2012VILLAGE Weddings27weddingsYour wedding's taking place on Friday 13th. We're guessing that you're not superstitious?LP: I am quite superstitious, and I would never ever consider walking under a ladder or crossing on the stairs. I also acknowledge every single magpie I see! This date just seemed perfect though, as I always wanted to get married in the spring and it is school holidays as well. Perfect. What are you doing for your engagement party?DF: My Village Life have kindly allowed us to host an Engagement Party at Buca di Beppo in the Blackpool hotel. The layout and atmosphere of the place really lends itself to a family celebration of this ilk. Lyndsey and I have eaten there on a number of occasions and always had a wonderful time. This is one of the many things we would never have considered being part of a 'win a wedding' prize, and we are really looking forward to celebrating at the venue that in just over 5 months' time will be the scene of our wedding. We are also going to be serving our signature cocktail on the evening and we both can't wait. What are your plans for the Stag and Hen Do? Are you going to a VILLAGE Party Night?DF: With the array of hotels that VILLAGE have throughout the country it is very difficult to choose where to stay. I think we may both plump for Leeds though (not at the same time!). Lyndsey's bash will be about shopping (with the hotel's location being so close to Leeds centre), drinking, and the wonderful spa facilities that the hotel has. My stag do just has to have sport at its core. If it can include rugby, football and horse racing I'm sure that everyone who comes will be delighted. Was there a fight about who would be a bridesmaid?DF: The bridesmaids picked themselves really. We have 2 wonderful daughters Poppy (4) and Holly (1) that we absolutely adore. They will be 5 and 2 at the time of the wedding and will be flower girls with their cousin Mollie who will be 7. I think the 3 of them are just as excited, if not more excited, than us! What do your friends and family think of you winning the wedding?DF: Everybody is delighted that we have won, and that is without understanding the full extent of the day we hope to have. Both mums are looking at outfits and with a number of people coming down from Scotland, they are already making arrangements. I have suffered almost endless abuse in respect of the poem I wrote for the competition, but it is a small price to pay for the position we are in now! Lyndsey, have you found a dress yet?LP: I actually found a dress and purchased it, only to subsequently change my mind and end up with another one (I will be returning the first one)! That's it now though, there won't be any more. David joked that I must have bought two because I'm planning to have two weddings! I'm not though. David is the only person I want to be with. David, has Lyndsey turned into a Bridezilla?DF: I think Lyndsey would acknowledge that Bridezilla has been lurking deep inside her for some time! This has just given her a fantastic opportunity for this to come out. VILLAGE has given us the platform to have the wedding that Lyndsey has always dreamed of so it is inevitable that she will be excited and just wedding, wedding, wedding. I'm fortunate that Lyndsey is a 'gym dodger' so I can always retire to the gym at Herons' Reach and get an hour or two of peace and quiet. Overall do you think VILLAGE has helped to make all your wedding dreams come true?DF: The wedding has obviously not happened yet, but so far I can genuinely say, we could not be in better hands. Caroline, Caroline and Chris at My Village Life and Sabina at Blackpool have been enormously helpful and patient in helping develop our ideas into reality. We have also been provided with an Engagement Party as well as accommodation for Stag and Hen Do's that are far and above what we even considered we may get when we won the competition. If the wedding is as good as the people that are helping us to organise it, we will have a ball.

28more 8 winter 2011/2012VILLAGEVILLAGEVILLAGE ticks all VILLAGE is the ideal destination forfun seekers, whether you want to stay in and around the hotel, or head out on the town..Girls that wanna have fun shoulddefinitely check out our legendaryTribute Nights, featuring tribute bandsfor all the big names including TakeThat, Grease and ABBA!Then for the boys, Friday night isalways Hot, Cool and Juicy Night,where The Victory Pub & Kitchen willbe serving up the hottest wings, thecoolest beer and the juiciest burgers- and if you can manage all three theyeven give you a T-shirt to prove it!Plus, with many of our 26 hotelslocated in and around some ofthe UK's best party cities such asManchester, Newcastle, London,Leeds and Cardiff, why not book a room then enjoy a big night out on the town...FUN SEKERSParty time at VILLAGE hotelsLove Village? Love Facebook? Join in the fun online at www.facebook.com/myvillagelifeWith dark nights, plummeting temperatures and another woeful bunch of celebrities on TV, winter can be a pretty depressing time of year. So the best way to beat the winter blues is to head straight to VILLAGE hotels!You might like to come for a slap up meal at verve, victory or Buca di Beppo, sample the state-of-the-art Technogym equipment in our health and fitness clubs or indulge yourself with one of our relaxing spa treatments. Or you might want to make a night of it (maybe even 2 or 3!) and check into one of our stylish rooms complete with flat screen plasma TV, iPod docking station and luxury Sealy ZZZzzz bed - the perfect place to crash out in after a long day of shopping - or a long night of partying!Whatever you want to do this winter, VILLAGE hotels certainly ticks all the right boxes, and here we've highlighted a few of the different groups we'll give a warm glow to this winter.