So Brides Up North… fancy another beautiful Real Wedding this Monday afternoon? Why ever not!
In today’s second instalment, we’re sticking in the North West for Hannah & Adam’s glorious day at Styal Lodge. Their celebration was full of sparkly touches, lovely lace, Gatsby inspired details, bright florals, big kisses and special designer additions. Just the way we like ‘em.
With images by Susanna Modic.
Hannah says: We got engaged on holiday in Nepal in November 2012 visiting friends. We had just completed a gruelling four day trek in the Himalayas and were relaxing in Pokhara – we took a tiny boat out onto the lake in Pokhara and in the middle of the lake, with no one around, surrounded by the Himalayan mountains Adam pulled out his Grandma’s wedding ring and asked me to marry him.
We were married at Styal Lodge in Cheshire. We were looking at venues close to home and we fell in love with Styal when we went to the open day. The wooden lodge reminded us of holidays in Scotland and it was so big, light and spacious. Plus as it was a blank canvas – we could really do whatever we want with the space. It was important that we could hold the ceremony and the reception in the same building. We had 120 guests so we needed a big space! Styal also has a bridal room which was big enough for me and my four bridesmaids (and my mum!) to get ready in before the ceremony – perfect!
We chose a colour scheme of charcoal grey and dusky pink and opted for a Gatsby theme. We were also lucky enough to have a Christmas tree as it was December but we didn’t want it to be too “Christmas party” – just a nod to the festive season! All the wedding stationery was designed by my younger brother and had a real art deco feel to it.
My dress was from (Brides Up North Featured Supplier) Love Bridal Boutique in Altrincham. Emma (the owner) is a total dream – the experience of buying my dress from Emma was exactly what I thought buying a dress would be like. She gave us brownies and coffee and champagne when I finally chose my dress.
It was quite a traditional dress – lots of lace and a little bit of bling (on the belt!) I was lucky enough to wear my grandma’s fur coat for the outside shots (it was VERY cold in December!) and this was the coat my mum wore on her wedding day so it felt extra special (my something old!) I also wore a bracelet that belonged to my great grandma. My shoes were Vivienne Westwood – my something blue with the big blue bow on them! My “new” was my wedding dress!
I carried a bouquet of dusky pink roses with dark thistles, white gyposphila and black berries by Deila’s Florist.
The groomsmen wore tails – charcoal grey with pinstripe trousers. These came from Moss Bros. We chose a pink cravat to tie in with the theme. The dresses for my bridesmaids were Jenny Packham. They were charcoal grey. I also gave them white shrugs to wear for the photos outside.
My older brother performed the ceremony (he is a chaplain) which made the service really personal and we are so thankful he was able to do that.
The table names were places we had been on holiday – including Pokhara (where we got engaged)!
I wanted to use champagne corks for name places on the tables – every cork we used came from a bottle of ‘fizz’ that we drank in the period between the engagement and the wedding – 117 of them!
We used Emma from Special Days to dress the venue, The Mighty Boof for a fun photo booth and The Word Is Love for big LOVE letters to decorate the dance floor.
Catering was by Top Table Events in Altrincham.
We chose a wedding cake made of cheese from The Cheese Hamlet in Didsbury – who were super helpful with the tasting of the cheese and supplying the correct amount of cheese! We had 1.5kg of cheese in 5 trunkles and it was dressed with fruit. Then in the evening we had a buffet with cold meats and the cheese from the cake – I had also made all the chutneys to go with the cheese. We put out bottles of port for the guests to enjoy.
We also chose to do a cookie table – I had 8 big jars filled with different cookies I had made along with help from my mum, both my sister in laws and one of my bridesmaids. The jars all had labels on them and we put a sign out so people would know what they were. I had grey and white striped bags and cookie tongs so people could take them home if they didn’t want them right then! We had bowls of bonbons and flowers and I also made a one tier fruit cake and decorated it with old jewellery and ribbon. I love baking and this was one of my favourite things!
My favourite part of the day was when my Dad had organised my friends who live out in New Zealand (the couple we had stayed with in Nepal when we got engaged) to be on Skype – it made me cry with happiness when I saw one of my oldest friends, on the other side of the world, 12 hours ahead – with a flute of fizz to say congratulations.
Also – after the ceremony, and the photos and the drinks reception when we were called into dinner (to James Brown – “I Feel Good”) and all the guests stood up clapping and cheering. It felt incredible to feel so loved by all of our friends and family.
In the evening we had “The Gobots” who were incredible. They played a whole range of covers with a really rocky/indie feel. Everyone commented on how good the band were and the dance floor was full all evening.
We flew straight to Copenhagen the day after the wedding. It was so romantic – the Tivoli gardens were all lit up and we spent lots of time walking from the galleries to the museums to the beautiful coffee shops. We were also lucky enough to get a table at Noma (currently number two in the restaurant world!) which was the perfect honeymoon venue!
My top tip for other Brides Up North would be that if your photographer is taking photos of you getting ready remember to pack something to wear for those photos! You don’t want those moments to be spoilt by jogging bottoms and a vest top. I took a silk dressing gown with me!
Also, remind your groom to turn around when you walk down the aisle. I was super nervous walking down but having Adam’s face to focus on was just amazing.
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Congratulations Hannah & Adam!
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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2014 Susanna Modic
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