Jemma and Adam Yoxall – 18th November 2023

Tell Us How You Met and All About Your Proposal …

Adam and I met through a mutual friend that I had on social media.
Thanks to Greggs festive bakes, they put a photo up together in 2017 and I sent that cringey “who’s your friend” message to him. We then got thrown into a group chat and thus started the endless FaceTimes to eachother.
We lived in different areas at the time, me in Shrewsbury and Adam in Newcastle. After only 4 months I decided to make the move and move in with him and well as they say.. the rest is history.

A key part to know, is my favourite animal is penguins.. 

In November 2020, Adam took me on a surprise trip to Edinburgh Zoo as I had always wanted to go. We spent the day watching the various animals and birds they have there and at the end of the day, we went to the penguin exhibit.
At the exhibit, there is a bridge you can cross which runs through the inclosure so you are surrounded by penguins.

We were stood on the middle of the bridge and he hands me a present that is wrapped in chiffon. It was a pebble (if you didn’t know, when penguins find their mate that they want to spend their lives with, as they only mate with one, they present a pebble to them) and on it was written “will you marry me” with a paper maché penguin couple.

I turned round to see him and there he was on one knee in the middle of the bridge.

Let’s Talk About The Dress And Your Journey …

As a plus size girl, my biggest fear was not being able to try dresses on OR find a dress I actually liked.

Before coming to SCB, I went to a variety of shops (some well known stores as well I might add) and I had the worst experiences. Some said they didn’t have anything that would fit me and some didn’t have any samples I could try on so they simply held it in front of me so I could “imagine what it looked like”. As you can imagine, I was completely deflated.

By the time it came to go to SCB, I was shaken but still trying to remain positive! From the moment I walked into SCB I was greeted with huge smiles and excitement about my engagement and finding my dream dress. Jackie was absolutely brilliant with me and my loud and proud party. She got an idea of what I was looking for and started pulling dresses from the rack that I’d be able to try on and that would compliment not just my figure but my personality and oh my goodness did she do above and beyond what I had ever expected to experience when looking to get my dress!

I am a very bubbly and positive person, a “loud and proud” (or “large and in charge” as I like to say) woman so I knew I wanted a dress that would mimic that.

I think it is so key to embrace your body so nothing was off limits to me, I didn’t mind if it had sleeves, didn’t have sleeves, was figure hugging, was A line.. I really let the dress do the talking and I would know it was right based off that.

When I put my dress on for the first time, looking in the mirror in the changing room, I just knew it was my dress. The elegance of the lace but with the sparkle underneath, the hint of a warmer tone coming through, the shape on my bust, the off the shoulder.. this dress was everything I had ever wanted and more

How Did You Feel In Your Gown On The Day …

I cannot explain just how beautiful I felt.

I felt like a princess in my own Disney movie, not only that but I was SO comfortable in myself that i was able to actually enjoy my day! I didn’t stop to think about “do I look big” or “are my arms too on show”, I simply did not care because the confidence I had wearing my dress was absolutely unmatched.

How Did Your Partner React When They Saw You In Your Dress …

Adam and I had always joked about how he wasn’t going to cry when I was walking down the aisle as he isn’t an emotional man.

However, when I turned the corner at the bottom of our aisle.. he and all of his grooms party were all in tears.

Where Was Your Venue And What Made You Choose The Venue …

Bredenbury Court Barns is one of the most beautiful venues I have ever seen.
With views of three county’s, the large Manor House, plus the barn as well, it was simply breathtaking.

We wanted something that felt elegant but warm and homely. Bredenbury has everything we could’ve asked for and the photos we got, speak for themselves.

Are There Any Special Memories You Would Like To Share From Your Special Day …

Adam and I did a first touch.
He was stood on one side of a wall and I the other, we held hands and got to have a moment to speak to each other before I walked down the aisle.

This was one of my favourite moments from the wedding as we got to give each others hands a little squeeze to calm the nerves and it gave the moment of “this is our day” without spoiling the seeing the dress moment”.

Tell Us About Your Wedding Colour And Theme …

The colours we chose were to replicate a night sky before it snows (from dark to light).
So we started with a navy on the grooms party, to a different shade of blue on our ring bearers and bridesmaids, my MOH was in a lighter shade of blue and then I followed in white.

The ombré of colours from navy to white was PERFECT!

How Did You Make Your Day Unique To Your Love Story …

We carried the penguin proposal through to our wedding so our table names were all breeds of penguins and our name holders for our wedding party were all penguins.

First Dance …

Adam and I are huge marvel fans and when we watched End Game, where Captain America goes back in time to be with the woman he loved. The scene then cuts to them being old, slow dancing in the living room and the song “it’s been a long long time” played.
We knew straight away we wanted this to be our first dance song.

Where Did You Honeymoon …

We are mini mooning to a log cabin in Northumberland between Christmas and new year but our main honeymoon is in April and we are going to sunny Mauritius!

Perfect Planning – Can You Give Future Brides Any Tips For Planning The Big Day …

Don’t stress!

I took my time making sure we were 100% happy with the vision our vendors and suppliers had for us.

Leading up to your day – be calm. This may sound hard to do but I promise you, it’s not! I was so calm the week of the wedding as I knew I couldn’t stop anything from going wrong BUT I could stop myself from being so stressed I didn’t enjoy the big day!

Lean on your wedding party, they are so excited to be such a huge part of your special day that they will cover the small things for you, like shoes, jewellery, accessories and they will send you so many links and photos to help find what you’re looking for!

Enjoy it and good luck x

Suppliers …

Venue – @bredenburycourtbarns

Photographers – @laura_jenkinson_photography

Florist – @mayrosefloral

MakeUp Artist – @anastassia.mua

Hair Stylist – @chloebeyoutifulhai

Wedding Planner – Me @jemyox_all

Cake – @emilyrosecakes