Eleanor And Jacob's Wedding Day

Thank you for all the good wishes on my last post. I've been wanting to sit down and share some photos with you but this week has been so hectic after the wedding. Eleanor and Jacob have now jetted off to the Dominican Republic on their honeymoon and I feel that I can finally sit down and catch my breath. I know you're all dying to see Eleanor's dress so we'll start off with a photo I took just as she'd got ready and was about to make her way to the ceremony.

Eleanor had a trial with a make up artist but in the end, she decided to do her own make up, but she did have her hairdresser come to the hotel to do her hair. 

Here she is again with her veil covering her face.

I took a total of three photos on my phone all day, so most of these photos are what other people took on their phones. They're not the best quality, I'm looking forward to getting the professional photos back but that won't be for a while yet.

We were so lucky with the weather, it had rained in the days leading up to the wedding but it stayed fine all day. It wasn't cold either, we were able to hold the drinks reception on the terrace after the ceremony. The whole wedding, ceremony, wedding breakfast and evening celebrations, were held in the hotel.

I think Eleanor made the right choice with her dress, she looked absolutely stunning. I was convinced she'd end up with the first dress she tried on, but the minute she tried on this one she knew it was the one for her. She did have the straps customised, they were originally wider but she had the seamstress nip them in and it actually made a huge difference, it gave the neckline a whole different look.

Eleanor liked the idea of her bridesmaids wearing different shades of blue and each dress a different style, I think it looked really lovely. Jacobs sisters are by the side of him, Eleanor's best friend who she's known since they started secondary school together is by her side and Jasmine is on the right.

The boys looked very smart. Mick on the left, then Daniel. Jacob's best man is by the side of Eleanor, then Jacob's sister's finace and Jacob's dad is on the right.

The flowers were beautiful. Eleanor said they were even better than she imagined. As well as the bouquets, we had arrangements throughout the hotel. The ceremony room was decked out.

I'm not sure what was going on here, I think Jacob was trying to tuck Eleanor's huge train in underneath her chair. You can see the beautiful flowers decorating the top table. There were candles in glass holders of varying heights further along the top table too.

Some of the guests tables had these tall arrangements with three pillar candles underneath which were stood on a mirror tray. It looks a bit bare but whoever took this photo has done so while the hotel was still setting up, the chairs aren't here yet.

Other guests tables had a smaller display, stood on a mirror with tealights around.

As most of you will know, both Eleanor and Jacob are biomedical scientists. Their favours were shots in test tubes, 'We've tied the knot now take a shot'. Their table names were named after scientists and a little information about each scientist was given underneath their name, well, Eleanor says every day is a school day. It also gives the link between each of the scientists to Eleanor and Jacob too. If you click on the photo it should enlarge enough for you to be able to read it.

And another of the table names.

And another. Don't worry, I won't go through them all.

The food was delicious. I was panicking about them choosing tomato and roasted red pepper soup with Eleanor wearing her wedding dress, but she tucked a napkin down her front and it's a good job she did as there were splashes of orange on it by the end of the first course.

Eleanor wanted a simple white cake with sharp edges with no other decoration than the roses. Each tier was a different flavour, top to bottom lemon, chocolate, vanilla and carrot.

The cutting of the cake took place at the evening reception.

I didn't expect them to cut it and start eating it though, haha.

It was such a wonderful day from start to finish. It may have been stressful organising it but I'd happily go through it all again if I could go through the day itself again too. I didn't expect to feel as emotional as I did, both Eleanor and I were setting each other off all day long, and many others shed tears too. It was lovely to hear so many people say that it was one of the best, if not the best, wedding they'd ever been to. Eleanor and Jacob were so relaxed and happy and Eleanor literally sparkled all day long, not just because her dress was shimmering but she was sparkling from within.

More guests were invited to the evening reception and everyone had such a great time, the dance floor was never empty. Eleanor and Jacob chose Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis for their first dance, the same as Mick and I had for our first dance. 

Many people had booked a room in the hotel and others were staying at a Premier Inn a short taxi ride away, so it all had a bit of a holiday feel to it. I think there will have been a few sore heads the morning after.

Eleanor and Jacob are away for a fortnight now. Their honeymoon was cancelled for the second time just a week before the wedding so this past week has been rather stressful to say the least, but they managed to book another, this time with a different company, so we're hoping everything goes to plan now. Mick drove them down to Heathrow, setting off at 11pm yesterday, he got home just before 7am so we're going to have a lazy day today.

Eleanor is now a Mrs, she's a wife, she has a husband, I'm a mother-in-law and I've got a son-in-law, it all feels rather surreal after two years in the planning.