Making a Splash

Heavy rain didn't put a damper on Jo and Rob's tropical surf-themed day at Box End watersports park

Click on any of the images below to view a larger version

Early days…

The couple met through mutual friends, and hit it off when Jo mentioned that her car needed mending. "Rob said he'd do it for me for free, so I took him up on his offer," says Jo. "I said I'd take him out for a drink to say thank you, and after that he asked me out on a date. He is really fun to be with, and we're always busy doing things together. He's chilled out, which complements me perfectly."
"When it comes to spending time together, I always end up with a massive smile on my face - that's why I decided I had to marry her," adds Rob.

The proposal…

Rob proposed to Jo as a complete surprise, after finishing the work on their new house, which they had been renovating. "Rob had been away and I'd been on holiday with a friend before that, so we hadn't seen each other for a while," says Jo. "He said he'd cook us a nice meal to celebrate being back together. When I got home, he was all dressed up and he had bought some Champagne. After dinner he told me he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, got down on one knee and proposed."

The venues…

Rob and Jo exchanged vows in their local church, St Owen's in Bromham. For their reception, they wanted a venue that had a relaxed atmosphere, where guests could really let their hair down. "Not far from us, we found a watersports club, Box End Park, which had beautiful wooden and glass buildings overlooking the lake," says Jo.

The dress…

The bride: Jo wore a simple cream strapless dress by Augusta Jones, which had a ruched bodice and an A-line skirt. "I wanted something timeless and classic " I'm not one for fancy dresses with loads of detail," she says. Jo's tiara was a simple pearl and crystal headband, and she wore a veil scattered with a few small crystals.
The groom: Rob wore a retro chocolate brown suit by Ben Sherman, an ivory patterned waistcoat and a gold cravat.
The bridesmaids: Jo's maid of honour, best friend Kaz, and her other close friends, Donna, Sonia and Laura, wore floor-length brown satin dresses and had silver flower pins in their hair. The flowergirls, Rob's three nieces, wore cute little ivory dresses.
The groomsmen: Rob's best friend of 20 years, Carl, was his best man, and close friend Nigel and nephew Josh were ushers. They wore grey lounge suits with silver patterned waistcoats and silver cravats.

The flowers…

The flowers "I always wanted to have bright flowers, which ended up perfectly complementing our tropical surfing theme," says Jo. Her bouquet was made up of bird of paradise flowers, anthuriums, gerberas and roses. The bridesmaids had simple bouquets of bright pink gerberas.

The decorative touches…

Jo and Rob's priority was to have a relaxed day where the focus was on partying and having fun. As surfers, the couple injected some personality into the day by hiring a watersports venue and having surf-themed reception tables.
Rob and his friends restore old VW camper vans as a hobby, and they all brought their vans down for the weekend to camp in, which fitted in with their trendy, carefree theme.
Each reception table was named after a beach where the couple had been to surf, and the place names were pebbles inscribed with the guests' names in gold pen.
The cake Jo and Rob's delicious cake was made by a friend of Rob's sister, and consisted of fruit and sponge layers finished with cream icing, handmade pink sugar gerberas and white daisies.

The best bits…

The big day eve
The night before the wedding, Jo stayed with her bridesmaids at the couple's house, which is just around the corner from the church. Meanwhile, Rob camped out in his van with friends and family at Box End Park. "We had a few beers at the bar to calm the nerves, but we were all OK really. My best man was more nervous than me - he was scared about his speech and nearly did a runner!" he says.

The ceremony...
"The ceremony went really well, and the vicar, Di, made everyone feel welcome," says Rob. "My sister Sally was supposed to give a reading, but Di forgot and did it herself! We laughed so much. Some people were a bit late because of satnav problems, and one person ended up stuck in the corn field outside the church and needed to be towed out afterwards!"

...and the celebrations
"The reception ran really smoothly considering by this point it was pouring with rain and the staff were clearing water from the entrance to the marquee, where we had our wedding breakfast," says Jo. "It didn't bother us or any of our guests, and I still have a bit of mud on my dress from my dance moves!"

Useful Contacts: