A West Mill Wedding | Kay & Luke
“BUTTERFLIES. IT FELT LIKE I WAS SEEING KAY FOR THE FIRST TIME AGAIN. I REMEMBER COMPARING IT TO WHEN I SAW HER ON OUR FIRST DATE. BUT IN THAT MOMENT, ALL MY NERVES SUDDENLY FADED BECAUSE KAY WAS THERE TO GIVE ME STRENGTH AND IN MY MIND IT AS JUST THE TWO OF US STANDING THERE.”
When Kay and Luke first got in touch with me about their West Mill wedding in Derby, I was so happy – they were planning a really fun and stylish wedding with live music, a photobooth and… tequila! Here’s the story of their day, in their own words.
Can you describe your wedding in a single sentence? Magical, like a dream – a day like no other.
What was your reaction to seeing your wedding photos for the first time? Excitement. It was nice but a little strange to see some of the details that we may have missed on the day such as people’s reaction to parts of the day and looking at the photos of each other getting ready, which we wouldn’t know about without the photos.
When you were planning your wedding, did you aim for a specific style or theme? We just wanted everything to be about us. We didn’t worry about the pressure of what we should do or how things should look. We just wanted it as personal as possible even if things didn’t quite match or follow the norm.
How long did you spend planning your wedding? Just over a year – which was quite a challenge in the end.
Did you plan together? Did you have specific responsibilities, or was it a joint effort? Totally planned together but mostly guided by Kay!
How did you feel when you saw your bride coming down the aisle? Butterflies. It felt like I was seeing Kay for the first time again. I remember comparing it to when I saw her on our first date. But in that moment, all my nerves suddenly faded because Kay was there to give me strength and in my mind it as just the two of us standing there.
How did you feel, walking down the aisle? Moments before walking out my heart was beating in my chest like I had never felt it before so I was a little worried about fainting or something! As soon as I saw Luke, I felt like I just wanted to get to him. A lot goes through your mind and that part happens very quickly so I tried to take everything in.
What do you remember most about the day? Kay remembers everything – which makes a change! Anything related to the music is quite poignant, such as walking down the aisle or the first dance because when you hear the songs again, it all comes flooding back. Luke says the ceremony stands out for him and the moment afterwards in the bridal room. Just basking in the feelings of being together.
What advice would you give to someone planning their own wedding? Any tips or tricks? Plan the last month thoroughly! The build up isn’t so bad and you have lots of time to browse venues and make those important choices early on. We found we had a massive lull in the middle where we didn’t feel we had much to do. In the last couple of weeks everything just seemed to run away from us and there are so many things to pay for, pick up, drop off and sort at the very last minute. We were in town the day before buying gifts, picking up suits and food and it was all quite stressful. It would have been better to have had the day or two before to completely relax and look forward to it so maybe think about who you can ask to do certain things for you – although there are some things that you have to do yourself.
What’s the best bit about being married? Being a proper unit – other than that, not a lot changed for us. We spent about a month saying “Can you believe we’re married?” I (Kay) didn’t get wedding blues until about 8 months later and I wanted to do it all again! It’s a good feeling knowing you’ve both made the same commitment, you have someone to share life milestones with and someone to support you unconditionally with problems you may face.
