We often say how much we love it when a bride becomes part of the Boo Family, and how we adopt their family as our own. I’m almost certain that most people don’t believe that this is true! Leila, her mum and sister are definately Babes of Boo forever.

We asked Leila if she wouldn’t mind sharing her experiences with you and she was delighted to join in with our little Q&A. Pop the kettle on and settle down to read all about her wonderful wedding in one of my favourite venues.

“Who is your other half, and how did you meet?” My other half is called Joe and we met during our A Levels although he claims he knew me way before then!

“How was the proposal?” The proposal was really romantic and personal. Both our parents and my sister were present during the proposal!

“What made you choose your wedding venue?” We got married at The Elvetham. We had previously seen a few venues that weren’t really a true representation of what we saw in the pictures. When we looked at The Elvetham online we thought it was too good to be true but went anyway. It was the only venue that we both agreed on the minute we walked in. It was so hard to believe we got married on such beautiful grounds and luckily our guests were saying the exact same thing too.

“How did you find your various suppliers?” We absolutely wanted to support local businesses where possible. We knew exactly who our photographer would be as we know him personally from our home town (eophoto). We have mutual friends who are beautiful and upcoming florist (Lily and Liz), they put together beautiful bouquets with both of our mum’s favourite flowers.

“What 3 tips would you give to other brides planning their day?”

1) The planning should be enjoyable and not a stress or something to put on the back burner. Put a time aside together to do some wedding planning and enjoy the process.

2) You will absolutely not please everyone. It’s actually a time to be selfish as it’s you that’s getting married at the end of the day.

3) Slight contradiction from number 2 but also honour any traditions you do within the family. We had a family get together the next day and it was so nice being in our wedding bubble with our closest family.

“What was your favourite part of the planning process? (And which was your least?)” My favourite part was going to try my dress for the final time, knowing that the date was getting closer! Least favourite part was the uncertainty of the pandemic and worrying if our wedding was going ahead as “normal”.

“What was your most memorable moment of the day?” When I met my dad at the top of the stairs before he walked me down the aisle to meet Joe, and then when it was official that we were husband and wife. I couldn’t tell you who was sitting there because all I could see was my husband with an enormous cheer surrounding us.

“What did you enjoy the most about shopping for your dress?” The fact that my mum was absolutely dreading taking me wedding shopping as I am so fussy and she was surprised how smooth sailing it actually was! Even now, everyone is complimentary of my dress - it was definitely a style I never thought I’d see myself in. You and your team were nothing but accommodating and so lovely and warm. I had to tell my dad about you before he went to drop my dress off to be cleaned and he came home agreeing with me how lovely you are!

“How did it feel to plan a wedding during a global pandemic?” Lots of uncertainty and a few tears. It wasn’t about having all our guests there, it was about being married after 10 years together. Even if it ended up being a micro wedding we would have still gone ahead and had a big party after! In the lead up to our wedding: my hen do plans had to change due to the numbers so we ended up having a fancy dress party as our favourite people from the 90s 00s. I went as Beyoncé but from the Love on Top video as this was our wedding song. We also had a Mehendi where my family were essentially welcoming Joe as one of us even though he was always one of us from the very beginning!

“Who was your most Most Valuable Person on the day?” My sister and of course my mum and dad. I was with my sister the night before and we just couldn’t sleep! We had some laughs in the morning getting ready (very early may I add!) sipping our tea with our pinkies out. She did a great job looking after my belongings for me too. There’s never any stress when it comes to her. She’s so zen in comparison to me.

I wish I could do the wedding again, come and visit again, buy another dress again. It was absolute fate that you were the final shop we visited and you were right next to our wedding venue and I found “the one”. Thank you again and I love how much your business has thrived!

And may they live happily ever after x