Most brides to-be dream of sunshine and garden parties, but Bride Club ME fan, Louise Sleightholme wanted freezing temperatures, fur shrugs, and roaring fires.

Christmas is Louise and her husband’s favourite time of the year, so they wanted the wedding date to be as close to Christmas as possible. This allowed a quick honeymoon before flying back to the UK, to enjoy the festivities with their families. Here, Dubai based expat Louise, talks us through her wedding, and offers invaluable tips for other expats planning weddings back home

The proposal…

My husband and I lived in Greenwich, London before moving to Dubai. We got a dog were very happy, but then he was offered a job in Dubai. We decided to leave our dog with my parents in the UK, but we both missed her a lot. Some of my happiest memories are walking her in Greenwich Park on sunny days when she was a puppy.

My husband knew this was the place I was happiest in the world – so on a visit back to the UK in October 2009, he drove me up to Greenwich Park one sunny autumn morning, on the pretence of walking the dog. There’s a spot in the park that looks out over London – and he suggested we sat down on a bench that overlooked it, after walking the dog for a while. Suddenly he reached into his pocket and produced a stunning solitaire diamond ring. He didn’t even ask the question in the end – he didn’t need to… I burst out crying and the ring was on my finger in a few seconds flat!

The wedding theme…

With the date so close to Christmas (18th December), the theme of the wedding was sorted, but I wanted the day to stay sophisticated and stylish – I think there’s a danger of things becoming a bit predicable and tacky with Christmas weddings. We chose deep crimson red and sparkling silver as the colours of the day, and chose Christmas carols for our church service. We hired an opera singer to sing Silent Night as we signed the register, and served warm mince pies and mulled wine at the drinks reception. For the children, we filled large silver gift bags with activities and toys and tied with a crimson red ribbon and personalised name tags – these were placed under the Christmas tree, and each child was called up to collect theirs before dinner. Our favours were single candy canes tied with ribbon.

London also played a part of our theme. I had always dreamt of travelling to my wedding on an old London Routemaster bus – not only did I think it would look great in the pictures, but I loved the idea of sharing that exciting journey with both my Mum and Dad, and my bridesmaids. In the end, I was even glad of it. The road was so slippery with snow that it was quite a hairy ride, and I needed some moral support – I don’t know if a traditional wedding car would’ve got up the hill! In terms of the reception venue, we chose one of the oldest pubs in London – The Trafalgar – which has beautiful function rooms upstairs that look out over The Thames. Looking out that evening, as the sun set over the snowy rooftops, was very special.

The wedding cake…

Neither of us have much of a sweet tooth but we LOVE cheese, so we decided on a cheese cake, made from different layers of British organic cheeses from a company called Cheese Shed. It was served in the evening, with crackers, bread, pork pies and pickles. We also ordered a bespoke wedding topper from a company called Artlocke Designs – I had to send pictures of both of us, our outfits, and our dog – it was a surprise for my husband and a great keepsake.

The dress…

It was the headdress that was more important to me – I wanted to make a statement with my birdcage veil, so I designed it with London milliner Rachel Trevor Morgan. It took several appointments and months to be made, but I was thrilled with the final result. My dress needed to be simple, I fell in love with a dress by Suzanne Neville. The shape was very Hollywood glamour, with very little fuss, and the most beautiful sheen to the silk. The finishing touches were a fur wrap by the company Wrapor, silver shoes by Nine West (bought in Dubai Mall), Swarovski earrings, and a bracelet made by my mum.

Most enjoyable part of the planning process…

I worked in fashion at the time, so I did enjoy planning my outfit – all the appointments, fittings, and collecting everything at the end. I also loved picking the readings, carols, and music for the church. We wrote a ‘Who’s Who of the Wedding.’ We wrote a small paragraph about every guest at the wedding (arranged into tables so people could read up on who they were sitting with). That was time-consuming, but a lot of fun. It was a great talking point and very rewarding to see so many people reading it and laughing.

Most testing part of the wedding planning process as an expat bride…

Having to arrange everything from afar was testing – phoning every supplier would’ve cost a fortune, so I spent a lot of time waiting for people to reply to emails. It was also frustrating to not be able to attend appointments, view locations, and shop for items the moment I wanted to – I had to wait for the next trip home or ask somebody else to do it for me.

Top three tips for an expat bride-to-be…

1. Delegate! Living abroad makes it difficult to do everything yourself, so ask people you trust (family, bridesmaids, close friends) to help you.
2. Try not to stress too much on the minor details. I spent too much time thinking about little things, like the roses matching the bridesmaid dresses – but on the day, it didn’t even cross my mind! I didn’t even notice the flowers in the church, let alone whether they clashed with the dresses!
3. Don’t neglect the ceremony in your planning. With such a big party to plan afterwards for 150 guests, it was one of the minor points in my planning – but it was the part I enjoyed the most. It feels so special, being stood up there with the man that you love, surrounded by every person that is important in your life.

Wedding suppliers used…

• Cake – The Cheese Shed/ Venue – Our Lady Stare of the Sea Church, Greenwich, and The Trafalgar, Greenwich/ Flowers – Rachel Morgan Wedding Flowers/ Photographer – Rebecca Portsmouth/ Makeup Artist – Kimberley Wright/ Headdress – Rachel Trevor Morgan/ Dress – Suzanne Neville/ Cake Topper – Artlocke Designs.

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