Joe and Katie share their story of romance, a surprise proprosal and rounded off by their perfect wedding day at Rothamstead Manor!

So, how did you meet?

It’s an-ever-so romantic story! We met in a nightclub called Chicago’s on a cold December’s night when Katie was back from University. Katie accidentally “spilled” her drink all over Joe (and as the gentleman he is, he proceeded to buy her another drink and every drink since). We were inseparable the whole evening. We quickly started seeing each other, with Joe visiting Katie at University and spending the holidays together. And the rest is history, as they say…

When did you know you were in love?

I’m not sure we believe in ‘love at first sight’ but after we met, we knew this was going to be something special. When you know, you know! We first said those magic three words in the city of love, Venice. It was our first trip away and so many amazing memories were made in Venice. Albeit, Joe quickly learnt the art of taking photos of an acceptable standard and saying yes to ‘just one more photo’ haha!

How did you propose?

In what was rated as the 5th most romantic restaurant in the world, One if by land, Two if by sea, in New York City, on New Year’s Eve. It was magical. We had planned this trip for late December 2020 but were unable to go due to the pandemic and travelling restrictions. We rescheduled our trip for late December 2021 and Joe surprised Katie in New York (even buying the ring out there😅). Following the proposal, we danced the night away in a club in Times Square.

Three things you love about your partner…

Joe: his gorgeous eyes, his humour and his patience.

Katie: her kindness, her bubbly personality and her lips.

What were your first steps for planning your wedding?

Finding the most perfect venue, asking the bride squad to be my bridesmaids and choosing our top 5 suppliers. It was crucial to us to ensure the venue and important suppliers we wanted had availability.

Did your wedding go how you expected it to? Were you happy with the outcome?

Our wedding was perfect. Yes, a few things did not go to plan including my father not having his gift of cufflinks during our walk down the aisle and Joe not receiving his wedding gift until the afternoon. However, these were minor inconveniences and did not affect our day. We absolutely loved our wedding day and just want to do it all over again! It was meticulously planned, everything came together as we hoped and our guests thoroughly enjoyed themselves. It was the best day of our lives!

What was your favourite moment of the day?

Our favourite moment of the day was saying our vows in the church that Katie’s parents got married in, approximately 30 years earlier. Our wedding ceremony was incredibly special and personal to us. We were also very lucky just after the ceremony to have a private moment to ourselves enjoying a little glass of champagne before heading to Rothamsted Manor and continuing our celebrations with our lovely wedding guests.

Why did you choose me to photograph your wedding?

From the moment we met Patrick at a local wedding fair, we just knew we had to have him as our wedding photographer. He was so friendly, had such a great vibe and his photography examples were absolutely stunning! You could really see how he captured the most beautiful moments throughout the day with candid shots, formal shots and he has the ability to create the most perfect ‘picture’ of a day. His communication and meetings to discuss our day and what we wanted was super helpful and informed our decision to hire Patrick as our photographer.

Tell me about your album.

Exceptional, that’s how we would describe Patrick’s photography and our resultant wedding album. Our wedding album is simply stunning! From the material used, to the layout, to the personalisation, we couldn’t have asked for anything more. We really enjoyed the process and were very happy that we could include some black and white formatted photos into our album. Our wedding album will be an everlasting memory and we will enjoy reminiscing over our day in many years to come, most likely over a cup of coffee or glass of wine. It is a joy to have a physical wedding album rather than all our photos being on a screen.

Anything you would have done differently?

No.

Advice you would share for planning a wedding?

Ensure you book your suppliers early, especially the most important ones! Make it fun for you and your guests, you want to be having the time of your lives and you only have one wedding🤞!

Although it can be difficult to escape the politics, try and ensure every decision you make is what you want, authentic, and personal to you both.

Finally, ensure that you carve into your schedule time for just you and your partner on the day itself, to have a moment to breathe and celebrate.

Any other wedding suppliers you would like to mention?