Every girl dreams of the perfect wedding, the beautiful venue and a dress that makes them not only look jaw dropping beautiful but makes you feel it to.

When I married my childhood sweetheart nearly 21 years ago, I had the same dreams. Little was I to know that our dream wedding wouldn’t not live up to the vision in my mind.
Please don’t get me wrong, it was an amazing day, a day that still makes my heart dance and happy tears well in my eyes.

We married in the most stunning abbey, Romsey Abbey. I had always wanted to walk down that aisle towards the love of my life and promise our love and lives to each other, with our nearest and dearest at our sides. My Dad and Mum had married there and I had been christened there. It was the perfect place.

Apart from Romsey Abbey, not much else was what I had envisioned or went right.
Our wedding cake was a disaster. It looked like a cowpat, an unusable cowpat. 🐮
Thankfully my sister in-law Rache saved the day by phoning every cake maker locally until she found us a cake. It was prefect.
The pageboy suits still had there pins in from the fitting a week before. Marks Nan came to the rescue by cutting the bottoms off the trousers so our tiny pageboy Jordan, didn’t break his neck as he toddled down the aise.
Of course we were missing one of the most important people, my Dad.
I’m happy to say tho that my mum was by my side as she has always been and gave me away. It was pretty damn special, if I do say so myself. ❤️

As for my dress. Well it hung off me. With little time to spare, mum tucked and pinned the best she could so at least the skirt would stay around my waist.
The separate bodice was also too big but there wasn’t much we could do about that.🥺

The whole wedding dress experience had been a let down from the word go.
Upon entering the bridal shop, I wasn’t really given any time to look at dresses. I was told to get unchanged in the tiniest of fitting rooms, trust me when I say I’ve been in bigger toilet cubicles.
I wasn’t given any advice on styles that would suit my height, my broadness or my size. I had only gave birth to my son Connor a few week prior, so was carrying extra weight and a swollen tummy from my c section. If there is a time in life for anyone to be made special, just after childbirth is probably the best time to do so.
But nope, I felt like I was just another random that had worked through the doors, who would fill their pockets. 💰
Mum and I were out of there within the hour, I would probably say half an hour.
I only tried two dresses on, I brought the first because I just wanted to get the hell out of there. The whole experience was such a let down, one that left me feeling pretty down on myself, fat and frumpy, definitely not the blushing bride, full of excitement to see how her soon to be husband would react as he saw his future wife walking slowly towards him.  💒

So when we decided to re-take our vow on Christmas Eve this year, one thing I want to be sure of is that I feel special, beautiful even.

Knowing very little about vow renewals and what is expected I turned to the net, did my research and was shocked to see that 99% of people go full out and actually hold a second wedding, from wedding dresses, to bridal cars, flowers , bridesmaids, a bestman, to a sit down meal and a party, some even costing more than their original wedding.

As I’m a very sensitive person, who hates to be judged, I would go as far as to say “judgement terrifies me,” so me being me, I toed and throwed over what I should wear, in truth I kinda beat myself up over the decision, not only about the dress/outfit but the whole thing (I will get more into that in another post).
In the end we decide to go with what we wanted as the evening is about us and our love for each other. From a best man, suits, bridesmaids, to a dress in hopes that for one day only I may get to feel the special feeling that every bride should feel.

Pinterest became my best friend as I browsed wedding dress after wedding dress.
I found what I thought was the perfect dress. It was me down to a tee, but with a huge butt, I would have to order it on line from the states.
Something I really didn’t feel comfortable doing especially since I’m classed as petite but I’m broad across the back and shoulders and only 5ft 1 . Adding to that, my post 4 surgery’s tummy, which I absolutely hate. I just couldn’t risk it even with a sale price of $165.
I did however manage to track down a supplier in the UK, a boutique called, Anya Bridal Couture at The Hampshire Barn, St Clair’s Farm, Wickham Road, Droxford, Hampshire, not too far from our home town.
A few extremely helpful emails later, I knew I couldn’t afford the dress but with hopes of finding something in my budget and just as beautiful I made an appointment to visit the boutique.I just hoped it wouldn’t be like my first and only wedding dress appointment.

I wasn’t disappointed, it was beyond perfect.
We had such a magical day.
Anya Bridal Couture made every second memorable. We laughed, we smiled and we cried. It was every thing a bride could wish for.

My Mum, Auntie Jan, Calum (my youngest Son) and I arrived a little late for the appointment, blooming sat nav, always take us to the wrong place.
From the second we arrived we were made welcome, offered tea and coffee and asked all the right questions including budget.
My budget wasn’t the largest, after all it’s a renewal of vows not a wedding.
Anya reassured me that I would find the perfect dress within my budget, that we would start in their sale section and move onto the main floor if needed.
The sale section was pretty impressive, with hundreds of dresses to look at.

Anya gave me the sweetest white basket with 5 tiny flower pegs and asked me to pick out 5 dresses I liked the look of and peg them onto the dresses.
I gave my Mum, Auntie Jan and Calum, a peg each so they could pick out the dress they liked or thought would be perfect for me.
With one extra peg we all worked together and found the fifth dress, one we all thought was beautiful.

Nerves were now at a full time high, as we made our way to the main floor, ready to try on the five breathtaking dresses.
Anya, however made every moment feel natural, calm and exciting. She made my fears and self loathing disappear within seconds as I slipped into the first dress.
The dress was amazing just not the one for me.
As I stepped into the second, my heart began to flutter, my face lit with a smile, my eyes sparkled and I knew it was the one. 🤩
I just hoped mum, Auntie Jan and Calum would agree as Anya, opened the curtain and I walked out for them to see.
Their silent tears were all I needed to know they loved it as much as I did.
To see tears fill my baby boys eyes, was a moment like no other. To know that little old me in a breathtaking dress could have that effect on him is priceless and for my Mum and aunt to feel the same emotions was a pretty damn incredible feeling.❤️

Our appointment didn’t end there, even though I knew it was the dress I would walk down the aisle towards the love of my life, my husband and retake our vows in.
I happily tried the other three dresses on, which were stunning, truly stunning, they just didn’t give me and my family the feeling I had had in dress number two.
Anya pulled a few more dresses that she thought would suit my size, height and shape. Boy she’s good, because the next dress I tried was giving me butterflies, not as much as “The Dress” but it was extremely close.
We ummmed and arred, discussed changes that would need to be made like petticoats removed as it was a fuller dress than what I had envisioned for myself.
I was tempted for a while but looking up at my family, there were no teary eyes.
So I slipped back into dress number two and knew instantly that I had made the right choice, this was 100% my dress, the dress I would say “I Still Do” in.

But who had picked the dress off the full rails at the beginning of the appointment?
The dress had been chosen my Calum and that alone made the dress even more special. My boy, my darlin baby boy had picked my the perfect dress.
Funny enough, it was made by the same designer as the dress I had seen on line.

Without any second thoughts I said.

“Yes to the dress”

a perfect dress from the most delightful magical bridal shop.
Anya Bridal Couture, did not disappoint, they made me feel how I had always imagined a bride would feel while dress shopping.
I can’t find the words to sum up that feeling, but Anya gave me that and then some more.

If you are getting married to your one true love, your soul mate, trust me when I say, you don’t need to visit any other bridal shop other then Anya Bridal Couture.

It truly is the most perfect place to make your dreams come true, to experience the feeling only a bride can feel while looking in the mirror at her reflection in the dress of your dreams.
Without a shadow of a doubt, I highly recommend Anya Bridal Couture.
Not only are their dresses and shop outstandingly beautiful, their service is second to none.
Ana will make the shyest of the shy or a self loathing  bride feel a billion dollars. More than that, she will make your childhood dreams a reality while making you feel the most beautiful person on Earth.🌍
Thank you Anya for giving me that, for making our day a perfect one and for giving me that feeling, that unexplainable feeling and for memories that will last a lifetime.

Anya Bridal Couture Contact details and information can be found on their website.
Or pop them an email like I did, or even a call on 01489 878084, then let them work their magic, let them turn your dreams into reality.👰🏻

Anya Bridal Couture, really do have something to offer everyone from simple bridal gowns to intricate lace wedding gowns, they have a dress for all tastes.The bridal designers they have chosen to work with are all well-known, respected brands within the industry and the dresses they produce are all of excellent quality and workmanship.
The gowns range in price from £500 to £2,500 allowing us to offer a full range of beautiful, affordable bridal gowns.

You can also follow them on Instagram here, after all who doesn’t like looking a wedding dresses.💓

Until next time, love yourself the way you should and tell the one you love, how much you love them.

Too-da-loo for now.

👰🏻👰🏻👰🏻