Elinor and Tod's Shrewsbury Registry Office Micro-Wedding and Home Reception

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Mr + Mrs Thrivilas 

 08.08.2020 │ Guests: 5 at the ceremony; 25 at home 

Instagram: @mrs_thrivilas │ Photos:Jessica Stott Photography 

For Day 3 of Microwedding Week we are sharing Elinor and Tod, who got married at their local registry office and celebrated with a DIY wedding reception in their garden. The bride wore a beautiful Essense of Australia gown and iconic blue Manolo Blahnik shoes, inspired by Carrie Bradshaw. The bride and groom's family and friends came together to make their day extra special, Elinor tells us all about it...

What was your favourite part of the day?  

I honestly can’t choose one part. I am one of those people who enjoy getting ready for a night-out more than the actual night out. Getting ready with my best friends, laughing together, enjoying a glass of prosecco, these are my favourite memories from University and definitely one of my favourite moments from the wedding. Tod and I also decided to take our dogs for a walk in one of our local fields for some photos with our photographer. It was the perfect time to chill together and have time for just us. The memories and photos are definitely something I will cherish forever.  

  • Something Old: The diamonds from my engagement ring. They were from my Nanna’s engagement ring.  
  • Something New: A Clogau Gold bracelet from my Mum. 
  • Something Borrowed: A lucky horse shoe on my bouquet.  
  • Something Blue: My Manolo Blahnik Hangisi shoes.
What was the most emotional moment of the day? 

My cousin was supposed to play “Beauty and the Beast” on the piano as I walked down the aisle, but because we had to change our original wedding plans due to Covid, we were unable to do this. However, on the morning of the wedding, my cousin sent me a voice message of her playing “Beauty and the Beast” on the piano and I just looked at my Dad and Step Mum and started crying. It suddenly felt very real, that I was getting married. 

Wedding must-have: Your friends and family. 

Having Coronavirus ruin your wedding plans really makes you appreciate what is important. Our wedding was nothing like we originally planned, but it was the most amazing day, because it was filled with the people who are important to us. Those people really made it special. There were a lot of elements that Tod and I did not want to do as we felt there was no point, because it was not a “proper wedding”. But our friends did not take no for an answer and I cannot explain how much I love and appreciate them for that. We did not want to do our first dance. So, they created a circle out of lanterns and played I see Fire (the song we were going to have our first dance to) and made us. We also didn’t want to cut the cake. But again, my friend did not take no for an answer. She got her mum to make us a wedding cake, complete with a personalized topper, and made us cut the cake and they are honestly some of my favourite photos from the day.  

What was your favourite wedding planning moment?

I have honestly enjoyed planning most of the wedding, working together as a team to try and create our perfect day. I am incredibly excited to do it all again, to plan our vow renewal for 3 years.  

Tell us about the ceremony...  

We had our ceremony at our local registry office. We were supposed to have it at a registry office at the Llyn Peninsula, near Tod’s family holiday home as that is where he took me for our first date and asked me to be his girlfriend. It is also where he proposed. My best friend wrote something for her to read and Tod’s friend was going to read “The Giraffe and the Monkey” by Daniel Thomson. But, Covid-19 obviously had other ideas. Instead, we had a very small ceremony with our parents and my Gran, who had to wear facemasks as the guidance was introduced on our wedding day.  

Song you walked down the aisle to: Beauty and the Beast. I love Disney, especially Beauty and the Beast. Whenever I am upset, unable to sleep, worried, anxious, Tod will always put Beauty and the Beast on and it instantly makes me happier.  

Advice for future brides… 

All the little things that you worry and stress about won’t matter on the day. Tod loves Peaky Blinders. So for his wedding present, I bought him a pocket watch for him to wear. I was going to surprise him with it after our “First Meet”, but I completely forgot! It wasn’t until later on in the day when we were in the car, on the way back from the registry office, that Tod asked what his present was.  

Tell us all about the dress...

I honestly found dress shopping a really stressful experience. It is incredibly important to find the right bridal shop for you. I always knew I wanted a simple, classic, tight fitted dress with a high neckline. The second bridal shop I went into was a horrendous experience. I told them what I liked and they completely disregarded my opinions and put me in dresses two sizes too small for me and said that the style I was looking for does not and will not suit me. It completely knocked my confidence. I then went to another bridal store with my Mum (they have recently gone into administration so I am unable to tag them) and explained the kind of dress I was looking for and she pulled my dress straight away and I fell in love. I honestly can’t thank the lady enough for listening to me and for building my confidence back up.   

Did you make any Wedding DIYs? 

I think (with the help of Tod’s Dad) we made most things for our wedding. Tod’s Dad has a screen printing business, so together we made and designed our wedding invitations. He is also incredible at creating items out of wood. So he made lots of wooden crates for us to display things on and our sweet stand. Using Canva, I designed our Welcome Sign and wedding posters that we put around our house. I also found and purchased a wooden arch from Facebook which I decorated with flowers from Country Baskets. We also made our wedding favors using honey from my Father in Law’s bees. 

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 Tell us about the food...

For our evening meal, my incredible bridesmaids set up a grazing table full of our favourite foods whilst we were at the registry office. It contained lots of chocolate, cheese, meats and bread. We also had a s’more station next to our fire pit.  

What was your favourite wedding purchase? 

My wedding shoes were definitely my favourite purchase. When I was young, I used to sneak downstairs and hide behind the sofa to watch Sex and the City with my mum when I should have been asleep in bed. When I first saw the shoes on Sex and the City I fell in love. Since then, I have wanted them. When I started to plan the wedding, I knew that I wanted these shoes for my wedding shoes but they were too expensive, so I looked into ways to DIY some similar ones. Then one night, I looked on eBay to see if anybody was selling some and I saw the exact shoes I wanted, in my size, worn once, for a quarter of the price, it was too good to be true.  

What was the worst wedding planning moment?

Trying to plan a wedding in the middle of a global pandemic, whilst also working (we are both Key Workers, I’m a Reception Teacher) and not knowing what you are able to do has got to be the hardest thing about planning the wedding. It was incredibly hard to decipher what was legal, what was illegal and what was against guidance. I spent many hours and days messaging our local MP trying to find out whether we were allowed to do certain elements of our wedding (especially as Boris, a week before our wedding, said you were no longer allowed to have formal wedding receptions).  

Favourite wedding supplier: We love all of our wedding suppliers and they were all incredible at moving our bookings to another date, but our wedding band “The Pedal Tones” have gone above and beyond for us. They recorded recordings of them playing our favourite tracks for us to play at our wedding.  

Tell us about your Honeymoon...

Tod and I booked a last minute trip to Paris for the Monday after our wedding. I have always wanted to go and we thought now would be the perfect opportunity (especially as it was not on the quarantine list). We booked a small apartment with a balcony, where we sat most mornings, eating our breakfast. Tod’s Auntie and family also live in Paris. So we were lucky enough to have our own personal tour guides take us around Paris. It was extra special as Tod had not seen his Auntie for 14 years. 

Funniest moment of the day: Just before we went into the room to get married, we had our interview with the registrars. During the interview the registrars explicitly told us to not say “I will” until a certain point. However, Tod, obviously didn’t listen (shock) and said “I will” at the completely wrong moment. The registrars and I instantly looked at each other and burst out laughing.  
First Dance: I See Fire by Ed Sheeran. Tod doesn’t really listen to music, but he is obsessed with Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. After a couple of weeks of Tod and I getting together, he went to France to do a ski season. When he was away I constantly watched the films as it made me feel closer to him. “I see fire” is one of the only songs Tod actually likes and it is bizarrely our song.  

Venue: Shrewsbury Registry Office + Home

Photographer: Jessica Stott Photography 

Stationery: Canva 

Florist: Soilandfleurs  

Hair: Mirrors Hair Design 

Dress: Essense of Australia 

Shoes: Manolo Blahnik 

Bridesmaids Dresses: Mori Lee 

Suits: Next 

Rings: Woodingsandco + Furrer Jacot 

Band: The Pedal Tones 

From Brides, With Love xo 

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