Our Wedding Anniversary - 1 House, 2 Cats, 3 Years & Not Many Arguments

Hi Everyone!

My husband & I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary this week & I thought it was only fitting that I marked the occasion with a blog post!

Dan & I met during our further education studies, he a post graduate & I an undergraduate.

Our first date was a 'metaphorical coffee' in Starbucks, metaphorical because I had water & Dan had a hot chocolate! I had recently come out of a troubled relationship & was not 'looking for love'. Love certainly found me though! I remember vividly Dan telling me that there was no pressure & that if we ended up as a couple that would be great, but if not then he'd have made a new friend. It was then that I knew he was the one for me! Within a matter of weeks we were an item!

Fast forward a couple of years to Christmas Eve 2008. Dan took me to a hotel overlooking the Cathedral where he was a Chorister & Cope boy (head chorister) for three years. We attended midnight mass & on our return found that, though we had told staff we would be attending the service, we'd been locked! By this point, Dan was inwardly panicking! Once we made it back to the hotel room Dan took me to the window, got down on one knee, presented me with a beautiful ring & said to me "will you marry me, in there!" as he pointed to the cathedral!

Three & a half years later, we were ready to make our vows in the cathedral where Dan has so many wonderful childhood memories. There were certain criteria we needed to meet in order to marry in the cathedral. We needed to have a direct link to the cathedral, which Dan's 3 year service entitled us too. Both sets of parents were contacted to give their permission for our marriage to take place within the cathedral. They did. Our parish priests were also contacted to confirm our religious beliefs & that we had attended the usual wedding preparation classes. They were. Something we also had to do to marry in the cathedral was to swear an Affidavit, a sworn statement that we were both eligible to enter into marriage & were doing so voluntarily. The last stage was to get the blessing of the Archbishop of Canterbury. This all went without a hitch (pun intended!).

Our day was wonderful! My parents, bridesmaids & myself got ready in the hotel room Dan proposed in, which was a hub of excitement! Dan sent me a necklace via the best man! His last gift to me as a 'single' woman! I thought I'd share some photos with you..

My sister did my hair & I did my makeup.

Some snaps of us getting ready.

Off we go!

I walked to the cathedral from the hotel round the corner. It was market day & I caused quite a stir! We bumped into one of my friends who was taking in the atmosphere of the area before making his way, with his girlfriend, to the cathedral.

My beautiful bridesmaids - sister Chrissy & best friend Betsy.

Entering the Choir.

Signing of the register.

Man & wife!

Love this photo of Dad & me!

Exiting the cathedral - a horse came round the corner just after this was taken & I had to (literally!) run back inside as I have an anaphylactic reaction to horses!

I needed a little sit down so our photographers took the opportunity to make the most of the scenery - they were really great at working with & around us, blending seamlessly into the background (thank you Mark & Debbie!)!

Some pics of the dress!

The spot where Dan sat as a Chorister.

We didn't get to have a 'you-may-now-kiss-the-bride' moment because we were married in a high Church of England service, so we popped back for a photo op!

On the way to the reception in the back of the Rolls-Royce Phantom (Dad 'borrowed' it from his boss for the day).

Mummy made the cake!

Some cute pics!

Our reception was very family orientated. We had a barbecue for our wedding breakfast which fits our personalities perfectly. For our evening meal we had an afternoon tea with sandwiches, cakes & an ice-cream cart! We had games set out on the lawn area for the children (& bigger children!) to play with.

We had a fantastic day & subsequently three wonderful years of marriage. I'm excited to see what the future holds for us!

Are you married?

If you are, what are your fondest memories of your wedding day?

If not, what would your ideal wedding include?

Tania Xx

Thank you very much to Priory Photography for our amazing photos!