Real Weddings

Chani and Josh.

While many of us were forced into idleness during lockdown, we’re willing to bet that this couple were kept pretty busy: Josh is a gas engineer and Chani works for the NHS.

Josh and Chani met through a mutual friend back in 2013, and moved in together in 2016. When the proposal came, Chani was completely unprepared for it – despite the fact that they were on a romantic mini-break in Paris, the city of love.

“Josh had booked a weekend away for the Easter bank holiday. We had a romantic first day exploring the city, and went out for dinner in the evening. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by the Eiffel Tower to watch the last lightshow of the night. I was so surprised when he produced the ring and asked me to marry him; although it suddenly made sense why he’d been so stressed over the fact that he couldn’t keep his hand luggage with him on the plane!”

Wearing a classically simple long-sleeved dress teamed with a beautiful evergreen head crown, Chani married Josh in a small ceremony in Wasing Secret Garden. “My great-grandma had a small communal garden hidden behind the laundry shed, which we used to call the ‘Secret Garden’ – so this venue felt really special. We only had 36 guests during the ceremony, so it was really intimate.”

And the ‘father of the bride award’ goes to Chani’s dad. “During the speeches, he asked all the guests to make their way to the tipi. He had set up a projector and screen, which projected a video of him learning to play the piano piece to which he had walked me down the aisle earlier that day. He had never played the piano before, but after many late nights and hours of practice, he learned to play the Forrest Gump Feather Song. I had no idea!”

Chani’s top tip when planning a wedding is to steer your own course, unaffected by the opinion of friends and family. “It can be easy to get overwhelmed, but remember, this is your day! In ten years’ time, people won’t care what decisions you made, but you’ll remember every detail of the day forever. It’s all about the both of you.”

Images supplied thanks to Storybox Wedding and Film Photography