scene and then our first dance performed by the band to Ed Sheeran’s perfect as this is also what Adam proposed to me with.
I had arranged with my dance teacher of 20 something years to help create a father-daughter dance for us as I knew this is something that would mean a lot to my dad with the rehearsals and on the day itself. We performed a short routine to ‘Daddy’s little girl’ by the Shires and finished this off with the handshake from the parent trap as a little nod to nostalgia of my favourite film growing up and enjoyed together also with my new stepson…not that he would admit it.”
A Sustainable Celebration
“In line with our values, we aimed to reduce waste and promote sustainability throughout our wedding. We incorporated eco-friendly practices, opting for reusable and repurposed items and minimizing single-use plastics. Our focus on sustainability added an extra layer of meaning to our celebration. “
A big narrative for us at Brockencote at the moment is sustainability and so with this in mind, I tried to keep waste to a minimum so no single use plastics, repurposing all signage and no paper on the tables. Instead the table names had our menu on the reverse and I embroidered every guest napkin with their names as a place setting and favour too.
Photographer – TH Photography
Stay tuned for part two, where we’ll dish out all the juicy details about those fantastic wedding suppliers and the mouth-watering delights that graced Staci’s own special day. Happy planning, and we’ll see you soon for the epic conclusion.
Click here for part two!
Click here to enquire about Brockencote Hall Hotel as your future wedding venue.
