The beautiful grounds of this couples castle wedding venue created the perfect atmosphere for their special day. Our WED2B Real Weddings Shrewsbury feature reveals more:

Catherine and James met each other online. For their first date they agreed to meet in London, however, Catherine was 2 hours late! "There were train delays due to ice on the tracks... oh, and I overslept my alarm!" Catherine says.

After 9 years together Catherine was hoping for a proposal soon. "We got engaged on our 9 year anniversary," Catherine says. "Then we flew off to Bali for a 2 week holiday the very next day!"

Organised bride

With only a 3 months notice before the big day, Catherine knew she had to get all the important bits ready as soon as she could. While on holiday, she got into the bridal spirit and began organising things straight away.
"I had purchased the bridesmaid dresses, secured a venue and found my dress all while away in Bali!" says Catherine. She had also been able to ask her sister, sister-in-law, and best friend to be her bridesmaids before they made the flight to Bali!
Real Weddings Shrewsbury

Castle wedding

The couple were flexible on the location of their venue, for them, it was all about finding somewhere beautiful to celebrate their special day. They found their perfect venue in Rowton Castle, in Shrewsbury. "It had been a national finalist for wedding venues in 2016," said Catherine, "it was such a beautiful setting, had amazing staff, and a lovely outdoor wedding set up."
As the Castle had rooms to book, guests were able to stay the night. A lovely added touch for the family.
Real Weddings Shrewsbury

Buying the dress

Catherine wore Ophelia from WED2B's Signature Collection. "I knew it was the one when I saw it online. It was the perfect fit and style I had in mind." Although she knew Ophelia was 'the one', Catherine tried on a couple of other dresses to draw out the dress experience. "My sister didn't want it to be over in 10 minutes!"
Catherine says "my store experience in Hinckley was perfect! My sister, niece and I were made to feel so welcome. The whole experience was extremely relaxed".

Spring yellow

As the wedding fell in Spring, flowers like Daffodils and Tulips are in full bloom. The couple thought that drawing yellow into their theme would complement the wildlife perfectly
Real Weddings Shrewsbury

Castle wedding

The couple had always wanted their wedding to be outdoors and as luck would have it, their chosen day in April was beautifully sunny and warm.
Catherine's dad walked her down the aisle, "he looked so proud and happy!" They had readings done by James's mum and Catherine's sister and then a live saxophonist performed afterwards.
After the ceremony guests got to enjoy a drinks reception with plenty of G&T, Rum and Coke, and Prosecco to go around. As the wedding fell on the weekend before Easter, the couple had organised an Easter Egg Hunt for the children and while that was in full swing, they snuck off for their gorgeous wedding photographs on the grounds of the venue.
There was a formal sit-down meal in the afternoon, followed by speeches and a DJ for entertainment. A sweet table was available from 7 pm, "which the kids loved", and for any peckish guests, fish and chips had been arranged for a late-night snack.
Real Weddings Shrewsbury

Great Wedding Bake-Off

As for the all-important wedding cake, Catherine and James' went for something less traditional and more creative. "We arranged a wedding cake bake-off for our family members!"
The family-made cakes were brought out at 7 pm for the bride and groom to judge. "The winner was a Barbie and Ken cake. The dolls were made to look like James and me," Catherine says. "In the end, each cake was given an award like best effort, most creative, etc."
As well as the sweet treats, the couple had a cheese board for all those guests without a sweet tooth.
"We loved everything about our wedding, it was perfect and we had all the people that matter attending the wedding even with just 3 months’ notice," Catherine says.
Real Weddings Shrewsbury

Catherine's top tip

"Plan the wedding the way you want it, don’t feel pressured to try and make other people happy!"

A few more to inspire you...

Finally, if you love the elegant Ophelia wedding dress just like Catherine, then you should also take a look at Tessa and Wyatt. These dresses are both flattering sheath dresses with open backs.

Photography credit: Simon Stevens Photography
Did your wedding have the wow factor like our Real Weddings Shrewsbury feature? If you would like to be a part of our real weddings feature send your favourite photo to, helena.jackson@wed2b.co.uk and we’ll be in touch!