Our story…
The Groom, Carl Godwin-Alvarez, Visual Effects Artist
The Bride, Emma Boyes (now Godwin-Alvarez!), Project Manager
Tell us about your menu tasting, show arounds, planning meetings?
We really enjoyed the menu tasting afternoon! It was such a lovely experience, when we arrived we were handed a glass of champagne and it’s those little touches which really make the day special. Trying all the different dishes and wines was so much fun and we found it so hard to pick our menu!
What wedding menu did you choose?
For our starter we had tender stem broccoli with cheese curds which worked so well! Our main was chicken served in a tarragon sauce with wild mushrooms, green beans and potatoes. Dessert was a chocolate orange mousse served with stout ice cream and fresh orange.
Who was in charge of planning, you or the groom/joint effort?
The planning was definitely all me haha! I had a clear vision of what I wanted but obviously I included Carl on every decision and gave him all the options. I just love planning anything so I was in my element really! Emma from Seaham Hall was our coordinator and was amazing throughout everything, always happy to answer my never ending list of questions!
Did you ever feel overwhelmed with planning?
At times of course it starts to feel like a full time job but I think it started to feel overwhelming in the weeks running up to the wedding. Mainly because there’s all the final invoices to pay off as well as agreeing arrival times and making sure everyone knows when they need to be there, there is so much to do!
What did you do the day before your wedding?
My maid of honour and I booked a room at Seaham Hall for the night before and had an amazing spa day which really helped to relax me and calm my nerves. On the evening we got changed and met up with a few family members who’d travelled up from various parts of the country and had some food in the Ozone and a few drinks.
Were there any special elements that you definitely wanted to include in your big day?
I wanted to make sure we had some good entertainment for the guests past the usual DJ/band. I love photobooths as they’re a lovely instant keepsake of a fun event and Carl and I have loads of photobooth pictures all over our fridge so we decided to rent a vintage booth for the day which went down so well with the guests!
Was there anything extra special or unusual about your wedding?
We have a few friends who live in other countries who we rarely get a chance to see and luckily, they were able to come over for the wedding which was so special! Some of the guests we hadn’t seen in around 10 years! We had people come over from New York and Florida as well as China!
Another thing we did was to have fireworks which was so special for us, everyone loved the display and some of the photos people have taken of them are stunning. Hopefully it’s something people will remember for a long time!
What were the standout moments for you both?
Of course it has to be ceremony because it’s big moment! The fireworks as well though as it was such as magical moment and the perfect way to end the evening.
Tell us about your wedding photos and which are your favourite and why?
We’ve only had a couple of taster photos back at the moment but we absolutely love what we’ve seen so far! I think our favourites are the ones taken under the string lights next to the beach huts at night. The lighting is amazing and they’re just a bit different! We also got some great ones by the coast. Really looking forward to seeing some of professional photos of the fireworks! The best man did take an amazing photo of us watching the fireworks though and that’s one of our favourites as well!
Explore our amazing wedding offerings and keep your eyes peeled for the next Real Life Bride instalment!
Suppliers:
Florist: Floral Quarter
Flower wall: Wild and Wonderful
Photographer: Ed Godden
Videographer: Absolute Media
DJ: Disco Couture
Photobooth: Party Pics
Fireworks: Reaction
Cake and biscuits: Gabriella Grace Cakes
