Rhys Lewis & Shannon Martin chose Sant Ffraed House as their venue of choice.
Here they share all with Style of the city about that very special day.
1) How did you first meet?
We were out and about one night and I saw this gorgeous lady, hovering in front of me.
Shannon was out with her friends and her sister, and I eventually plucked up the courage to say hello.
It took a few months to take her out on a date, but once we did, we hit it off.
2) How did you propose?
At the top of the rockafella Centre in New York exactly 2 years after we met each other – I didn’t mess around!
3) Where did you get married?
Sant Ffraed House by Oldwalls
4) What attracted you to the venue?
The house itself just blew our socks off. We were travelling back from London, and whilst in the car we were looking through Bridebook and saw this venue we hadn’t seen before. We saw it was in Abergavenny, and thought it looked amazing. Booked a viewing, and as soon as we walked in we just knew it was the one.
We planned the whole wedding in 6 months. We were nervous at first as everyone was booked 3 years in advance, but this enabled us to focus, and get everything done and sorted.
5) What did you wear? Tell us about your gowns…
The day dress was bought after the night dress.
When I went wedding dress shopping, we were on a timescale as we only had 6 months to find the perfect dress and have it made.
I went to couple of boutique shops, and they wouldn’t let me try a few of the dresses on, as they said it wouldn’t get it back in time. I then went to One Bridal and fell in love with this dress, so I bought it, it was sparkly and sexy so I knew it would be the perfect dress for the evening.
For my day dress, I’d seen a style of dress that I liked and wanted to try on, so I went to Timeless elegance, and they had it. It was plain and bigger with a long train and split up the leg. I fell in love with it.
I wore Jimmy Choos too which fit each style of dress.
6) How did you feel when you first saw him at the altar?
Shannon: I was so emotional, as soon as I came in, Rhys was in floods of tears, and I was trying not to cry so I didn’t spoil my makeup.
I could feel myself tearing up and I was trying to compose myself. It felt so surreal that we were just about to get married.
Rhys: remember everyone gasped and I thought omg here she comes.
It was like time stood still, you build yourself up over the years planning the wedding and how it’s going to be, and then all of a sudden, the day is finally here.
7) What was your best memory of the ceremony?
Seeing shannon coming down the aisle, the anticipation and build-up of seeing each other for the first time, along with all our nearest and dearest in the same room.
You could really feel the love in that moment.
8) What was your first dance song?
I won’t let you go by James Morrison. Our best man got us a record of our first dance song, which was a lovely touch. We also had a memory table of those who couldn’t be with us, so there was a lot of mixed emotions.
9) What’s your recommendation to future couples getting married?
Focus on you, and enjoy the day because it just goes so quickly. Take it all in, every second and go bougie because you only do it once – no regrets!
And of course, do it at Sant Ffraed House. Everyone we spoke to and dealt with was so helpful. The whole venue exceeded our expectations. We couldn’t recommend the staff and Sant Ffraed House enough!
