Champagne celebrations

In January last year, we ran a competition for one lucky couple to win their wedding photography courtesy of Jane Wilkinson. The first name out of the hat was Becky Sturt's. She and husband Paul give us the low down on their big day
Photos by Jane Wilkinson

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Early days…

Becky, 35, met 'toyboy' Paul, 31, at a mutual friend's party. "We then saw each other out and about in Horsham," says Becky. A year later the couple finally dated for a few weeks, but it was nothing too serious as Becky was about to go abroad for work. Five years ago the couple bumped into each other at a nightclub in Horsham and exchanged telephone numbers. "I then went away with work to Las Vegas for a week," says Becky. "My phone didn't work out there, and when I turned it on after landing at Gatwick I had five voice and 10 text messages from Paul. We met up the next day, and it went on from there."
Becky knew Paul was the one for her as they clicked from the moment they got together. "Paul is someone I can laugh and cry with and it just felt right. He made me feel so special and loved and I soon realised that he was my boyfriend and my best friend. I knew I had found my soulmate and couldn?t imagine being without him," she says.
Of Becky, Paul is similarly effusive: "Becky is one of those girls you warm to immediately. She has a fantastic smile and is bubbly and humorous. It?s hard not to fall in love with her."

The proposal…

Becky wasn't expecting a proposal from Paul and was completely surprised when he popped the question. "I thought that if he was going to do it, it would be on our anniversary on Christmas Eve. Just before Christmas the year before last we hadn't seen much of each other as we'd both been busy with work. Paul said we should go out and have a pizza and spend some time together. He also said that we should get dressed up for the evening."
But Paul's plans were far from enjoying a pizza together, as Becky realised as they approached the five star South Lodge Hotel. "As we turned into South Lodge I regretted wearing my dodgy old parka jacket with my sparkly dress," laughs Becky.
The couple had a lovely evening, but Becky still suspected nothing as Paul was acting completely normally. However, on returning home Becky was met with a surprise. "Paul made me close my eyes and then led me into the lounge," she says. Unbeknown to Becky, whilst the couple had been enjoying an evening out, Paul's twin brother Craig had decorated their front room with love heart lights, red and pink balloons and candles, adding a bottle of Champagne and an engagement ring into the romantic décor.
When she was told she could open her eyes, Paul got down on one knee and asked her to marry him presenting her with a platinum band with a square solitaire diamond.

Hen and stag parties…

Becky's hen night took place in Horsham with her closest girl friends and family. "We went out for a meal and then had a party back at our house with pudding, drinks and karaoke," she says. As if that wasn't enough Becky then went to Fuengirola with 12 women for a weekend of sunshine and relaxation. "We had a brilliant weekend," she says. "My friends dressed me up as Pocahontas on the Saturday night and they were all cowgirls."
For his part, Paul and 12 friends went to Madrid for the weekend. "The destination had been kept a secret for six months until three people mentioned it to him the Saturday before they were going," laughs Becky. "They made him wear a stupid pink vest and he had to stand in the main square pretending to be a live statue and collect money."
Paul also had a stag day in Horsham for the dads and anyone who couldn't make the stag weekend. The group spent the day at Horsham Cricket Club where Paul was made to dress up in a Buzz Lightyear outfit as they watched a match between Horsham and Worcester.

The venues…

The couple held their ceremony in St Mary's Church, the oldest building in Horsham, followed by a reception at Slaugham Place. "Slaugham Place is a really romantic and atmospheric venue," says Becky. "The dramatic 400-year-old Grade II listed ruins have been restored under the supervision of English Heritage. They are surrounded by 12 acres of grounds including formal gardens, bridges, a river and wonderful old trees. We visited Slaugham on a cold, grim day in January, but fell in love with it and thought if we liked it when it was dull, then it would be amazing if it was a nice day. It meant a marquee wedding, but that was something we had always considered to accommodate numbers."

The dress…

Becky wore a stunning Trudy Lee ivory taffeta dress with diamanté detail. "I tried on so many before deciding that this was the one. Epiphany in Horsham was brilliant and really looked after me. We were in there for nearly four-and-a-half hours." On the day, Becky teamed her dress with a diamanté tiara, earrings, necklace, bracelet, diamanté hair grips and a 'gorgeous mid-length veil with diamanté sparkles on it'.

The best bits…

"Apart from the actual wedding ceremony, it was just so lovely being surrounded by our best friends and family and seeing everyone enjoying themselves," says Becky. "We wanted a relaxed wedding where everyone had fun, and they did! The speeches were great and they were finished off by both mums reading a funny poem my mum had written about us all."

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