pg 13

Playing hard to get paid off for Lisa Grundy when she turned down the offer of a drink from Sergio Morena. Twelve years later, that man fi nally became her husband.

I was working at the Wig and Mirkin pub, in Chelmsford, during my summer break from university where I was studying ceramics. Sergio offered to buy me a drink, but I said no because I was working. But, once my shift fi nished I went to fi nd him and asked for my drink! I think he was a little shocked, but he kept coming back to the pub and we eventually got together at the end of the summer, when I was 19.

We’d been together ten years when Sergio proposed, so I was gobsmacked he was able to completely surprise me! We had travelled to Cornwall with friends for a camping holiday on my birthday in August 2009. Once we had put the tent up, Sergio insisted on a walk to the beach as the sun was just going down. Then he got down on one knee and proposed! I had no idea he was planning it – he had even asked my dad’s permission three months before and my mum had been keeping the ring for him (which he chose himself and fi t perfectly). I was totally speechless as I am usually really good at

Summer of Love

pg 13

sussing out when someone’s up to something….I’m really hard to surprise! I had not even realised when three months before, Sergio had casually asked if I knew my ring size: he said his friend was buying a ring for her boyfriend and asked what size ring Sergio wore

– he said he had no idea and turned to me to see if I had any clue what my ring size was. I casually said “yes, I’m an M ½”... so sneaky, I can’t believe I didn’t cotton on! I pretty much had the wedding all sorted ideas wise in a couple of months! I knew exactly what I wanted and Sergio was pretty relaxed about the smaller details so I had free rein. We knew we wanted it to be in May as the weather had been so good at that time of year recently, plus it’s a bit cheaper to get married then. We also knew we didn’t want anything stuffy and wanted the whole day to feel relaxed and for our guests to really enjoy themselves. Apparently it worked as all our guests were commenting on what a lovely venue Gaynes Park is and how much they enjoyed themselves.

I went online looking for Vogue patterns as I had seen Vera Wang patterns before and quite fancied the idea of a Vera Wang dress without the price tag, but alas they didn’t seem to be available anymore. That’s when I came across the pattern that would become my wedding

Bride: Lisa Grundy, 30Groom: Sergio Morena, 34

Home: WrittleVenue: Gaynes ParkDate: May 27, 2011

pg 14pg 14

dress. I loved that it was a bit different and thought it was so ‘me’. I didn’t even try on any other dresses – much to my mum’s disappointment, I think. After fi nding the pattern, I found every time I looked through dresses at wedding shows, I was looking for THAT dress – that’s when I knew I had to fi nd a dressmaker. Helen did a fantastic job and I feel so sad I could only wear it for one day! Helen also made the bridesmaids’ dresses for my sister Emma and friend Vicki.

Sergio knew he wanted all three of his brothers as best men (he also has two sisters), so dressing them and both our dads was a bit of a task. We really liked the slim fi t suits and since Moss Bros only do standard fi t suits, I went searching and found some lovely ones at Marks & Spencer for just under £100 each – bargain as that is not much more than the hire price, but excellent quality as you’d expect from M&S! I think they all looked really smart on the day. Sergio wanted to stand out and so went for a grey suit from Alexandre at House of Fraser with the same waistcoat and cravat as the guys.

At the time of planning, we had eight nieces and nephews (we have 11 now, number 12 due in July!), so we knew we wanted to include them somehow, especially the older ones. The eldest, Gabriel, was our little usher and did a fantastic job – he revelled in the idea of having such an important part in the wedding! His younger brother Noah of course had a very similar suit and tie and followed Gabriel around ‘helping’ with his usher duties. The three eldest girls, Mia, Amelia and Matilda, were my beautiful fl ower girls and adored being princesses for the day.

Everything else fell into place quite quickly. I got lots of “but you can’t do all that yourself, you’ll get so stressed

out”, but the truth is I love getting creative and enjoyed every minute of it – the more I did, the better! It’s so nice being able to create things yourself as you get it all exactly how you want it… and can save a fortune.

The night before the wedding, I stayed at home making the button holes and painting my nails, while Sergio went out to his brother’s and then stayed the night at my parents’ house.

The day itself went so fast! People had said to me to enjoy every minute as it goes by so fast, but I didn’t quite believe them. Vicki and I set up the cake stand and cupcakes and I tried to adjust the table settings, but I was shouted at by Vicki for being so calm and that I had to go back to the Apple Loft (the lovely cottage at Gaynes Park that Sergio and I were staying in that night) to get ready! The whole morning seemed to take ages to pass – our wedding wasn’t until 3.15pm. From then on, though, it whizzed by! Before we knew it, we were being told to hurry up and have our fi rst dance as it was starting to get late!

The staff at Gaynes Park were so helpful, especially Mary who was there on the day, calmly telling us what we needed to do when and helping Gabriel with his usher duties.

I had been so looking forward to the day and it was just lovely to have all our friends and family there to celebrate with us. We were so busy catching up with our guests, we didn’t get a chance to enjoy the buffet – so we ate when we got back to our room!

The week after the wedding, we went on a minimoon to Hale, Cornwall, in our restored Beetle, camping. As a wedding gift, our lovely guests contributed towards our honeymoon fund and we booked our dream holiday in Borneo - our fi rst day there will actually be our fi rst wedding anniversary and we have booked a private dining gazebo on the beach at sunset…we can’t wait! With such a large family and so many nieces and nephews, all eyes are on us to have a baby now…

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RecreateAlex and Andrews WeddingPhotographyGavin Woollard

www.reportagephotography.com

VenueGaynes Park

www.gaynespark.com

Brides and Bridesmaids Dresses The Original Dress Maker

Helen Rasmussenwww.theoriginaldressmaker.com in South Woodham Ferrers

Headpiece and Bracelet

Flo & Percy www.fl oandpercy.com

Best Men’s SuitsMarks and Spencer

www.marksandspencer.com

Waistcoats, Cravats and ShirtsMoss Bros

www.mossbros.co.uk

Grooms Suit ‘Alexandre’ at House of Fraser

www.houseoffraser.co.uk

Small Pink Feather Butterfl iesCherlaan

www.cherlaan.com

Little Orchids scattered on tableCox & Cox

www.coxandcox.co.uk

CupcakesMarks and Spencer

www.marksandspencer.com

The gorgeous 1954 Oval Beetle belongs to Sergio

www.reportagephotography.com