Megan Ayers (nee Tapper) and David Ayers met at the Sands nightclub in the summer of 2011 and have been together ever since!

“We moved in together in our house in Templeton in 2014 and David proposed to me at the gardens of Hampton Court Palace on St. David’s Day, March 1, 2015,” said Megan, who tells us her wedding story.

The ceremony

We got married on June 4, 2016, at St. Issell’s Church, Saundersfoot. St. Issell’s was an obvious choice for us - generations of David’s family were married there. Also, David was christened there, so it meant a great deal to us to marry there. Not to mention the fact it is a truly beautiful church!

Reading

My brother, Rhys Tapper, was an usher and read a poem that he had written especially for us. Months before the big day, we asked Rhys to write a poem for us to read in the church (as his reading) and we heard it for the first time on the day of the ceremony. To hear his heartfelt words for the first time during the ceremony was a lovely moment. His poem was even better than we could have imagined! Also, family friend Tim read a section from Colossians in the Bible.

Theme

Apart from the lilac colour scheme, we had a theme of birds and bicycles - our save the dates, invites, order of service and cake topper featured bicycles (David is a keen cyclist and Ironman!) and I liked the whimsical vintage look of birds and birdcages. We had birdcages for our centrepieces and a decorative vintage bike in the orangery complete with flowers and balloons!

A lot of our wedding decor was homemade and handmade by myself or family -including the table plan, favours, wooden centrepieces, bunting, sweetie table, decor and personal touches. It was very special to have so much of the day made with love by those closest to us.

Music and hymns

We went traditional, opting for the church organ and choir. Our hymns were Guide me O thou Great Redeemer and Love Divine All Loves Excelling. Coming from very proud Welsh family, we wanted to add Welsh touches where possible and asked the choir to sing Calon Lan during the signing of the register.

Rings

Our rings were purchased from Goldsmiths in Cardiff; mine is a white gold band with a row of inset diamonds. David’s is a thicker palladium ring.

Wedding party

Maid of honour was my sister Rhiannon Tapper, while bridesmaid was my cousin Bethan Tapper. Best man was David Schooling (David’s best friend) and his ushers were my brother Rhys Tapper and David’s friends Tom Hilling and Simon Hilling. My cousins Jordan Lees and Dafydd Tapper had baskets of Welsh cakes and handed them out to all of our guests as they left the church.

Planning

We started planning very soon after we got engaged - we knew straight away that we wanted to choose St. Issell’s Church and Beggars Reach! I knew what kind of dress I was looking for - doesn’t every girl?! So I chose my dress just a few months after our engagement from White Bride.

I went to the National Wedding Show with my sister in Birmingham last October, which was very girly and fun! We went to several local wedding fairs, too, including one at The Grove, Narberth, and one at Carmarthen Showground.

Gown

My gown was a bespoke Charlotte Balbier dress from White Bride, Narberth. It had lace shoulders with a sweetheart neckline and went in at the waist with a crystal waist belt. It had a full-length flowing skirt. I had a full-length veil with crystals and lace. My shoes were Vivienne Westwood and were white peep toe heels with red hearts!

Hair and make-up

My hair and my bridesmaids’ hair was done by Harley Kate’s in Pembroke. I had loose curls and the girls had up-dos with tiny lilac flowers. Our make-up was done by Nicole Devereux, who gave us a natural, but beautiful look!

Flowers

I had a big bouquet of white hydrangeas and my bridesmaids had purple hydrangeas and sweet peas. They smelled amazing. Our florist, Jan Griffiths, created beautiful sweetpea and ivy centrepieces in each birdcage and stunning baby’s breath pew ends and pedestals in the church.

Bridesmaids’ dresses

The bridesmaids wore full-length lilac gowns. Rhiannon’s was strapless and Bethan’s had a lacy top and bow.

Groom and the groomsmen’s attire

David and his groomsmen wore grey suits with tails from Mr. Roberts in Pembroke Dock. They had lilac cravats, ivory waistcoats and lilac rose buttonholes. They each had different coloured socks on!

Reception

Our reception was at Beggars Reach Hotel, Burton. There were welcome drinks of beers and Pimms and fabulous canapés on arrival. We had 70 guests to the daytime reception, with a delicious sit-down three-course meal. Starter was vegetable soup or melon, main meal was a chicken roast dinner and dessert was profiteroles or cheesecake. During the meal, local harpist Jess Ward provided beautiful Celtic background music. Our tables were named after our favourite rock bands, including Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy and Pink Floyd, which I think surprised people! Imagine a beautiful birdcage filled with sweetpeas and ivy with a little ‘Black Sabbath’ sign coming out of it - haha! Guest numbers went up to approximately 110 at the evening where there was a full buffet. DJ Steve Briers provided the disco in the evening and kept us on the dancefloor until the small hours!

Favours

Each guest had a paper birdcage with chocolates inside. We also made our own sweetie snack table for guests to help themselves through the day!

Photographer

Our photographers were Eiry and Meurig - Pembrokeshire Photographers, they were fabulous and captured the day perfectly.

Cake

We had a three-tier cake from Marks and Spencer (fruit, chocolate and vanilla sponge) topped with a porcelain bride and groom on a bicycle and decorated with fresh flowers.

Transport

Our wedding transport was provided by J. J. McHugh -two vintage buttercream yellow cars.

Hen and stag nights

My hen do was in Brighton and David’s stag do was in Newcastle - lots of fun had by all!

Honeymoon

The day after our wedding, we left Beggars Reach Hotel and went straight on our honeymoon to Mauritius for two weeks - it was paradise and we had the time of our lives!

Favourite moment of the big day?

There were so many beautiful moments! David wrote me a beautiful letter and gifted me with a bracelet on the morning of the wedding which was a complete surprise and was a lovely thought! When I walked down the aisle, it was a surreal and incredible experience that I will never forget, and David’s face when we first saw one another! When we said our vows, it was emotional and really special. We were laughing and crying listening to the brilliant speeches! And of course our first dance, Never Tear Us Apart by Paloma Faith, was a wonderful moment for us. It all went too quickly!

Top tips for a bride-to-be

Keep calm - plan and do as much as you can far in advance and then you can relax when the day actually comes. It is all going to go so quickly - savour every moment.

Don’t forget to delegate - usually, mums and sisters and bridesmaids want to help out as much as they can, so let them! Think about what you can do to make your wedding personal, and special to you as a couple. And make sure the food is good - that’s what people will remember!