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Well you know that I approve of the stunning venue for today’s beautiful Real Wedding, having hand picked the lovely Belle Époque as the location for the last Brides Up North Tweet Up North West!

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I love how Brides Up North reader  Claire and her new husband Tim have worked with the decor of this intimate setting, rather than against it, to create a special day that is personal and chic.

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With images by Julie Mann Photography. 

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Claire says:  We got engaged in October 2010. Tim sneaked off and designed the ring all by himself. After he’d cooked me a curry he attached the bespoke ring to the dog’s collar and got him to sit next to me on the sofa until I finally noticed it.

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For once I was absolutely speechless!

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We were married on Friday 22nd June 2012 at The Belle Époque, in the beautiful Cheshire market town of Knutsford.

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It’s a unique venue, with stunning original Art Nouveau architecture and an opulent interior. We chose it because we wanted an intimate stylish wedding with an emphasis on fun rather than a more traditional “starchy” occasion. We also chose The Belle Époque because of its reputation for excellent food and it certainly delivered on the day.

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The voguish Belle Époque wedding venue easily lent itself to a vintage chic theme.

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We based our colour palette on a beautiful silver sage colour with accents of classic pink- very pretty and in keeping with the vintage chic feel.

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I chose something a bit different to take us to the venue- two white London hackney taxis. They looked fantastic but there was the added bonus of them being very roomy inside for my wedding dress!

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My wedding dress was a Demetrios sparkly number from our gorgeous local boutique wedding shop, Puure in Lymm. It felt like a real red carpet dress. I had seen it in a magazine and couldn’t believe it was in our local shop- fate! Angie who owns the shop is amazing and made me feel really relaxed. She also came and put me in my dress on the day which was brilliant.

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My friend Jaynie who is manager at Johnson’s hairdressers in Stockton Heath opened the shop really early to make sure we all had fabulous hair. She was waiting with bucks fizz and croissants and made us all feel really special.

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Tim wore a navy blue suit made by Coleman and Son tailors based in Leicester. He’s 6ft 7 so always has to get his clothes made if they are going to fit him properly! My dad, the best man Nick & Tim’s brother Paul hired their navy suits from Groom in Warrington. Their ties were silver sage and made especially to match the bridesmaid’s dresses by the wonderful staff at Puure in Lymm.

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Julie Mann Photography are based in Helsby Cheshire. Julie and her husband Phil were so hard working and were with us all day from very early in the morning. They captured all the emotions of our wedding in a relaxed unobtrusive way and provided us with such beautiful photographs to remind us of our special day.

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My friend Caroline who owns Fresh Floral Designs in Hartford, Cheshire did our beautiful flowers as well as dressing the tables. She did such an amazing job. The bride’s bouquet was a natural tied posy of avalanche roses and crystal blush callas. The roses added a touch of pink to complement that vintage look. It was bound with satin ribbon and classical diamante buckle.

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I enjoyed every single second and couldn’t stop smiling! I think the best part was walking down the aisle with my wonderful dad and then me & Tim taking our vows in the exquisite candlelit ceremony room- so perfect.

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I made all the place settings myself: each table had a flower theme and I attached a little wooden heart onto each flower with the guest’s name on it- a lovely little keepsake. I also made all the stationery including the invitations and menus. It was really hard work but the guests commented on how beautiful the room looked.

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My table planner was a huge vintage bird cage on a stand which I attached the table plan cards to (which I also made myself). My friend Caroline filled the cage with gorgeous flowers.

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Another personal touch was the wedding favours: The girls got a little bottle of luxurious Molton Brown whilst the boys got a bespoke personalised golf ball as a little memento.

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Finally, each guest got a chocolate lolly at the end of the night- lips for the girls and a moustache for the boys. I made the labels for the lollies and never want to see another lolly label again as long as I live!

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Our show stopping cake was made by Rosy who owns Cakes For All UK and travelled from Banbury to set up the cake on the day. The individually designed cake was inspired to reflect the vintage chic theme and complemented the silver sage and classic pink wedding colours as well as the flowers in my bouquet. Inside each ball was mouth watering carrot, chocolate orange or chocolate fudge cake. Not only did it look extremely pretty but it tasted absolutely amazing as well.

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We had the most amazing Jazz band during the afternoon led by pianist Eugene Portman. The jazz singer, Jade, had a voice like honey.

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Manchester based DJ Nick Campbell did a sterling job at the night time do. So good in fact that Tim and I may have forgotten to talk to many of our guests in favour of dancing our legs off!! Luckily I had swapped my sparkly Jimmy Choos for a sensible pair of silver pumps.

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We also hired Shooting Stars Photo Booth which was an absolute stroke of genius! Our guests absolutely loved having their photos taken with the various daft props. We had a hilarious and unique guest book to keep at the end of the night.

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After the wedding we had a “mini-moon” in Portugal in an all inclusive resort for 6 days. We asked for Trailfinders vouchers for wedding gifts and are busy planning our Honeymoon to New Zealand in 2013 to coincide with the England cricket tour dates.

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My top tip for other Brides Up North would be to walk really slowly down the aisle and take it all in… and don’t forget to smile!

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Congratulations Claire & Tim!

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Please get in touch to see your own Real Wedding featured on Brides Up North. 

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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2012 Julie Mann Photography

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