A whole new world

A wedding proposal in Disneyland Paris amidst amazing fireworks was just the beginning for Kyrie and Sean

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Early days…

Childhood sweethearts, Sean was only 15 when he met Kyrie, then 14, at a friend’s party back in September 2002 while still at school. Sean expressed his romantic side when he whisked Kyrie off to Disneyland Paris on Valentine’s week to propose marriage. “On Valentine’s Day, while having a candle lit dinner at the Magic Kingdom, Sean held my hand and asked me to marry him! It was such a surprise, it came out of nowhere. I said yes straight away. I was so excited when he gave me a ring - an 18ct white gold ring with a round dazzling, cubic zirconia diamond. It was beautiful. We then went and watched the fireworks show around Cinderella’s castle. It was so romantic,” Kyrie recalls.

Hen and stag parties…

Kyrie and 23 friends went to the Jongleurs comedy club in Southampton the Saturday before the wedding. They arrived in a pink limo, which was a surprise from Kyrie's mother-in-law. The girls all went out dressed as bunnies, complete with bunny ears, bow tie and tails. They enjoyed all the comedians and danced the night away till 2am.

Sean went to Ocean Dragon for an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet with 15 friends and family, and then on to several pubs and clubs. “Towards the end of the night he ended up in the casino and lost all the money he had left,” Kyrie says.

The venues…

Kyrie and Sean both
wanted to get married in a church, and St. Andrews in Hamble is close to where they live. “It’s such a lovely church, with all its original features and has lovely grounds.” They booked St. Andrews 11 months ahead.

Sean’s grandad is part of the committee at the Royal British Legion so they went to look at the venue in Park Gate, Southampton for the reception.

According to Kyrie, “It was perfect for what we wanted and the right size for the amount of guests we had attending”. The main function room has a big dance floor and a large, separate room for serving food.

The attendants…

Kyrie had three bridemaids - Leanne, her sister, Kerry, Sean’s sister, and Danielle, the chief bridesmaid and Kyrie's best friend. They all wore an A-line dress with crystals around the top and left hand side. The dresses were made from Shantuk taffeta fabric in claret to match the theme and Kyrie’s dress. For accessories, the bridesmaids wore white gold drop pendant earrings that Kyrie had bought for them. Their hair accessory was a long flowered silver hair slide with diamanté.

Sean’s best friend, Richard, was the best man. He wore black tails, a white shirt, an ivory waistcoat with claret patterns, a claret cravat and handkerchief, and an ivory and claret buttonhole. The usher was Sean’s brother, Dean, and he wore the same outfit as the best man, but with an ivory buttonhole. The pageboy was Kyrie’s brother, Kyle.

The dress…

Kyrie’s dress was an ivory and claret Shantique empirewaist gown with halter neckline. The pleated bodice was accented with beaded embroidery buttons with a trimmed back zipper. The A-line skirt had a split-panel, semi-cathedral train. “I’ve never seen a dress like this, and didn’t find one that came close. The bold colours were amazing and I knew it would be the perfect dress for our day, especially with our colour theme.” She wore a pair of red rose studs and a matching necklace. Something old was her mum’s bracelet, and something blue was the garter her mum had given her.

The transport…

Kyrie travelled to the ceremony with her dad, the three bridesmaids and pageboy in a vintage ivory and black 1934 Rolls-Royce decorated with a claret ribbon. The same car took the newlyweds to Netley Abbey ruins for photographs, and then on to the reception.

The decorative touches…

The colour theme was claret and ivory. The tables were scattered with red rose petals with a vase and single red rose at the centre of each. They made their own favours – little netted red drawstring bags containing red and white love hearts from Makro.

All three tiers of the cake were shaped like love hearts. The top tier had a personalised cake topper made to the likeness of the bride and groom, while the other two tiers were decorated with claret and ivory roses made out of sugar icing. Also around each tier were claret and ivory roses.

The best bits…

“For both of us, the best part of the day was saying our vows to each other and for all our family and friends to witness. Everything went according to plan - even the weather,” Kyrie recalls. “There was nothing about the day that we would change.”

The honeymoon…

Kyrie and Sean spent a relaxing, romantic two weeks at the Holiday Village Golden Beach Resort in Puerto Plata, along the Dominican Republic’s northern coast. “It’s a beautiful hotel and the service was amazing. The staff couldn’t have been more helpful. We used the spa, had facials, massages and had my nails done. The weather was lovely and hot. We really loved it and would recommend it to couples who want to get away and relax,” Kyrie says.

They upgraded their hotel package to a Royal Suite, which gave them access to adults-only facilities, including a swimming pool with swim-up bar, jacuzzi, VIP club house with unlimited internet access, breakfast room, separate check-in, a private adults-only section of the beach, and priority at all four à la carte restaurants. They booked the all-inclusive package with First Choice.

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