Lucy and Donovan first set eyes on each other during a night out in Plymouth. “Lucy walked into me with a handful of drinks, which spilt everywhere,” he recalls. “I somehow had a folded napkin in my pocket which I whipped out and she responded with ‘I’m sold’. We then exchanged numbers; Lucy saved mine as 'husband' and I saved hers as 'wifey'.”
Unbeknownst to Lucy, their surprise engagement was a pre-planned and very public affair. “I run the Plymouth half marathon every year,” explains Donovan. “In secret, I organised 30 of our nearest and dearest ‘to support and watch me finish the race’ but they were actually there to watch me propose to Lucy at the end!” Posing en masse for a photo with a friend holding up a ‘Will you marry me?’ sign, Donovan asked Lucy to check the picture whilst dropping to one knee.
Plans began in earnest for their wedding at Rockbeare Manor, which took a classic colour scheme of champagne and brown. The sumptuous palette was carried in everything from the groom’s taupe and groomsmen’s coffee brown suits to the bridesmaid’s beautiful light biscuit hued gowns. Lucy teamed her striking white gown with a bouquet of crisp white roses, while posies of white blooms in dainty glass vases and contemporary stationery created a modern romantic aesthetic for the celebrations.
The intimate ceremony featured the couple’s own vows, which Donovan says “made everything much more personal and special” and recommends taking the time and effort to write them “preferably by yourself, somewhere relaxed so you can say what you feel”. Making her big entrance proved to be Lucy’s standout moment of the day. “Walking down the aisle and seeing my husband-to-be with tears in his eyes was definitely my favourite moment,” she reminisces.
Post-ceremony drinks and photos amongst Rockbeare’s stunning country house frontage and grounds were followed by the wedding breakfast in the ballroom overlooking acres of pristine parkland.
“We didn't want a traditional sit-down three-course meal,” Donovan explains of the sharing platter feast they arranged for guests. “We wanted a more laidback family-style meal, where you can help yourself. With Caribbean heritage in my blood, I wanted to pay homage to that. So we had jerk chicken, rice and peas followed by dumplings in the evening.”
Donovan recommends considering the layout, as well as the flavour and meaning, of your wedding breakfast. “Have a sweetheart table, no top table,” he says. “This is the one time you can sit down and have your first meal as bride and groom and take it all in.” In fact, so momentous was their meal, that Donovan cites their entrance as his favourite memory of their wedding. “When we walked into the wedding breakfast hand-in-hand hearing: ‘Please be upstanding for the new Mr and Mrs Spencer’, it felt so surreal, but so right,” he says.
An evening of drinking, dancing and more feasting completed Lucy and Donovan’s dream-filled day, which they reflect upon to dispense their top planning tips to other couples in the throes of planning.
“Do not prioritise anything over your photographer and videographer. When the dust settles that's all you will have left of one of the best days of your life!” implores Donovan. “And a bonus tip!” he adds. “Date! Have a social life, too. Don't let wedding planning consume you too much!”
Photography Ivyhouse Photography ivyhousephotography.co.uk
Venue Rockbeare Manor rockbearemanor.co.uk
Dress Brides at Waterfields bridesatwaterfields.co.uk
Bridesmaids’ dresses Debenhams debenhams.com
Suits Moss moss.co.uk
Videography Tom Carder Media tomcardermedia.com
Hair Lisa Sheldon Hair instagram.com/lisa_sheldon_hair
Make-up Sophie White sophiewhitemua.co.uk
Flowers Artem Florum artemflorum.com
Cake Cake House instagram.com/cakehouseplymouth
Entertainment DJ Jonezy instagram.com/djjonezy
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