Rob and Gemma met at UEA in 2001 when they were both first- year students, so they had been together for ten years before getting engaged. After so long together Gemma thought they would never get married, so it was the greatest surprise of her life when Rob went down on one knee in September 2012. The spot Rob chose was a secluded bay on the shore of lake Bohinj in Slovenia, nestled at the foot of grassy hills and snow-capped mountains in a beautiful nature reserve. Gemma was rummaging in her bag for her swim suit when Rob caught her unawares and simply said ‘Gemma, will you marry me?’ Gemma had never been truly shocked before; in fact she was in such a state of disbelief and in such floods of tears that she failed to notice he had a beautiful hand-made diamond and sapphire ring for her too! It was perfect.
They held the Reception at the farm where they live in a picturesque meadow by a lake, surrounded by oak trees and wild flowers. Gemma wanted to bring the elements of the meadow from the outside in, so this became their wedding theme. It started at the ceremony where they gave everyone a sunflower to hold, dimmed the lights and had a glitter ball to create the effect of a starlit meadow.
They grew the flowers for their floral displays, used recycled card for their invites, incorporated hessian, raffia and natural rustic colours into their décor and decided that a tipi would be more fitting than a traditional white marquee! They also got creative, making as many things themselves as they could, all from reclaimed wood found on and around the farm. Rob made the bar, the top table, many of the decorations and even created a unique ‘tree of cake’ to display their wedding cakes on!
Making things themselves saved money, and was great fun, but most importantly it meant that they got to spend lots of time together literally creating their own hand-made wedding. The only thing that didn't fit with the theme was the food – they wanted curry as it is their favourite thing to eat, so they chose dishes from Malaysia, Cambodia and India – the countries they are visiting for their honeymoon!
The couples favourite moments were “being greeted by two donkeys from Redwings Horse Sanctuary when we arrived at the Reception (it was a wonderful surprise as I had no idea!)” – Gemma and - “Kissing on the jetty by the lake in the pouring rain” - Gemma and Rob.
Gemma and Rob didn't have a first dance as they both have two left feet, so instead they chose some of their favourite songs for the band to play – including ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by Nirvana – they had the whole tipi moshing, including their parents!
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