Our Wedding Day | 04.07.2021

Well here it is, my first blog post as Mrs Hooton 👰🏼‍♀️🤵🏻 written slightly teary eyed but absolutely beaming after waking up to our wedding video in our inboxes this morning! I waited all of 22 minutes before waking Adam to watch it…we laughed, cried and felt everything in between- it was everything we thought it would be and more to relive our wedding day.

But before we get into it, a little note on my July blog post (or lack of 👀). For those of you that noticed, thank you!! It is really touching to know that you missed my monthly ramblings. Secondly, I hadn’t planned to have a break in July and always said I would never miss a blog….BUT, with our wedding, minimoon and spending lots of time with family and friends, we were just so busy living, taking it all in. It was the right thing to do, to take some time off writing. Now, I’m back and ready to tell you all about the best day of our lives. There are so many things I would like to share about our wedding day, from the planning to the day itself. But for my August blog post, I want to reflect on what it felt like to finally get there after all this time and my favourite memories of the day.

After all this time

Since getting engaged in March 2018, Adam and I have adapted to me having life changing surgery and planned 4 weddings. 11 months after our original date, we said I do. With all of our hearts, finally.

And boy did we deserve it. My health presented us with a journey that we didn’t know we would have to go on and it’s far from over. Sometimes, it’s hard to shake off feeling like the world is against you, constantly putting barriers in your way. So it felt really bloody good for something to go our way. And that’s how it felt on our wedding day, especially with the weather. All couples hope for nice weather on their wedding day but for us it was extra important. Rain meant being inside, which meant additional covid restrictions that we really didn’t want. It had been raining the night before and drizzling all morning, then just as we got to the church, the sun shone through and stayed out for us for the rest of the afternoon. Not only then, but when we climbed St Catherine’s Island in the evening (yes, we climbed an island!), we got to the top and the sun beamed down on us through the clouds, giving us the most beautiful view of Tenby we’ve ever seen. Then, the sun set so beautifully over our venue while we danced our first dance together and then with our loved ones as newlyweds. I can’t help but feel like someone was watching over us, making sure that we felt the warmth we deserved on our wedding day.

There’s no feeling like marrying your soulmate, especially after trying so many times! In fact, our wedding day meant more to us because of all the arranging and rearranging. And because we have been through more than most in the years leading up it. Navigating the life challenges we have together means that we started married life totally united, stronger than ever, hearts bigger than ever.

My favourite memories

Walking down the aisle with my dad, seeing Adam for the first time. That is the most special, incredible moment I will never forget. He looked so handsome and I was absolutely beaming with happiness and pride to be walking towards our life as husband and wife. With my eyes wide open, as I didn’t want to miss a thing.

Of course any wedding day is special. But we felt so grateful for those moments that most would take for granted, or as a given, just 18 months ago. And I think these are the memories that we will really cherish. After being told what we can’t do for so long, it filled my heart to see everything we could do, just in time for our wedding day. Seeing your friends and family smile. Singing in celebration. Dancing with my husband, surrounded by our loved ones. These are moments that everyone should experience on their wedding day. But over the last 18 months, we had daily reminders that we might be deprived of them. At one point, we were planning for 15 guests and a 6pm curfew with no alcohol. As long as we got to say I do, that’s all that mattered to us. But a Christmas lockdown meant that wasn’t meant to be either and our wedding plans changed for a fourth time. Now, we are so grateful they did.

One of my most cherished memories of our wedding day was taking time out together in the evening to climb St Catherine’s Island, just off of the coast of Tenby’s castle beach. Every time we visit Tenby together, I feel so privileged to call it my home and I’m always showing Adam my favourite spots. This time though, we experienced something completely new together. Thanks to the kind owners, we had the whole island all to ourselves. And that was so, so, special. It gave us the most special moment to look back on the town where I grew up and where our family and friends were waiting for us to celebrate being newlyweds. It was the most beautiful hour, well worth missing dessert for.