Laura met Mike in the oh-so modern way – online. While he was attracted to her genuine and down-to-earth personality, Laura says, "I fell in love with Mike's beautiful blue eyes and I'm not going to lie, the picture of him in his TA uniform was definitely a plus. I've always liked a man in uniform... who doesn't?!"
When Mike proposed in 2015 it wasn't a surprise as he'd asked Laura to go ring shopping the week before. "It was so much fun as I got to personally choose my engagement ring," Laura remembers. When the time came to pop the question, Mike took Laura on a romantic walk to Reculver, the beautiful church ruins on a cliff face, wine and glasses in hand. Despite being nervous he asked Laura to be his wife in the traditional way – on one knee – albeit in a puddle.
During the first 2020 lockdown, an amazing group of local wedding suppliers got together to make one couple’s big-day dreams come true. Inspired by the incredible nurses, care assistants, doctors and other health professionals who risked their lives daily to help the fight against Covid-19, the Sussex NHS and Carers Wedding Competition offered the grand prize of a wedding day worth in excess of £30,000. Laura is a radiographer working for Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, specialising in breast cancer care, so the couple decided to enter. In the October/November 2020 issue of Your Sussex Wedding we announced Laura and Mike as the winners of this awesome competition when Laura commented, “It still hasn’t sunk it. The Sussex wedding team have brought some sparkle and magic into our lives and we can’t wait to start planning our perfect day together. Every person who entered the competition is a superstar, and it makes me proud to be part of the NHS family.” As media partners of the competition, we’re delighted to give you the lowdown on the much-anticipated big day...
The pair decided to feature a rainbow palette to pay homage to the NHS' work throughout the pandemic. They chose three different hand-painted floral designs on ceramic hearts as their wedding favours. These were personalised with Laura's favourite saying as a blessing to everyone given how important these things have become over the last two years: "live, love, laugh."
The pink floral place names were designed to match the invitations and the mirror table plan tied in too bordered with various hues of pink and white flowers. Mirrors featured further in the centrepieces, as giant Martini glasses filled with coloured glass pebbles and flowers sat on top of them. "They were classy and elegant but girly. We went for rose gold and pink in the reception room as we didn't want to overthrow everything with too much blue," Laura explains.
The big-day blooms featured gorgeous loose bouquets of pink and white roses with plenty of greenery and Laura's favourite flower, blue sea thistles. The buttonholes were single pink roses with a thistle and foliage. The ceremony room featured a semi-circular display of blue and pink flowers in mirrored vases offering a modern and elegant feel.
Fresh flowers also decorated the elegant and simple wedding cake. They opted for Laura's favourite red velvet, white chocolate and fresh raspberries with buttercream, as well as milk chocolate with chocolate orange cream. "The tasting with Clare's Cake Boutique was such a personal experience in Clare's own garden," Laura reminisces.
A hot buffet of two homely cooked meals was served as the wedding breakfast – chilli con carne with rice or vegetable lasagne; plus a selection of cold meats, salmon and prawns, salad, chips and potatoes, and pasta.
For dessert a mouth-watering choice of chocolate mousse topped with hazelnuts and apple crumble with custard was available. In the evening, the venue put on an impressive buffet spread of sandwiches, chicken drumsticks, a cheese platter and spring rolls. This was paired with a sweetie cart featuring Mike’s favourite: fizzy peaches.
The bride wore Christina by Carolyn Anne's Bridal Shop, a customised A-line dress with a heart-shaped lace cutout detail on the back – fitting since she was the soon-to-be Mrs Hart. Laura says, "I always had reservations about bridal dress shopping, due to the fear there wouldn't be any samples in my size and embarrassment of trying to imagine dresses without trying them on. However, this couldn't have been further from reality when I was welcomed and looked after by Lea at Carolyn Anne's Bridal. I only had to try on five dresses before I'd found the one."
L. Guess Jewellers in Rustington donated a £500 voucher as part of the competition prize and Laura felt like a kid in a candy store as she shopped there for her accessories! As her something old and borrowed she decided to wear a pearl necklace with heart clasp, which had been in her mother's family for generations. "I managed to match the exact colour of the pearls to a pair of pearl earrings surrounded by Swarovski crystals, giving my elegant overall look a touch of vintage," Laura shares.
Laura and Mike had a personalised humanist ceremony written by celebrant Jacqueline Cale. They both declared their own words of love during a particularly romantic moment and overall enjoyed a relaxed ceremony. Since the bride has an Irish background, she was keen to include her heritage and was able to incorporate a Celtic hand-binding ceremony.
As emotional as it was, there were moments when they had to try not to giggle as their dog Baxter, who was the ring bearer, kept growling to get their attention despite being perfectly looked after by pet chaperone Ali.
During the drinks reception all assembled were entertained by a steel pan duo, which was thoroughly enjoyable. As Laura says, "It's not your everyday sound and they had an amazing array of songs, which happily for me included a lot of Disney!"
Wedding singer Jason Allen performed during the wedding breakfast. While blues and swing are his preferred genres, he went above and beyond to incorporate plenty of Disney classics and musicals numbers, leaving with a standing ovation. In fact, Laura and many other guests struggled to get through the meal as they were too busy singing along!
Laura remembers, "The whole day was a fairy tale. We were extremely nervous at the beginning but once the ceremony was over the nerves were replaced with pure happiness and bliss. We were so grateful and honoured to share our special day with all our friends and family, which was only due to the kindness of the NHS Sussex Wedding Team.
Laura remembers, "The whole day was a fairy tale. We were extremely nervous at the beginning but once the ceremony was over the nerves were replaced with pure happiness and bliss. We were so grateful and honoured to share our special day with all our friends and family, which was only due to the kindness of the NHS Sussex Wedding Team.
Accessories
Band
Bridal shoes
Bride's and bridesmaids' dresses
Cake
Caricaturist
Celebrant
Children's wedding dens
DJ & magic mirror
Fireworks
Flowers
Glitter artist and balloon modeller
Hair stylist
Illuminated letters
Jewellery
Magician
Make-up arist
Personalised gift
Pet chaperone
Pet portrait
Photography
Pre-wedding facial treatment
Rings
Stationery
Steel pan duo
Suit hire
Toastmaster
Transport
Venue décor
Venue, catering and drinks
Videography
Violinist
Wedding planner