Rushton Hall Northamptonshire Wedding Videographer

How did you guys meet? 

We used to work together. I (Ross) started a new job in August 2008 and Rosie was already working there – and pretty much fell in love with her straight away! Unfortunately she was already in a relationship with someone else, and then left the company about a year later! But we stayed in contact and stayed friends, meeting up occasionally for a catch-up or a night out, and eventually we were both single at the same time and decided we were perfect for each other!

Tell me about yourselves, how do you like to spend your time?

Rosie works in PR for a fashion retail brand and I work in travel, designing and selling luxury safari holidays. We’re very lucky that my work allows me to travel, as we both love to do that and over the years we have been to Australia, New Zealand, Bali, USA, Kenya, South Africa, Chile, the Caribbean and much of Europe together. We also like to go away in the UK, for walking/weekend breaks to places like Norfolk, Cornwall and the Lake District.

We both enjoy going to the movies or watching crime documentaries together, we belong to the same running club, and we have a very close group of friends who we meet up with and socialise with regularly. One of the key things about our relationship is how much we genuinely enjoy each other’s company, no matter what we’re doing, and how much we make each other laugh. Good traits to have for a marriage I suppose!

How did the proposal go down?

We had been together a long time, and the more Rosie thought or talked about getting married, the less interested I was. So when she finally thought it wasn’t going to happen, that was the perfect time to surprise her!

With help from her best friend, I bought an engagement ring just before Christmas but didn’t manage to get permission from her Dad – who thankfully was happy for me to be his son-in-law! – until after Christmas. And then I couldn’t quite decide on the right time or place for a proposal. I considered doing it while we were away just before Valentine’s Day in our favourite hotel in Cornwall, but again couldn’t work out how. Eventually, we got back home and it actually was Valentine’s Day – given I’m not one for big romantic gestures, there’s was no way she was going to expect it then!

I bought a card that said “To my fiancée…” on the front, and inside I wrote “Well, how about it?” When she came home from a busy day at work and went straight upstairs to change, that was the ideal moment. I crept upstairs too and put the card on the floor on the landing so she couldn’t miss it, then headed back down. When she found the card she was pleasantly surprised that I’d remembered, then initially confused when she read it, then fairly bewildered when she saw me at the bottom of the stairs, down on one knee, bunch of flowers in one hand and the ring in the other! Thankfully she said yes, and there were no real tears, just lots of laughing and squealing!

How did you choose Rushton Hall as your venue?

We went to visit about 4 or 5 venues, but although they were all lovely they weren’t quite perfect. But when Rosie first saw Rushton Hall she knew it was ‘the one’. It’s such a beautiful, historic building, with so many unique features.

We definitely wanted somewhere that we could have the whole experience in one main place – ceremony, meal, reception etc. and the Orangery at Rushton is ideal for that. And little touches like a decent sized dancefloor and bar! We also wanted somewhere that was a hotel, so that as many guests as possible could stay over (and make the party last longer!). The fact that we could also have Rushton exclusively made it even more appealing, to give us all that extra privacy.

What sort of experience did you want your guests to have?

We just wanted everyone to have a massive party, laugh and smile all day, and dance the night away! Being able to have people stay over was important to achieve that, so they could let their hair down (and the party didn’t have to stop at 1am!), and we didn’t want it to feel too stuffy even though the venue is outwardly quite formal. We were both pretty relaxed throughout the whole day and our guests were the same.

Please describe the theme and stylings of your wedding

Rushton Hall is so stunning that we didn’t need much of a theme – the orangery did all the talking! We wanted it to be timeless so chose classic greens and whites for our flowers and navy for the bridesmaids and grooms party. Rosie loves flowers and I must say they were worth every penny, they brought the space to life and created perfect focal points and photo backdrops for our guests.

Why did you choose to have a wedding film?

We’d had it recommended by other friends who’d got married and said it was one of the best things they’d decided to do. I was a little reluctant at first, primarily due to the extra expense, but ultimately it was so worth it. Roo didn’t intrude on our day, but made it better, and the finished products are just amazing – being able to relive our perfect day is just brilliant.

What was your best decision during planning?

Choosing the venue, choosing to have a videographer, and choosing each other (not necessarily in that order!)

What was the hardest decision?

There was lots of umming and ahhing over choice and amount flowers as Rosie, naturally, wanted them to be just right. I was wary of spending too much on something that perhaps isn’t a crucial part of the day, but the choices eventually made were perfect and everyone commented on how amazing they looked.

What are your favourite memories from the day?

There are too many to mention! The whole day was just so perfect, exactly as we wanted it to be, and neither of us could stop grinning or laughing all day. The weather came to play as well, which meant we could have some photos outside, and that just added to the experience. The ceremony itself was really memorable, and having everyone on the dancefloor for as long as possible just topped it off. Oh and my mates surprised me by giving us a guard of honour with raised cricket bats (I’m a huge cricket fan) after we came out of the ceremony, which was a really lovely and memorable moment.

What advice would you give to couples planning a wedding?

Just enjoy it! Yes, the planning can be stressful and challenging but just learn to embrace it and throw yourself into it – especially on the day it self. It will be fun and hectic and busy and crazy but that’s all part of what makes it amazing!