Real Wedding: A Dazzling Day

There may have been rain showers on their big day, but the mood was sunny for lovebirds Danielle and Ryan Ferrara from St Neots, who glowed with happiness as they said ‘I do’

Perfect venue, rain or shine

Our wedding venue was Rectory Farm on Madingley Road, Cambridge. We chose the venue because we have always loved the idea of having an outdoors wedding and Rectory Farm offered this with their beautiful grounds (whether it was sunny or not!). Due to good old British weather, it did in fact rain on our wedding day, however, we were not moved into a ‘stuffy’ room; instead, we were able to get married in their beautiful marque. We also had our reception at Rectory Farm, and loved the fact that our day guests didn’t have to travel between places.

The romantic proposal

We were on our first holiday alone as a couple in the dazzling city of Dubai. On the first night of our holiday we went for a nice stroll along the beach and found an amazing spot on the sand just in front of the outstanding Burj Al Arab Hotel. To let you into a secret, the proposal was supposed to take place on day five of our holiday, while we were at dinner within the Burj Al Arab, however Ryan got too excited and couldn’t resist (it could’ve been nerves!).

Saying yes to the dress

I purchased my wedding dress at Wed2Be in Milton Keynes. I visited the store with my mum not expecting to walk away with my dream dress, however, eight dresses later I found the perfect one!

A relaxed approach

We didn’t have a wedding theme, as such. With the grounds of Rectory Farm being so beautiful and elegant, we went for the idea of less is more, ensuring the true beauty of the venue could shine.

Memorable moments

The ceremony itself was special and actually a lot of fun; we smiled and laughed from start to finish, with our guests enjoying every moment. Our most favourite part, however, was sitting back whilst our guests tucked into the scrumptious food and taking everything in, witnessing how much everybody was enjoying themselves.

A magical addition

We booked a magician for our wedding day called Jamie Docherty, who we’d met a few years ago. We wanted to keep this a surprise - and the surprise did not disappoint. We also opted away from traditional canapés to surprise our guests with a traditional ice cream bike, which served multiple flavours of ice cream and sorbet.

Final thoughts

Even though the weather was not what we hoped for, it really didn’t make a difference to our special day. We wish we could relive the whole day all over again and it really was the best and most special time. The only advice we would pass on to other lucky couples is to take everything in and spend some time alone, even if it’s 10 minutes; you’ll be glad that you did.

Photography by Sarah Brookes Photography. Visit sarahbrookesphotography.com