"We met in a bar called The Gable in London. We were both out with friends and Dan's friend got chatting to us and brought him over - that was it!" recalls Catie of her first love-struck sighting of Dan.
Dan's proposal was a well-considered affair, having had the engagement ring designed and made before organising a weekend to Devon to ask Catie's dad for her hand in marriage.
The couple then drove to Blackpool Sands, Catie's favourite beach, for a walk. "We got to a small secluded area in the sunshine and I asked Catie to marry me," says Dan. "We both sat and laughed on the beach for a long time afterwards, missing the breakfast booking I had made at a local hotel. It was an amazing day!"
With a clear vision of their "outdoors, relaxed and as natural as possible" wedding in mind, their venue choice was an instant decision. "We visited one venue and knew this was exactly what we wanted," explains Dan of Ever After, which ticked all the boxes for their al fresco summer shindig.
"It was beautiful, even in March when it was grey and cold," he says. "The marquee is fantastic; then there's the river walk, which in the daytime is beautiful, but stunning at night. The firepits and benches that line the river make for a great point to sit and chat in the evening."
Catie's light and elegant Catherine Deane gown, with its soft skirts and delicately detailed bodice, complemented the medley of pretty blooms and foliage in creating the picture of a dreamy summer garden wedding
Pre-ceremony drinks on the lawn set the perfectly chilled-out tone for the day, after which the pair wed in the barn before returning to the lawn for more drinks and garden games such as giant Jenga and croquet.
The newly-weds then headed off for some photographs before returning for the speeches and a sumptuous sit-down meal featuring the lip-smacking likes of scotch eggs with pea shoot salad and heritage tomato salad and mozzarella for starters, followed by chicken with clotted cream mash, leeks and bacon; fillet of salmon with new potato salad; and wood mushroom risotto cakes with red pepper puree.
A tantalising trio of desserts - lemon posset, Eton mess, and meringue kisses with lemon curd - were served just ahead of after-dinner coffee; more guests then arrived for the evening party where live music from The Fat Cats got everyone dancing.
"Plan together but don't overthink everything; your instinct is normally correct," says Catie in encouragement to other couples who may be experiencing wedding planning stress. "If you can find suppliers who have worked at your venue before, this is a great help for ideas, and to let you know what will and won't work."
Photography Helen Cawte helencawte.com
Venue Ever After lowergrenofen.co.uk
Dress Catherine Deane catherinedeane.com
Shoes Sophia Webster sophiawebster.com
Groom's outfit suit French Connection frenchconnection.com shoes Loake loake.co.uk
Bridesmaids' dresses ASOS asos.com
Hair & make-up Nicola Pettitt nicolapettitt.com
Flowers Dartmoor Flowers dartmoorflowers.co.uk
Cake Cut Me Off A Slice cutmeoffaslice.com
Bar Taylors Tavistock taylorstavistock.co.uk/bar
Entertainment The Fat Cats entertainment-nation.co.uk/fat-cats
Copyright Wed magazine 2018
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