ALICE & KYLE | NOTLEY ABBEY | COUNTRY HOUSE WEDDING FILM
COUNTRY HOUSE WEDDING VIDEOGRAPHER
10th August 2023 | Alice & Kyle | Notley Abbey |Country House Wedding Film
Our country house wedding love story
How did you guys meet?
Blind date!
I was doing a house renovation for a client whose daughter Alice used to teach. She was living in the house during the works so was always around. One day she overheard the plumber asking me how ‘tinder’ was going (rubbish, actually – but he loved to live vicariously through us younger blokes!) and later in the afternoon she came to me, saying she couldn’t help but overhear our conversation and she thought to herself, “I’ve got to set Kyle up with someone nice”… and she thought Alice would be the perfect choice.
For me, it was a “thanks but no thanks” but she kept hassling me about it over the following weeks, saying there is this really lovely girl who used to teach her daughter that she thinks I would really like… come on, just give it a go, etc, etc…
Meanwhile, she was texting Alice (who, ironically, was holidaying in Australia at the time) having asked if she was still single and then telling her she knows this really lovely guy who she thinks would be a really good match, can I give him your number etc, etc and Alice’s responses were the same as mine!
However, her persistence paid off and eventually both of us were like, “Okay fine!” and thought we would give it a go. She gave me Alice’s number; I sent the first text (even more awkward because we had never even met!) and eventually arranged what would be both of our first and only ever blind date. And here we are, 8 years later!
Tell me a bit about the two of you, what do you guys do? How do you spend your time?
We have 15-month-old twin boys, who take up most of our time! We enjoy going to gigs, food and trying to grab a bit of sleep whenever we can! That has of course been hard to come by in recent months…
How did the proposal go down? (All the gushy details, I love this bit!)
Alice had wanted to climb Mt Kilimanjaro for years. For one reason or another, year after year, it just didn’t happen.
In 2019 though, she managed to convince myself and a few of her old uni friends that we should do it. By this point we had been together for a few years, and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to pull off a memorable proposal. I didn’t want to tell anyone about it though, just in case something went wrong (some people really suffer from the altitude and don’t make it to the top)! So, I bought the engagement ring, hid it and then on the trip I carried it in a little secret pocket in my rucksack that was on me at all times.
We did a 7-day climb and after a couple of days I was hit with a stomach bug which made life a bit trickier for me!
On the final ascent we started at midnight from base camp in order to reach the summit for sunrise. Because of the bug I hadn’t been eating and drinking as much as I could have, and I collapsed a couple of hours into the hike.
After some deliberation, our tour guides decided it was best we split so the others could continue, and Alice and I stayed put for a little while longer until I was well enough to continue. We then carried on, along with one of our guides and 2 porters. I thought there is no way I can let this chance go being so close!
Closer to the top, Alice was struggling with her breathing and so had to be given oxygen, so by this point we both had our really tough spots that held us back a fair bit and the sun was well and truly up! But, slowly but surely, we eventually made it to the top. That was a highly emotional moment! Then Alice was trying to find a nice little rock to bring back home that her brother requested, so with her back turned I thought “This is it” and got the ring out so by the time she turned around I was on the knee. I don’t know if it was the nerves, lack of oxygen or the sheer exhaustion but the words kind of got stuck at the base of my throat but after a few tears Alice says, “So are you going to ask me?!” to which I finally got the words out. She said yes, we shared an embrace and a few more tears, then we had to turn around and begin our descent to base camp.
How did you choose your wedding venue(s)?
We liked 2 Harper venues, but the other venue was a bit small for the number of people we originally anticipated would come back in 2020, so we decided to go with Notley Abbey.
What sort of experience do you want your guests to have?
A relaxed day with good vibes, good food, good music, and a few beverages.
Can you describe some of the details and stylings, does your wedding have a theme?
No real theme, fairly simple.
What was the hardest decision during the planning?
Don’t really have one
What advice would you give to couples planning a wedding?
Try not to get too caught up in the small details that no one else will ever notice!
Wedding trailer
Our Dream Wedding supplier team
Filmmaker
Mark Shipperley
https://www.facebook.com/markshipperleyfilms
Facebook @markshipperleyfilms
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Happy Snappy Photographer
Lucy Judson
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Facebook @LucyJudsonPhotography
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Those Fabulous Flowers
Joanna Carter
https://joannacarterflowers.co.uk
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Facebook @joannacarterweddingflowers
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The Delicious Food
Harper Weddings
https://www.harperweddingvenues.co.uk
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Facebook @NotleyAbbey
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Groovin’ Music
Anthem
https://anthemmusicagency.co.uk/heatwave
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Facebook @AnthemMusicAgency
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Beautiful Hair & Makeup
Lucy Beesley
https://www.lucybeesleybridal.co.uk
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Facebook @lucybeesleybridal
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That Delicious Cake
Cakes By Kit
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Music licensed through “The Musicbed”
The Musicbed
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Artlist
https://artlist.io
License Owner – Mark Shipperley
Mark Shipperley Films
License Number – 100416
