'I proposed in the Cotswolds during a spa weekend away,' he says. 'I did have to ask twice, as there was a stunned silence brought on by the surprise and the emotions!'
The couple chose to wed in Devon and wanted somewhere near Rob's hometown. 'Coombe Trenchard ticked all the boxes and we immediately fell in love with the beautiful interiors and gardens,' reveals Rob, who also poignantly chose the date of their seventh anniversary to tie the knot.
'The Minstrels Gallery, where we were married, is a bright room with a high ceiling and beautiful wooden arches. We also loved the Italian Terrace and Coach House, where we held our wedding breakfast. It was great that the venue allowed for such flexibility and variety in location with lots of areas for our guests to explore.'
Their country celebrations inspired the rustic theme that evolved during the planning period, with decorations kept to a minimum in order to retain the venue's elegance and character.
Colours were kept neutral, with greens and nude pink selected for the bridal party, candles and floristry, to which darker tones were added for 'depth and boldness'. The pillars in the Coach House were adorned with rustic foliage to add a touch of romantic greenery to the glass-roofed space.
'We really wanted to ensure our guests had a great time on our wedding day,' explains Begum, who presented them with an entertaining mix of lawn games, a personalised playlist and full bar complete with pre-selected his 'n' hers cocktails in the evening.
'We both love good food and, along with ensuring our guests were well entertained, we really wanted to keep our guests well fed,' says Rob of another key element. Canapés of scotch eggs, risotto balls and honey-glazed sausages were followed by antipasti platters to start, then a lip-smacking variety of side plates with lamb, beef and chicken for people to carve and share. 'The desserts followed the same theme and were made up of three mini desserts per person on sharing boards,' adds Rob.
The evening treated guests to wood-fired pizza, pick 'n' mix sweets, a cheese cake, and marshmallows toasted over the firepit, along with dancing aplenty. 'The night ended with us walking through a tunnel of sparklers and our guests being picked up by the coaches at midnight,' says Begum.
'We truly enjoyed every moment of our wedding day and felt that all of the planning and preparation was so worth it in the end,' she says in retrospect. 'We particularly enjoyed watching our guests having a great time and mingling during the wedding breakfast whilst listening to our wedding playlist.'
As words of wisdom, Rob says: 'Keep your wedding small and plan it the way you want it to be. This is the one time where you are allowed to be selfish. We had just over 60 guests, which made for a meaningful and intimate day with all of our loved ones.'
He adds: 'Whilst it can be a stressful time, make sure you enjoy the run-up to the wedding day, as in hindsight the anticipation is almost as enjoyable as the big day and you might later wish you could do it all over again. Really try and soak up every moment as it all goes by too quickly.'
Photography Venetia Norrington Photography venetianorrington.com
Venue Coombe Trenchard coombetrenchard.co.uk
Hair Viva Hair vivahair134.co.uk
Flowers A Scent-Sation ascent-sation.co.uk
Transport Carmel Coaches carmelcoaches.co.uk
Bar Thirst Choice thirstchoice.org.uk
Catering Posh Nosh posh-nosh.co.uk
Entertainment DJ Damon from Earcandy earcandylive.co.uk
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