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Over the festive period I’ve been recapping some of my very favourite Real Weddings from the last 12 months on the wedding blog. It’s been a tough choice! In true Brides Up North style, each wedding featured on these pages is unique, beautiful and gorgeously personal. It’s been an exceptionally fabulous year! Enjoy… we’ll be returning to our usual schedule tomorrow!

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In this fairly new trade, y’know, the modern profession of wedding blogging, one gets to see a whole load of gorgeous on a daily basis.  But just when you think you are nearing beauty blindness, along comes a Real Wedding that knocks your socks clean off. 

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This words cannot describe how stunning Real Wedding of Northern couple Sally & Lee – sent to me by my new favourite person and friend of the wedding blog Sheffield photographer India Hobson Photography – did just that.  Consider my socks knocked.  

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Thought the New Year was going to be dull?  Think again, as my forecast says jaw dropping!

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India says:  Sally and Lee were worried that if they had an Italian photographer they may come across problems with the language barrier and came to me – and I’m so glad that they did. I flew over with one of Sally’s best friends, and stayed for a few nights around the wedding itself; it was a pleasure to be welcomed by all the guests and it was certainly picturesque.

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Let’s chat to real bride Sally: We got engaged on Christmas morning at home by the Christmas tree in 2009.  Lee and I met in college and after 10 great years together, I was absolutely over the moon to be engaged and it was our most magical Christmas ever!  We married on 2 August 2011 at Cloister St Francesco in Sorrento, situated along the Amalfi coast in Italy.

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We had both agreed on a wedding abroad but wanted to keep a more traditional feel to the ceremony, rather than a beach style wedding. Both Lee and I adore Italy: the food, the culture, the romance, the wine, and the Italian attitude to a laid back lifestyle, embodied in the saying: “dolce far niente” (The sweetness of doing nothing! And yes we have watched Eat Pray Love). After doing our research we stumbled upon the perfect venue, The Cloister St. Francesco in Sorrento, an old monastery dating back to the 8th century.

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When you walk through the entrance and step into the open space surrounded by ancient archways, columns and pretty greenery, you find the perfect romantic setting to say your vows. When you step out of the Cloister, you are greeted with a spectacular view of the bay of Naples. It is a stunning location along the Amalfi coast and provided the perfect romantic backdrop for our wedding photography.

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My father and I travelled from The Grand Hotel de la Ville by traditional Surrentine horse drawn carriage. It was a surreal moment and realisation of a dream come true made all the more exciting when spirited Italians sped past us on their Vespas shouting “Ciao bella!”.

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The theme was vintage romance – the venue and setting spoke for itself really.  We chose neutral shades in fitting with the backdrop, coffee and cream for the bridesmaids.

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The dress was from Catherine-May Bridal in Honley, near Holmfirth. From the offset it was clear that natural taupe, soft grey and earthy tones were best suited to my own skin tone and hair colour, as opposed to classic white or ivory. The style was a mermaid silhouette with strapless sweetheart neckline, an asymmetrical ruched bodice with shabby chic corsage at the hip and a chapel train. The fabric was French Taffeta in feather grey, which gave the dress a more vintage feel. Everyone commented on the colour, which really made a statement and was very fitting to the surroundings and romance of Italy. It was the only dress that gave me butterflies in my tummy when I tried it on and when I saw the look on my mum’s face, I knew it was ‘The One’. The headpiece was vintage lace with pearls, custom-made at Kula Tsurdiu in Nottingham.

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My bouquet was a mixture of cream and vintage lilac roses and greenery. My bridesmaid carried cream roses whilst the flower girl had cream silk rose petals, in keeping with the romantic theme.

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My chief bridesmaid, Katie, wore a dress by Leeds based fashion designer Lucy Bennett, who runs her own label Roc and Doll. I was able to assist in the design process and wanted the dress to have a Grecian goddess feel to it with flowing chiffon fabric. The dress was one shoulder with rose detailing at the strap, rouching at the bust, high waste line with coffee and cream panels on the skirt and a small train at the back. The flower girl, Rebecca, wore a cream dress from Monsoon with vintage lace detail top, capped sleeves, tulle layered skirt and silk bow tie at the back.

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The whole wedding was arranged through a Sorrento based company called Sorrento Sunland, who sourced local suppliers for every aspect of the wedding. They provided an excellent service, responded quickly to queries and were both enthusiastic and supportive every step of the way.

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I have never seen a bride use a parasol before so I felt this added a special touch, especially in the photographs and it also proved to be practical in keeping my face shaded from the sun. A perfect accessory for a wedding abroad! I provided female guests with fans to keep cool as they awaited my arrival to the Cloister.

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A personal touch was the name labels on the favours. I attached old fashioned tags with lace and on one side wrote the name of each guest, on the other I wrote romantic phrases in Italian such as ‘per sempre insieme’ (together forever), ‘amo solo te’ (I love only you), ‘sei la mia rosa’ (you are my rose). All the guests were asking me to translate!

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In Italy the cake was presented on a stand individually portioned and served to the guests as their dessert. Sorrento is famous for its lemon orchards so we chose the light lemon sponge covered in Chantilly cream. It was delicious.

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Our reception was at Marameo Beach Restaurant, on a jetty out in the sea. We had our DJ playing chilled out tunes during dinner and as the sun was setting. Then the music got louder and we made our own entertainment! The setting by the cliff face and looking out to sea was absolutely stunning!

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Both Lee and I agree it is difficult to choose one specific part of the day as we loved every single moment. One aspect we both agreed on was the fact that it was a very intimate affair with close family and friends (32 guests). This meant that we got to spend time with each other as well as our guests and felt overwhelmed by the love and support from all those who shared our special day. It was relaxed and informal. We both loved our first dance to Michael Buble’s ‘Everything’. Lee got very emotional and it was lovely when our friends and family joined in.

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As the bride, if I had to choose one part of the day it would have to be stepping into the cloister and the ceremony that followed. It was such a fairy tale, overwhelming emotional moment floating down the isle with my Dad by my side. One I shall cherish forever. The string quartet playing Pachelbel’s Canon as I entered the Cloister was absolutely beautiful and the romantic music played throughout set the perfect atmosphere.

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The romantic reading by my friend, Carolyne Gregory was also a special moment. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.

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We went to Thailand on our honeymoon. We spent 5 nights in Bangkok at the Banyan Tree Hotel, famous for its Vertigo restaurant on the top of the hotel on the 61^st floor. We enjoyed dinner there on our last night.

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We visited the Grand Palace Buddhist temples, watched Muay Thai boxing, visited the floating markets and had outfits tailor made. We then flew down to Phuket and stayed at the Indigo Pearl spa resort for two weeks the relaxing portion of the honeymoon.

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My top tip for other Brides Up North would be to relax, keep calm and take in every special moment of the day. Don’t let it pass you by worrying unnecessarily, it will all go to plan. Also remember to spend time with your new hubby as well as the guests and have fun together.

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Anyone considering a wedding abroad should contact their local registrar who will explain the procedures according to where you choose to marry. I can’t recommend this enough, especially as you can do it all again on your return by throwing another big knees up and show off the dress of your dreams for one last time!

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Congratulations Sally & Lee!

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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2012 India Hobson Photography

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