Our gorgeous Homemade Bride Kate Petersen married her lovely husband Sean on the 20th of December in Tortworth Court Hotel in South Gloucestershire. Having worked in the wedding industry for many years, Kate was bound to plan an epic wedding and hers doesn’t disappoint. With beautiful images from Cwtch creator Maria Farrelly here is Kate to tell us about their big day.
What was your budget? The budget was a bit blurry. Being in the wedding business I was able to do a couple of contra deals that kept costs down. I honestly called in every favour that I could.
How would you describe your wedding theme? Our theme was a country winter wedding with the touch of sparkle,lego and Star Wars. We basically decided to choose anything that we liked. We are both very eclectic and we just wanted into include both of our tastes. So the superhero table numbers sat very nicely next to the twinkle lights. 
What was your favourite part of your wedding? For both of us it was the actual wedding part. Even though I was really nervous saying our vows it meant so much to us. Apparently when we were talking our guests said it seemed like there was no one else in the room. But to be honest there wasn’t anyone else there. We were saying the vows to each other. Sean is also very traditional and he loves symbolism. One of his favourite parts was the exchanging of the rings and the meaning behind it. 
Tell us about your Wedding Dress After seeing over 1000 brides in their dresses I wanted something that stood out and was mine. I loved the idea of a blush dress but my sister told me to keep an open mind about a traditional white dress. I had only been engaged 3 days and I went to a wedding fayre. I walked in and saw my dress on a mannequin. I fell in love with it. Before I had even seen myself in it, I looked down and just knew. I did still go up to the NEC wedding show and try a whole bunch more on but I kept comparing it to this one. I just knew. 
Who did you pick as your bridesmaids &/or best man and why? Both of us are very close to our families. There were no other choices other than my sisters for bridesmaids and Sean’s brother as best man. I was so proud of all of them. They were amazing! 
Why did you choose your venue? We short listed three venues and booked to see them all on the same day so we could compare them directly. As soon as we drove up to Tortworth Court Hotel we fell in love. It just felt like us. It ticked all the boxes and it made us think of our guest experience. We wanted our friends and family to feel spoilt. 
How did the proposal happen? Sean took me to Cornwall for a week and had suprised me with an amazing glamping experience. He took me to a place called Tintagel Castle. It is a castle ruin right on a cliff face. I suffer with vertigo and an absolute fear of falling. When we arrived at the castle there were hundreds of stairs up to the top of the cliff. I hated it. I moaned all the way up. Clinging for dear life in the fear that I will fall over the cliff. Once we got up the top we were going to have a picnic. Sean suggested we sat near the edge so we could see the sea. I was having none of it. Finally he coaxed me to go over for a look. While I was looking out to sea scared stiff he called my name. I turned round and he was on knee. I just bawled my eyes out. It was nearly forgivable making me face my fears.
Any DIY stories/tutorials you’d like to share? Our whole wedding was DIY! We made everything but we made it because it was what I wanted to do rather than a money saving effort. It was more about making exactly what we wanted. I have already shared loads of tutorials that we decided to do for our wedding. Take a look through my previous posts . Make sure you have time to fit all of your DIYs in. There is nothing worse than feeling rushed and panicking about not getting everything done. 
What was your first dance & why? Our first dance was A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. We chose it because it was the only song that made Sean show any emotion. I was very lucky, with Sean I did the shuffling hug style dance but I had dance lessons with my dad. We danced to Butterfly Kisses by Bob Carlisle. It was a great way to make sure my father was included in some aspects of the wedding planning. Really special time for me as I’m such a daddy’s girl. 
In hindsight, was there anything you would have done differently? I would make sure that I compared the RSVP list to the people we invited list sooner. With only a few weeks to the wedding I realised there were 8 people missing off the list that assumed I knew they were coming. Sean says he would have been harder on the venue about the little details. Don’t assume that just because they are a regular wedding venue that they know what you are wanting.
Do you have any advice for future couples? The wedding is all about the budget. We didn’t want to start married life with massive debts so we booked our wedding with sufficient time for us to be able to save for it. It’s also important to think about the small stuff. All that stuff adds up. Many people forget about little things such as postage costs, candles and pens for the guestbook. Remember you are getting married because you love each other. Do things that you want to do! There is no such thing as a traditional wedding any more. 
What’s the best piece of marriage advice you received? Sean’s mum told him to make sure he always tell me how much he loves me and never forget to say how beautiful I am. He has listened to this and I love her for it. 
What was your favourite thing about planning a wedding? I loved the whole planning part but Sean loved when the planning part ended. 
The Suppliers
Photographer: Maria Farrelly Photography
Videographer: Apricot Tree Wedding Photography & Film
Wedding Planner: Marina Lois – as a massive favour
Ceremony Venue: Tortworth Court – The Atrium
Reception Venue: Tortworth Court – The Orangery
Bride’s Dress: Sentiments Luxury Bridalwear
Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo
Groom’s Outfit: A mix of Ted Baker , Matalan and Marks and Spencer
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Dessy with a belt added by me
Cake: My cousin made it and the flowers were made by Cake by Janet
Flowers: Bouquets and buttonholes were made by me- Kate Petersen Weddings . The rest of the flowers were done by Flowers with a twist
Hair: Myself . Bridesmaid hair by Janet White-Ashby
Make Up: Myself
DJ: Kevin Silbey Sounds
Stationery: Sean made them
Any Reception Decor/Props: Pistachio Inc , Cwtch love lights
The Wedding Album
Wow such a beautiful wedding! Leave our Kate a comment and show her some love :) xxx
