Rosalie and Paul were married on June 28th in a breath-taking ceremony at The Italian Villa. You must see their firefighter guard of honor in a nod to Paul’s job!! Let their dreamy Italian inspired affair whisk you away in these romantic shots taken by Sophie Bowdler Photography.
It was love at first sight after Paul saw his new wife in the local pub while out for a family meal – even though Rosalie admits she didn’t spot him! He returned a week later to get her number and the rest was history. The pair live together in the lovely town of Lymington with their gorgeous Labradors Molly and Maisie. Their shared love of Italy led them to choose this spectacularly pretty property for their pink themed special day.
And in keeping with their Italian dream, the proposal was just perfect. In September 2013, they went on a trip to Italy and visited the definition of traditional romance – Venice. “We spend the day looking around the shops, sightseeing and took a trip on the gondola. We had dinner and then had a walk along the Grand Canal. It was a beautiful evening and the view was amazing. Paul then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was so shocked and with happy tears in my eyes I asked ‘what he was doing and to get up!!’ But of course I said yes!”
The love shared between them is clear to see as they look positively giddy with nerves and excitement during their ceremony! “My favourite thing about Paul is that he is kind, thoughtful and romantic. It helps that he has lovely eyes and a cheeky smile too!”
While Paul’s favourite thing about Rosalie is “how happy and smiley she is. She always supports me and encourages me in everything I do.”
“To us, Italy is very special. We took our first holiday as a couple here and it is also the place Paul proposed. We would have married abroad in Italy but it meant more for us to share our special day with friends and family. To find The Italian Villa was just WOW. It brought Italy to the UK! The gardens took our breath away – it was a gorgeous background for our wedding photographs. The staff made us feel so welcome when we viewed the venue; we just knew it was ‘the one’.”
On their big day, Rosalie looked every inch the blushing bride – complete with pretty pink petals. Her simple headpiece and veil paired with a beautiful lace gown was the epitome of unstated elegance. “Like every bride, I spent a lot of time looking in wedding shops to find ‘the one’! I had the dress of my dreams in my mind but when I found it, I was disappointed- it did not suit me! I had always said I did not want a layered dress or a lacy one, but I tried one on just to see, and loved it! It’s funny how we want one style but actually choose something completely different. When my wedding dress arrived I was so pleased, I felt like a princess.”
“I found choosing a wedding photographer the hardest thing in our wedding preparations. All wedding photographs look gorgeous on websites and in photo books. I did a lot of searching! We came across Sophie Bowdler in a wedding magazine. Her photos were lovely and natural- we didn’t like the ‘staged’ photos. She seemed so friendly when I contacted her and she arranged to come over to introduce herself and to show us some of her work. I immediately felt comfortable around Sophie and she was easy to get along with. We met Sophie and her partner Ben (who was the second photographer) a week or so before the wedding to discuss the photographs for the day. This worked really well on our wedding day and meant people were not hanging around for ages to have their photos taken. Sophie and Ben were great, made us feel very relaxed and comfortable whilst having our photos taken. Ben was brilliant and very attentive, making sure me and Paul were happy. Helping me with my dress and making sure Paul had a drink to hand! We are so pleased with the way our photographs turned out. Every aspect of our wedding was captured, from table decorations to the first dance. We have lovely memories of the day and they have all been captured through our photographs.”
In keeping with their pink wedding theme, Rosalie’s Dad’s speech was a little embarrassing… “I suppose he thought this had to be done! He announced to a room full of friends and family about my experience on holiday. When I was young, I decided to skinny dip in our private pool – only to find the pool cleaner arrived to do the weekly clean! Trying to hide my dignity with a rubber ring, I had to get out the pool. I was so embarrassed that I darted out and ran into our holiday villa! Thanks Dad!”
“We had the best day, everything was perfect and to share this with our friends and family was amazing. I would love to go back and do it all again!”
A huge thank you to Rosalie & Paul for sharing their beautiful Italian inspired wedding with us and to Sophie Bowdler for allowing us to feature these stunning images. You can see more of Sophie and her partner Ben’s work at www.sbowdlerphotography.co.uk.
