10 SL Brides On The Best Decision They Made

“I was so glad we got married at a town hall before our proper wedding day in the Cotswolds because it took all the pressure off and allowed us to be more creative and personal with our wedding ceremony. It meant we could enjoy two celebrations that were equally wonderful in their own way. It was also the best decision – but not ours – to hire a professional photographer for the day at the town hall. We weren’t going to bother, but a friend of ours organised one as a surprise. It was so lovely to have that moment captured properly.”

“Rather than hiring a classic wedding DJ, we asked a few friends to curate playlists to put on after the band packed up. We gave them themes like ‘2000s Indie Disco’ and ‘Guilty Pleasures’ to give them a steer and they all choreographed their own entrances and special effects – think glow sticks and giant cut-outs of my husband and I. Will and I then did a ‘headline set’ which was definitely a highlight of the evening.”

“I’m so glad we decided to have a videographer – back when I got married it wasn’t as common as it is now, and it was certainly a conversation with my mother! But my children love watching it now – mainly because there are lots of people, they know in it looking very young and they find it quite amusing! It was also a great decision to get married in the winter – you automatically plan for the worst weather, so it can only be better than you expect and you don't have to worry about pictures outside or anything like that. Everything is much clearer from the beginning.”

“I asked both my parents to walk me down the aisle. I’m equally close to them and I’ve never really liked the idea of one man giving me away to another, so I decided to ask them to do it together. They were thrilled to have that special moment with me. Remember, you don't always have to go down the traditional route – making decisions for your wedding that work for you as a couple is more important than sticking to any preset rules.”

"We had been to so many weddings, we decided we wanted to do three things that would make ours stand out. My cousin is a professional trumpet player – he's toured with Sting – so we had him recreate the Love Actually 'All You Need Is Love' moment. He popped up from the pews at the end of the ceremony, which people loved. The second fun choice we made was to play musical chairs during dinner. The master of ceremonies asked everyone to check under their seat, and those with a sticker had to run around the marquee to find a free chair. If you couldn't, you were out – but then you'd have to take your chair to the dance floor and sit there. It got quite aggressive, but definitely broke the ice. Finally, instead of doing a traditional hangover brunch the next day, we did an Olympic Games. I'm Welsh and my husband is English, so naturally it was England vs Wales. Tug of war was a particular highlight. Spending time focusing on these small details and activities that made the weekend was definitely our best decision."

"Ultimately, the best decision we made was to get married in Mallorca. Being abroad, on one big holiday with all your friends and family, in a place that's really special to you, is about as fun as it gets. But in terms of details, it was definitely putting a large chunk of budget towards the band. Music can make or break a wedding party – I've been to too many where bands don't read the room, play songs for too long or just have an average setlist. We worked really hard on a three-pronged list: the 'must-plays', the 'crowd-pleasers' and then the 'if-you-play-this-I'll-walk-out' category. The latter included Pharrell's ‘Get Lucky’ and ‘Happy’, and the former was mostly 70s and 80s heroes. The first track after our first dance was Hall & Oates's ‘You Make My Dreams Come True’ and we ended on a remix of Gloria Gaynor's ‘I Will Survive’. The band gave us a sneak peek at their working set list the next day – it was an insanely detailed flow chart of how to respond to the crowd's vibe, which meant the dance floor was completely full at all times. Pretty much everything else at a wedding (apart from the speeches and the bar) can be rubbish, but you can't get away with bad music."