Summer Shutdown! And A Colourful Real Engagement Shoot –Nicola & Michael

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Everyone needs a holiday, right?

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It’s Summer Shutdown season here on the blog, and as the team take a break to rest and recharge for the second half of what’s set to be the biggest and best year year yet at Brides Up North HQ, we’ll be leaving you with a reduced blogging schedule that will make sure that you still get your daily dose of wedding pretty. 

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Usual service will recommence on 1st July 2013,  but in the meantime keep dropping in on a daily basis and watch out for recaps of our favourite Real Weddings so far in 2013, plenty of eye candy, new features that we just won’t be able to wait to share, some special supplier showcases and a couple of surprises too! 

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So without further ado, I officially declare Summer 2013 open – come on sunshine!

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Starting the Summer Shutdown off with a burst of colour, today we join Nicola and Michael as they share their sweet story and excitement about their upcoming big day.  With images by Pixies In The Cellar.

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Nicola says:  We got engaged in the beautiful Maldives on 6^th June 2011.  It was a complete surprise – just us at the end of a jetty on a beautiful island.  Michael had a candle lit dinner planned and we sat outside celebrating under the stars on a private deck over the edge of the beach. Just us and a – very discrete – waiter. It was the perfect proposal.  He’d also asked my Dad’s permission before we left.

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We are getting married in August this year at The Saddleworth Hotel.

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We met at the gym in June 2006. After three weeks of eyes and smiles, I asked him on a date!  We went for a drink at a nearby hotel. Neither of us were looking to meet ‘the one’ but couldn’t deny that there was an instant attraction on both sides. 

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After casually dating for a few months, Michael was given the chance to go out and play rugby in New Zealand. As we hadn’t been dating long, we left it at “tTanks for a great Summer, it’s been fun’. No pressure to keep in touch – I simply wished him good luck as he flew off in late November.

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Then, before long, emails turned to texts and texts turned to calls and on New Year’s Eve 2006, we both said those three magic words. Neither of us could deny our feelings and longer.

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After finishing my degree in May, I flew out to New Zealand for an amazing Summer together before both returning to England in August.

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Seven years later, I guess true love really does conquer all!

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I love Michael’s love of life and how he never fails to make me smile. He is not only beautiful on the outside but also one of the nicest men you could ever wish to meet. He is smart, loving, incredibly witty and, often, the yin to my yang – the calming voice, when I worry too much!

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Michael:  Nicola makes me laugh. She is my best friend and, to top it off, smokin’ hot!

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Our biggest wish for married life is to have a happy, healthy family and grow old together, as happy as we are now.

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We’ve been engaged for two years now and are just weeks away from getting married. Wishing we’d had some photographs done when we first got engaged, we decided that it would be a lovely memory and keepsake to treasure as part of the build up to our big day! The ‘just before we were Mr and Mrs’ shots. It also gave us and Peter (our amazing photographer – Pixies In The Cellar) chance to get to know one another before the wedding; rather than have a stranger turn up on the day.

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The day was absolutely brilliant – and so much fun! Peter is not only an amazing photographer – the proof is in the pictures – but also a lovely person to work with.  Without doubt, it made us even more excited about the big day!

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Brides Up North is great for ideas and inspiration to help organise things leading up to the wedding. We’ll be back to share our Real Wedding photographs soon!

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Congratulations Nicola & Michael!

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If you would like to share your love story or Real Wedding with Brides Up North, here’s how.

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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2013 Pixies In The Cellar

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