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Did you see what I did there?

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Yesterday, I took a rare and cheeky day off from all things online – the wedding blog, Twitter, Facebook, emails, Instagram, Pinterest – you name it, I was unplugged from it, as I celebrated my birthday with my closest family.  I figured that with Baby Brides Up North on the way and a full Spring schedule of Brides Up North luxury bridal events about to begin (click here for dates, details and to register as one of our VIP brides to be) this might be my last opportunity for some me time for quite a while.

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So today I’m back, refreshed and recharged (or as much as you can be in your third trimester of pregnancy) and completely making up for our one day hiatus as I bring you Brides Up North reader Nadine and new hubby Paul’s stunning Real Wedding celebration, with images by Mick Cookson Photography.  Fabulous!

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Nadine says:  We got engaged on Tuesday 28^th September 2010. The day started with a catamaran cruise to Ile aux Cerfs, which is a beautiful island fringed with white sandy beaches, palm trees and crystal clear blue lagoons, just off the coast of Mauritius. Once we’d returned to our hotel on Mauritius and changed for the evening, Paul mentioned that there was something special happening on the jetty and wanted to be nosey and take a look on our way to the restaurant for dinner. As we approached I could see a waiter on stand-by, the pergola at the end of the jetty was adorned with silks, and there was a table set for two. With the sun setting on the horizon of the Indian Ocean it looked a perfect setting for a romantic meal. As we got a little closer I whispered to Paul “Wouldn’t it be nice if that were for us!”. As we approached the waiter gestured to us and said our table was ready. Before I could apologise to the waiter and say he’d mistaken us for another couple Paul thanked the waiter, gently took my hand and escorted me to what proved to be the perfect setting for a proposal. Even at this stage I did not suspect what was to come, but shortly after we were seated and Paul bent down on one knee in front of me, the penny dropped and the moment took my breath away.

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We were married on Saturday 22^nd December 2012 at Mitton Hall, near Whalley in the Ribble Valley. We planned for a Winter wedding.  It was on recommendation of my best friend Vicky. The second we walked through the door we knew it was everything we had been looking for.

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We didn’t have a theme as such but we wanted the venue to offer elegance and the atmosphere to be relaxed, informal and fun which reflected our personalities.  Our colours were very neutral. Our chair sashes were mink and the floral arrangements were creams and ivory with a hint of gold. Everything else followed suit.

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I travelled to the venue with my Dad who had come over from Jamaica to give me away. We were taken in a vintage Regent Tourer by Horgans Cars.

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My dress was purchased from Annie Laurie Bridal and although this was two hours from where I live the service they gave was worth every mile! After trying on around 12 dresses I fell in love with a Maggie Sottero  named Pasadena.

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Paul’s suit was a traditional charcoal wedding suit with tails, with an ivory waist coat and mink ruffled tie, which was coordinated with our daughter’s flower girl dress and the floral arrangements. This was hired from Groom in Warrington.

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We didn’t have any bridesmaids or grooms men, we just had our little girl as a flower girl although she fell asleep before the ceremony so didn’t get to walk up the aisle. She wore a lovely ivory dress with a satin mink belt and flower which I customised by adding a flower embellishment to the flower. We saw this dress as we were food shopping in Morrison’s! We weren’t even aware that they sold clothes but there we saw exactly what we had been looking for.

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I carried a bouquet which I made myself using satin flowers made out of satin ribbon, silk flowers and embellishments.  I had my heart set on having a bouquet that I could keep and researched different styles of bouquets. At some point I decided that I would try and make my own (something I had never done before) and after hours and hours sat making satin flowers I finished up with the most beautiful bouquet. I love being creative and can pretty much turn my hand to anything I set my mind to. I will now be framing my bouquet in a box frame which will take pride of place on our wall.

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I have since launched my own company, Handmade with a Heart, as a result of the many requests we have had from people for the special touches that we added to our wedding. 

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Flying The Knot provided our barn owl ring bearer!

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My favourite part of the day was when we were pronounced man and wife, which is when I spontaneously jumped up and down shouting “I’m married, I’m married” much to everyone’s amusement.

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Paul’s favourite part of the day was when we were walking down the aisle as man and wife when he had a few fist pump moments.

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We filled our guest boxes with personalised M&M’s which read “Nadine and Paul” on the ivory ones and “Married 22.12.12” on the cream ones and chose and wrapped 27 gifts that were given to all the children from Santa (a friend of ours who looks like the genuine article).

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Our floral decorations were by Passion Flowers in Clitheroe. 

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We struggled at first with the cake as Paul doesn’t like fruit cake, and prefers sponge, whereas I am the opposite. I really wanted my Gran to make our wedding cake as she makes the best fruit cake, but given Paul’s taste I decided to ask my Gran to make a sample cake as I knew that as soon as Paul tasted it he’d really like it! Sure enough, there was no going back once he tried it. I think it had something to do with the Jamaican white rum that she uses quite liberally to make it.

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My Gran made us four tiers which we then took to All Things Sugar in Warrington who decorated it beautifully for us. We wanted something simple but elegant.

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In the evening as well a DJ we had a chocolate fountain and casino tables from SJ Enterprises to keep the adults entertained and we had a bubble machine and candy buffet which kept the kiddies happy.

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Emma and Chris, who are friends of ours, lived in Austria for a few years and surprised us with a huge heart which was drawn on a cotton sheet along with our names and the date of our wedding. After we cut our cake, we were handed a pair of scissors each and the sheet was held up. Starting at the bottom of the heart we then had to cut it out but going in opposite directions and the first person to the top won!! We then stepped through the heart together and this symbolises stepping into a new life together as man and wife. It was such a lovely touch and was so nice as our guests cheered as we stepped through the heart.

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With it being over Christmas, and being lucky enough to have family travel over from Jamaica and LA, we decided to spend Christmas and New Year with family and delay our honeymoon. We are looking forward to flying into LA, which is where our daughter will spend time with her uncle, aunty and three cousins, whilst we go on to Tahitian island of Bora Bora. On our return to LA we intend to spend a few days together as a family in San Diego before returning home.

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My top tip for other Brides Up North would be to plan everything quite early. That way you can enjoy all of the planning and the run-up to your big day, as oppose to things getting on top of you and stressing you out! Also spend time planning how you would like your special day to run in terms of timings and hand this to all parties involved i.e. MC, best man, maid of honour, photographer etc as that way everything will run its course without you having to worry. But most of all take time out as husband and wife throughout the day to take everything in and enjoy your day, as it goes so fast!

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Happy Wedding Day from The Sutcliffes!

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Congratulations Nadine & Paul!

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Contact me to see your own Real Wedding on Brides Up North.  Here’s how.

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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2013 Mick Cookson Photography

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