BRIDAL RELOVED |
Throwback Bride – Jo Boswell
Hello You Lovely Bunch,
Hope you are all well. It’s been a whirlwind of activity here at Bridal Reloved, we’ve had so much going on. Wedding fairs, fashion shows, seminars and everything in between. Being in the wedding industry means you are always busy! Not that we are complaining – we love what we do!
This week’s post is the first of our Throwback Brides. We have chosen Jo Boswell and from the minute we met we loved her, she was such a fun bride and I really wanted to do a post about her wedding, so this seemed like the ideal opportunity.We had named Jo our Blindfold Bride as every time she came in for a fitting she would see a new dress that had come in-store and give us all heart palpitations by saying she wanted a different dress!
Funnily enough the day I had scheduled in to sit down and have a gossipy chat with her was actually the day she had agreed to be a bride again for Bridal Reloved. A local wedding venue had contacted us looking for a bride for their Open Day and Jo couldn’t have said yes faster! She was looking for an excuse to wear her beautiful dress again and it was handed to her on a plate!
When I got to the venue – Bennett’s Water Gardens in Weymouth in case you were wondering, Jo was like a child who’d consumed far too many E numbers. She was clearly thrilled to be the star of the show again and the great pictures really are a testament to that. I’ve put some up for you all to have a little peek. I, with some help from her sister Sarah, managed to sit her down long enough to have a chat about her actual big day.
Now to set the scene you really have to start at the beginning, so I asked her about her proposal, and I have to say her husband Stuart did a wonderful job. He decided to propose on Jo’s birthday, which was also the day before the start of their family holiday to France, Stuart had arranged for a breakfast picnic up on Bowleaze Hill and arranged for their children, Jo’s parents, sister and family to be there too. Jo had thought this was a tad excessive for a birthday picnic, but she went along with it anyway. In typical fashion the good old British weather didn’t disappoint and it was pouring with rain, so when it finally stopped they all went to get the picnic started. While Jo was busy sorting the food, making sure everyone was catered for, she was not expecting to see Stuart in tears on his knees asking her to be his wife. Cue an avalanche of tears from Jo and a ‘YES’! Then just as the sun had been out long enough for Stuart to propose it started to rain again and everyone made a mad dash for cover, before disappearing to France the next day for a well-deserved holiday.
It took Jo and Stuart six months to plan their big day, Jo’s favourite part being dress shopping. I’m not surprised we had to christen her the ‘Blindfold Bride’ – she loved every single dress she saw, however I am sure you will agree the one she finally chose looked spectacular on her and was definitely ‘the one!’ While wedding dress shopping was one of the more enjoyable parts of the planning, she did have a few hiccups with the venue as they weren’t too hot on keeping her in the loop, so much so that Jo’s parents in an ingenious bout of espionage decided to start ballroom dancing lessons there just so they could keep an eye on what was going on! Jo and Stuart had decided to get married in St. Osmunds Church in Osmington, followed by the reception at the Riveiera Hotel in Weymouth, where Stuart had proposed.
In true Jo fashion she had seven bridesmaids! (I’m surprised it was only seven to be honest!)These lovely maids were all made up of the bride and groom’s siblings, children, nieces and God-children. Basically for a family orientated couple, it was a day that encapsulated what they are about. And isn’t that ultimately what a wedding should be?
When I asked Jo what her favourite part of the day was she was stumped. She had loved the whole day and couldn’t pick just one thing so she picked a few ‘Kodak’ moments. The journey to Church with her lovely Dad in the classic Morris Minor and then the return journey to the reception with Stuart in the same car. When Stuart and the children had written a gloriously funny poem which had the congregation rolling in the aisles. One of Jo’s most vivid memories is of the wonderful vicar Reverend Betty Port. Jo had heard such lovely things about Reverend Port and had asked for her specifically to officiate at her wedding. She made the service warm and so personal and really managed to bring everybody together with a really joyful service. There was much mirth when the Reverend did her ‘if anyone knows of any impediment’ bit and all the Soldiers attending the wedding all drew their swords ready to fight anyone away!
Another of Jo’s ‘Kodak’ moments was when her daughter Rosie gave a speech, it is safe to say there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. In fact Jo summed it all up by saying, ‘it was a happy, fabulous and perfect day. All the families together and it didn’t even matter that it rained.’
Jo and Stuart went for the gorgeous ‘All Of Me’ for their first dance, however as you would expect from a couple to whom family are everything, they had a first dance as a family too and they used Happy by Pharell Williams to sum up how they felt.
Jo’s words of advice to any brides to be was simply this, ‘do not stress on the day. If there is a panic you cannot control it. Enjoy every minute as it goes by so quickly, there is no point in being stressed as it will ruin your day.’
As you will see from the pictures, it really was a fun day and they all had a fantastic day. It’s what a wedding should be about – having fun and being with the people you love the most. Thank you so much to Jo and Stuart for allowing me an insight into their special day and for the use of their pictures.
We will be meeting more of our brides over the coming weeks and month so keep your eyes peeled. We have got some great stories and inspiration coming your way. Remember if you don’t want to miss a blog then sign up and subscribe. Give me a follow on Twitter @ZBridalReloved – I love hearing from you all.
Speak Soon,
Zarina xx