Red is the Colour! (But Rugby is the Game) A Real Wedding, Nicky & Darren

Posted on: 23/03/2011

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Wow!  This Real Wedding has got personality by the bucket load.  It’s fun, its rugby ballsy, its colourful!  I love it!  Take some tips from Nicky (of Nicky Chadwick Photography, a Brides Up North Featured Supplier, none the less) and keep your groom happy too, with a wedding that mixes sport and sophistication.  Nicky gets it just right.

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Nicky tells Brides Up North all about it: When my husband proposed back in the summer last year I was so happy. We were walking around one of the many gold shops in Dubai and we stopped at the ring section and he said “pick one”! I was in shock – we hadn’t really talked about getting engaged so wasn’t expecting it – but it had been part of Darren’s plan all along.

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We talked a little bit about the type of wedding that we wanted but couldn’t really think of a venue that suited us. As a wedding photographer I see so many venues, all of which are beautiful in their own right but I didn’t really want any of them. Then, in October we were at the last game of the season for the Leeds Rhinos (somewhere I have been a season ticket holder for many years) and I just thought, I love it here, maybe we could get married here. Darren loved the idea and the next few days were spent checking out the venue and dates. Due to the nature of my business there was no way I could’ve got married in the summer so we picked February which was quiet for me and the planning began. Thank you to Claire Pearson at the Rhinos for helping us organise the date, food, drinks and more!

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Right from the start we didn’t want any fuss – we just wanted it to be a nice get together of our closest friends and family. I chose a beach theme as ideally that’s where we would’ve liked to get married but there were several of our guests that wouldn’t have been able to make it. Our daughter Mel drew me a starfish and that became the central point of everything for the wedding.

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Paula at Heart and Design used the starfish design and put together some gorgeous invites. I included a reply card and an info card for the guests to make it more convenient for them – and also a reply envelope – all they needed was the stamp!

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My dress came from Confetti and Lace in Leeds. They were fabulous, helping me to decide on the right dress and then with the fitting, and the shoes!

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The bridesmaids dresses were made by my Mum who is pretty talented when it comes to dressmaking. As my dress was red it was difficult to decide on a colour but I think we did the right thing going for black and white.

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The boys were really casual in dinner jackets with open collars and loose bow ties, all of which I hired from the lovely Richard at Harrogate Suit Hire.

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I contacted Joanna from Twisted Willow Floristry several months before the wedding as I knew that even though I didn’t want flowers at the wedding, she’d be perfect to help me put together a theme for the table decorations. Joanna got together bamboo and drift wood, starfish and sand filled vases and made the fabulous centre pieces for each table. She also made amazing posies for the bridesmaids and button holes for the guys from Chupa Chups lollies. The girls thought this was a great idea as not only did they look fab, but it meant they could eat them too!!

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The fabulous wooden letters came last minute from Sarah at The Big Pops Letters Shop. The Mr & Mrs were great to have as props with the photos and later in the evening, our guests signed them so we have a lovely keepsake of the day.

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The girls had their hair done by a local hairdresser and some lovely starfish pins, made by the lovely Jane at HF Couture, were added as a finishing touch.

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Viv at Poppy Sparkles made me a fab starfish necklace to go with my dress but unfortunately, the day before the wedding when we were putting everything together to take over to the Rhinos we couldn’t find it anywhere! I was a bit upset as it would have been perfect with the dress, but Darren was amazing and surprised me with a silver starfish necklace to wear instead. The girls had tiny necklaces made for them by the lovely ladies at Pink Butterfly Jewellery.

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My cake was made by my very special Auntie who was persuaded by me that her butterfly buns were exactly what I was looking for. She did a great job and the buns were loved by all.

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Our rings were a bit of an afterthought as we had intended originally to get them after the wedding, but huge thanks go to Iain Henderson who designed and had ready in time for our big day two gorgeous rings.

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On the morning of the wedding we woke up to about 3 inches of snow and a small panic, but after getting the car safely down the hill I was happy. The day went exactly as I’d hoped. It was very relaxed with no real formalities and everyone had a great time. The venue is not what you would call a ‘pretty’ one so I didn’t want lots of photographs – but Lorna from Lorna Roberts Photography had agreed to come over and take some funky type shots in the stands of the stadium so I could have something a bit different to put on the wall – thank you Lorna.  Here is what Lorna had to say about shooting my wedding – always a little bit daunting shooting another photographer!

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"I really enjoyed being part of Nicky and Darren’s wedding day; the unique location of Leeds Rhino’s was something that meant a lot to Nicky. The idea to have the lollipops for the bouquets and button holes was a brilliant idea and they looked fab! I hope Nicky and Darren will be very happy and I wish them all the luck for the future".

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Nicky’s favourite shot

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All that remains for me to say is thank you to all those wonderful people who helped me to put my day together. The wedding industry is full of amazing people who go out of their way to help – thank you so much to everyone.

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Little Black Book:

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Venue: Leeds Rugby

Dress: Confetti and Lace

Groom’s suit: Harrogate Suit Hire

Table decorations: Twisted Willow Floristry

Lettering: The Big Pops Letters Shop

Jewellery: Pink Butterfly Jewellery

Jewellery: Poppy Sparkles

Jewellery: Iain Henderson

Hair accessories: HF Couture

Stationery: Heart and Design

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Photographs by Lorna Roberts Photography

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Nicky Chadwick Photography is a Brides Up North Featured Supplier

Contact Brides Up North to submit your business as a Featured Supplier

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