Mr + Mrs DeBonis
5th August 2020│Colehayes park, Newton Abbot
Instagram: @sasanffa + @tenaciousdouble_d │ Photos: Simon and Kiana Photography
Tell us all about your wedding theme...
As far as colour scheme went, I asked my bridesmaids to choose dresses to suit them from a pink/mauve/grey/peach pastel tones. I think they all did very well at envisaging my idea. Flowers wise it was much the same but with a few darks thrown in and plenty of foliage. We decorated the venue with lots of paper lanterns, garlands, flowers and handmade paper decorations, not to mention endless amounts of ribbon.
- Something Old: A ring that my mum bought for me, it’s a horseshoe which makes me think of my Nan (who died when I was 8) who always said ‘it’s better to be born lucky than rich’ I also recited this as past of my vows.
- Something New: A bracelet that I bought for myself just before the wedding called the ‘shackle bracelet’ I thought it appropriate as it put me in mind of ‘ball & chain’
- Something Borrowed: my daughters socks
- Something Blue: plugs (for my stretched ears)
What was your favourite wedding purchase?
Definitely my flowers. A friend did them for me. She is an incredible florist, I gave her a basic colour scheme and let her do her thing. The flower crowns were key in my aesthetic. I think she did a beautiful job of incorporating incredible roses (Samantha bridal bouquet) with wild flowers and foliage cut from her garden. Eucalyptus was my only necessity when it came to the flowers to pay homage to my Australian family who couldn’t be there.
Were there any surprises on the day?
Mother of the bride (Dawn Filler) gave Samantha a gift, a praying hands pendant from the great frog.
Tell us about your wedding favours...
We decided not to have and wedding favours, because all of the guests were invited to stay with us at the venue for the week although in the gift bags for my bridesmaids was a glass with a hamsa hand on it, which I thought highly appropriate. A necklace with different crystals, appropriate for the individual and a handmade voodoo doll.
Tell us about the ceremony...
We had a celebrant perform our ceremony in the gardens at Colehayes Park. It was in an incredibly intimate ceremony and we were very fortunate, the sun shone for us during the ceremony.
What was your favourite part of the day?
The ceremony was my favourite part of the day although, I have to say, that was also the part that I was most nervous about. I’m not very good at being the centre of attention and hate public speaking, that and the fact that we’d written our own, very personal, vows made me feel extremely worried. My son walked me down the aisle as my Dad had decided not to attend, my best friend was the celebrant for the day and I was surrounded my the most supportive friends and family. Perfect day.
What was the most emotional moment of the day?
The ceremony was beyond a shadow of a doubt the most emotional part of the day, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place once we’d said our vows to each other, in fact, I cried the whole way through mine and had to ask our guests to bear with me on several occasions for me to try and gather myself in order to carry on. My daughter, India, was prepared to jump in and help me out with some of the words should I be unable but I powered on through and I’m glad I was able to say what I felt in front of our beloved friends.
- Bridal Entrance: Marry Me - Train. What could be more appropriate?
- Bridal Exit: Josh Garrels - Heavens Knife
- First Dance: Paramore - The only exception
How did you choose your venue?
After I proposed to Dominic we started looking around the area at venues but we couldn’t find anything that suited. A work colleague told me about a wedding that she had attended a few years previous at Colehayes Park. I immediately arranged a viewing for the following evening. When we saw the house and grounds we were sold! It was exactly what we were looking for.
Did you make any Wedding DIYs?
Most of the wedding was DIY. We were fortunate enough to have a wonderful venue that allowed us to do as much or as little as we wanted. Which, in the current climate was ideal as that allowed us to be able to go ahead with our wedding. When we initially booked Colehayes park it was with the idea of being able to put up our overseas family as the venue sleeps 70 people. So, essentially the whole wedding was DIY from the food to the planning to the decorations.
Wedding must-have: Cliched as it may sound my wedding must have was incredible friends and family who all pulled together for our wonderful wedding day/week and made it the most magical time of our lives.
Is there anything you wish you'd done differently?
Although, obviously, not everyone was able to attend due to Covid-19, no. Nothing.
Did you have have anything unusual at your wedding?
Hand sanitizer, one way systems in the house, risk assessments….. the list goes on. Our who’s who guide of guests went down very well and was described as unique and very fun.
Tell us about the food...
Being both vegan and many of our guests having dietary requirements our food was mostly plant based and gluten free although we did provide meat and dairy options. Our food was freshly prepared and served by guests.
Tell us about your wedding cake...
We had two cakes, both vegan of course! One was Victoria sponge with fresh strawberries, the other was lemon and pistachio with fresh raspberries both decorated semi naked with dark chocolate drips and plethora of edible flowers.
Tell us all about the dress…
The dress was bought from eBay, like a lot of other things I own, it was new with tags and clearly had never been worn. I have expensive taste in many ways (mostly jewellery, tattoos and shoes) but I was quite aware that the dress would only be worn once so I was looking for something reasonably priced and simple as, being tattoed and with dreads, I didn’t want anything too busy. Unfortunately, although the dress was the right size on paper it didn’t fit when it arrived so I was forced to wait until businesses reopened to have it taken in, fortunately 2 days before the wedding it finally fit!
Tell us about your Honeymoon...
We got married on the Wednesday but stayed at Colehayes Park from Monday-Friday, so, on the Friday morning, before we woke the children we walked down to the lake and sat on the bench swing surrounded by ducks in the glorious sunshine. This was our honeymoon.
What was your wedding budget – and did you stick to it?
£8,000. We came in under budget because we couldn’t have our wedding band and food & drink were less than anticipated due to number of guests.
Best wedding planning moment: I think this has to be writing our who’s who wedding guest guide. We thought it would be a good ice breaker to give a brief description of each guest attending to help get people who don’t know each other talking.
Worst wedding planning moment: Getting married in the middle of a global pandemic!
What was your first dance song?
Only Exception by Paramore because he is the only exception. We didn’t practice it although it was originally the intention for the eldest 2 children to play/sing it but singing wasn’t allowed at the time so we just had it playing over the PA.
Venue: Colehayes park, Newton Abbot
Photographer: Simon and Kiana photography
Stationery: DIY
Florist: Guest
Cake: Fig & Fern bakery
Décor: DIY
Dress: Ebay
Shoes: Vans old skool
Suits: Next
Rings: The Great Frog
Celebrant: Friend of the family
Singer: Taylor Topham
From Brides, With Love xo
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