The trials and tribulations of
planning a wedding

June 2006

• Kerri Ryder and Matthew Sealy prepare for their wedding.

Kerri Ryder and Matthew Sealy have Chosen Kilkhampton Church, near Bude, fortheir wedding. Both live in Kilkhampton, quite near the church in fact, and so it seemed rather fitting to be married there and then hold their reception at the nearby New Inn.

Kerri, who works on the Gazette's sister publication, the Agricultural Trader, didn't realise there were so many different style wedding dresses to choose from.

She said: "I started out with the idea that I would like a simple elegant dress. By the time I actually found the one I wanted in Sugar and Spice, South Molton, having tried on about ten dresses in different shops, it was quite different from what I first envisaged."

"Having bought my dream dress, though, I mustn't put on any weight or I won't get in to it!"

When choosing dresses for the bridesmaids and flower girls Kerri opted for Debenhams. There she bought three burgundy dresses for the bridesmaids: her sister Sam, her niece Charmaine and her best friend Jenny.

Matthew's daughter Rhiannon, aged 5, and her best friend Rilley, are the flowergirls and will wear ivory dresses with burgundy sashes.

The flowers for the church and table decorations are being done by Matthew's and Kerri's mums, with the bouquets being made by Four Seasons in Bude.

"Trying to sort Matthew's suit out is a nightmare," said Kerri, "as he wants something very different. His best man is Richard Guppy, who is also his best friend, so I hope they both end up finding exactly what they want."

The church service is going to be very much a family affair: one of Matthew's uncles plays the organ at Bath Abbey and has offered to play for the service and will also be doing the readings.

After the ceremony the bridal party and their guests will walk the short distance to the New Inn.

"There are large gardens out the back of the inn," explained Kerri; "so we have hired two marquees from Hatch Marquees in South Devon at just under £2,500 for the two. They come complete with flooring, staging, chairs and tables. "

"We have had lots of discussions about the food and opted for sandwiches and scones and cream as an afternoon tea immediately after the wedding. Then, in the evening, we are tossing up whether to have a hog roast or a barbecue. We think that the total cost of the food will come to £600-£800 and that will cover our 60 guests for the reception and then a further 60 for the evening do.

And, what about the wedding cake?

"Well, " laughed Kerri, "That was quite a tricky one. My mum said we must have a fruit cake, but I don't particularly like fruit cake and wanted a chocolate cake,so we are having both!"

"My personal trainer is making the chocolate cake for usand she is even making a mini sample first for us to try."

Another aspect of the organisation that has been quite time consuming for Kerri and Matthew is trying to find a live band that they like.

"It seems you have to book up so far ahead, " said Kerri. So many of the local function bands get booked up very quickly. We are still working on that one."

We hope to catch up with Kerri and Matthew later in the yearand find out how their big day went.