An elephant ride leads Katy and Steve down the aisle in garden wedding

Not many brides can say that they were proposed to on the back of an elephant, but that’s exactly what happened to Katy Griggs when Steve Faulkner popped the question while the pair were holidaying in Cambodia.

“We visited Ankor Wat for sunrise… Steve was planning to propose as the sun came up, but it soon became clear that, although we’d got the perfect position in front of the temples, there were hundreds of other people there. Steve knew that this would be my idea of a horrendous proposal in front of so many people,” Katy, 29, says.

“For the rest of the morning we walked around various temples and Steve was trying to find the right time and place. We eventually took an elephant ride around Bayon Temple and it was by one of the pools, on the back of an elephant, when Steve finally got a chance to pop the question!”

Of course, Katy said ‘yes’ and she and Steve, 32, returned to their hometown of Shepshed, Loughborough to begin planning their garden wedding.

“We aimed to create a feeling of not really having tried that hard and almost bring the outside inside,” Katy says of the big day, which was held at Derbyshire’s Calke Abbey on May 6, 2016.

Seventy guests witnessed the ceremony and enjoyed drinks and lawn games before 90 friends and family took part in the evening celebrations.

“We’re a great match because we really complement each other in every way,” Katy says of her relationship with Steve.

“This helps us to bring out the best in each other and allows us to share such an amazing experiences together, past, present and future.”

Photos courtesy of Oehlers Photography.

A colourful bouquet was perfectly in keeping with the couple’s garden theme.

Katy and Steve wanted to bring the outside in to their elegant venue.

The couple first met when they were both working at Loughborough University. “At first I always thought that Steve was arrogant, but he soon won me around with his charm and good humor,” Katy says.

Katy was full of praise for Oehlers Photography. “They took natural photos, which we prefer, and was able to capture the whole story of the day,” the bride says.