Bethany and Thomas Friday 15 September 2023
Bethany and Thomas tied the knot on Friday 15 September 2023 with a beautiful ceremony and reception in the Radcliffe Room.
Fate brought the pair together in the most unlikely place - Bradford Crown Court! Having stolen each others hearts during Jury Service, their love story began!
Their proposal, filled with confidence from Bethany’s dad (not!) took place in Central Park Zoo, but much to Tom’s relief – the answer was an easy yes! Sealing the deal in a secluded spot around the pond witnessed by terrapins.
Bethany's vision was very classic and minimalistic. The pair wanted to be able to look back in 50 years and think ‘that still looks good’ and oh wow, do we think they nailed that brief! With different sized bud vases covering the table and muted pastels and blush flowers - it was a delicate and beautiful setting to say 'I do'.
Read on to find out how they fell in love, chose their suppliers and how the nerves took over when it came to reciting the vows!
We hope you feel inspired...
Bethany and Thomas captured by Joss Denham Photography
So, how did you two meet?
We met at Bradford Crown Court, on Jury Service. We’d both pushed back our initial dates and ended being chosen for the same week on the same trials. After a couple of weeks of chatting on the way back to the bus station, Tom decided to ask for Bethany’s number knowing that if she said no then it was unlikely he’d see her again. Thankfully she said yes and then after several dates he asked her out properly.
When did you know they were 'the one'/how did they pop the question?
At Central Park Zoo, New York. Slightly planned but slightly impromptu on the first day so that Tom wasn’t worrying about Bethany finding the ring early. Managed to find a secluded spot by a little pond and terrapins. Although Bethany’s dad was pleased, he did say he’d have waited till the end of the holiday in case she’d said no.
Other than saying 'I do', what is the most unforgettable moment from the day?
Our first dance and everyone joining in mid way through. It was something we were slightly nervous about but when we were dancing together, we completely forgot everyone was watching. It was so lovely when the DJ asked everyone else to come onto the dance floor and dance with their partners.
First Dance
Which supplier was a real stand out for you? The unsung star who deserves a special mention.
We really wouldn’t be able to pick one supplier out. They were all so amazing and we couldn’t have done any of it without them.
What was it in your eyes that gives Rudding Park the WOW factor?
We’d been to Rudding Park once for a spa trip before, so we knew it was a beautiful setting both inside and out. So when it came to visiting wedding venues, we made sure to get to Rudding Park. It was the very first venue we visited, and we both knew from that first visit that we wanted to get married there. We reserved a date, which we later found out was Bethany’s grandparents' wedding anniversary, and looked at a few other venues but they just didn’t have the same feeling as when we viewed Rudding Park. The hotel looks stunning, whether it’s raining or sunny, but thankfully we got the rain before the ceremony and sun just as we were going outside for photos! There’s so many good spots for photos and the ‘stairs to nowhere’ were a favourite of ours.
The 'stairs to nowhere'!
How did you style your space? Did your wedding day have a theme?
We didn’t have a set theme that we wanted to follow, but we tried to go very classic and wanted to be able to look back in 50 years and think ‘that still looks good’. We went quite minimalist for the most part but didn’t feel like we were missing anything.
What is your funniest memory from the day?
During the ceremony, we had to repeat everything after the registrar and certain lines had to be exact with no words missed or replaced to ensure everything was legal. However, it’s quite nerve wrecking standing in front of everyone whilst trying to remember what is being said to you to repeat, so we were bound to mess things up slightly.
Tom ended up having to repeat a sentence (although we only think one person noticed), but Bethany couldn’t even remember the start of the sentence so had to laugh and get it repeated, thankfully everyone giggled with me and it really broke the ice and became less serious.
Styling Details with Florals by Colette
Getting the giggles mid vows!
What's the best advice you could give to couples who are about to tie the knot at Rudding Park?
Try to enjoy the wedding planning process, in the days leading up to the wedding just try and relax, trust the hard work and that everything will come together.
One of the things we spent a while doing was the table plan. We tried to mix every table so that half of them would be from Bethany’s side and half from Tom’s. Thankfully we had no complicated dynamics. This ended up working really well, it meant that people were able to have a chat before the evening and hopefully made sure people felt more comfortable. It’s also been nice to hear about some of the friendships struck up during the wedding breakfast.
And finally, we'd love to hear about your experience with Rudding Park....
We couldn’t fault the experience with Rudding Park, from start to finish it’s been brilliant.
Being able to utilise the credit you receive leading up to the wedding was so lovely, it really made us feel like we knew the venue and got us both very excited for the day. The service we received on the wedding day and the day after was exceptional - there really wasn’t anything to fault.
Supplier Dream Team:
Photographer: Joss Denham Photography
Videographer: Anth Simpson
Florist: Flowers by Colette
Styling: Ambience Malton
Cake: Emily
Hair: Zoe Nicole
Make-up: Cat Johnson