It’s holiday season on the blog, and as our editorial team take a break to rest, recover and enjoy an Aperol spritz or two ahead of our super busy autumn season, we’ll be recapping our favourite weddings and styled shoots from the year that shall not be named on our pretty pages.
Check back daily for all the inspo, and to see if your big day or creative vision made it into our top ten picks!
Possibly wearing the finest wedding clothes we’ve ever laid eyes on, Paul and Luke tied the knot with no rules or traditions guiding their way and we just love the result! A happy celebration day for the couple and their very nearest and dearest.
Everything about this real wedding makes us happy. From the gloriously bold matching bespoke pink tuxedos (sooooo up our street its unreal!)to the couple’s decision to walk down the aisle together. The participation of the complete strangers standing up clapping as the wedding party walked through the streets between venues had us cheering at our desks! The joy and celebration of this day is as evident as the huge smiles and raw emotion on everyone’s faces.
Styling-wise, we’ve got minimal fresh florals accentuated with luxe accents, such as the Diptyque candles, fabulous little additions (personalised Love Hearts anyone?), touches of industrial chic in the exposed brick of the venue, and not a groomsman or maid in sight. Real proof that your wedding day can truly be whatever you want it to be. Rules schmules!
With photography by Rachel Joyce Photography
Proposal
Paul says: We got engaged in late June 2018, on one of the many hot summer days we had that year. I had planned to propose to Luke during our upcoming holiday but ran into the stresses of him finding the ring so decided to do it the day before we went away. We walked down one of the country lanes near our home close to Dunham Massey, found a clearing along the way and I got down on one knee. Luke said yes without hesitation and we went straight to the pub for a celebratory pint and to calm the adrenaline. It was lovely to then go straight on holiday and spend some time in our little engaged bubble.
Setting
We tied the knot on October 5th 2019. We chose this date as we wanted to have at least 12 months to plan and also knew that we wanted an autumn wedding that was far enough away from both our birthdays (in June and December) so as to give the event its own focus and attention. The start of October seemed a nice time away from the summer rush but not too far into winter.
We got married at Altrincham Town Hall with the reception at The Con Club in the heart of the revitalised market quarter. We knew we wanted a small and intimate wedding and didn’t want our guests to travel very far between venues. We wanted to keep things simple, laid back and carefree. By getting married close to where we live, the planning, preparations and organising were easier. The town hall was the perfect setting and size for our ceremony with 28 guests. The Con Club vibe and décor is quite laid back and chilled out, which went well with the style and running order of the day we wanted.
Theme
We didn’t really have a theme or a style we just knew we wanted to achieve a relaxed and simple feel to the day. Lots of fun, laughter and love. We didn’t have a colour scheme in the traditional sense either. Once we knew what our outfits were and how much a statement they would be, we decided we didn’t really need any more colour!
Attire
We knew we wanted to wear matching suits and that we didn’t want them to be too traditional. Not a lot was traditional with the wedding after all! Luke had decided on the colour pink, knowing it would stand out and contrast with anything our guests would be wearing. However, trying to buy a wedding worthy pink suit was difficult – they didn’t exist! We ended up buying plain pink suits from ASOS and getting them customised into tuxedos with the help of a local tailor.
Bridal Party
We didn’t have a bridal party. We knew we wanted to walk down the aisle together. As a same sex couple, we didn’t feel that there were rules or conventions and neither of us was being ‘given away’ to the other. We included our very nearest and dearest in other ways through readings, speeches and specific people signing the register.
Grooming
We both went to Bert and Bert Barbers in Altrincham a couple of days before. We are both regular customers and the guys are great – lots of laughs and banter before the ‘big gay day’.
Transport
We walked to the venue. We live close by and knew we were getting ready together at home and wanted some photographs on the way to the wedding.
Photographer
Rachel Joyce was our photographer. Would we recommend her? YES YES YES, a million times YES. We couldn’t have chosen anyone better to capture our day in a photography style that suited the relaxed nature of what we wanted our wedding to be. She was completely professional and absolutely lovely. Both of us hate having our picture taken at the best of times but she was great at putting us both at ease and making us relax in front of the camera. Everyone completely forgot she was there, for all the right reasons, and this comes across in the stunning photographs.
Styling
Our flowers were red, white and pink roses. Red for the Lancashire Rose – I am from Manchester, white for the Yorkshire Rose – Luke is from Hull, and the pink therefore was the combining of the two.
Our flowers were from Alex at Bloomin Flowers and Plants. He is a local trader at the market and we knew his passion and enthusiasm for what he does would show in the simple but elegant arrangements that we wanted.
Cake
We had a three tier cake of three different flavours. Vanilla chiffon, hazelnut and praline sponge and carrot cake (my favourite). It was decorated with fresh and candied seasonal fruit. It was from a local independent bakery called Trove.
Dining
The Con Club has an amazing reputation for food so we got them to design a menu of three choices for each course and this was sent out to guests prior to the day. We felt it better to give people the choice so they could experience the best of The Con Club’s food offering according to their own tastes. Wine choice was also decided by the guests prior to the day.
Entertainment
We chose a DJ recommended by The Con Club who they used regularly and fitted with the type of music they play anyway, which we both like.
We also had a Polaroid camera alongside our guest book – this was great fun, especially now for looking bacon our day! We also had personalised Love Heart sweets.
Thanks to
Rachel, our photographer! Absolutely recommended to anyone. Getting the photos right for us was one of the most important aspects of the wedding. Rachel fully took the time to understand what we wanted and what we were trying to achieve with our day. This really comes across in our photographs.
Alex ‘the flower man’ was great too – there was never going to be a huge focus on flowers. We approached him with a ‘no bride, two grooms and no bouquet’ mentality and he just got it!
Best bit
One of our favourite parts of the day was walking together with our guests from the town hall, the few hundred metres to The Con Club, past Altrincham Market. All the people who were sitting outside the market stood up and started clapping and cheering as we all walked past. It was such a happy moment.
Honeymoon
We went to France on our honeymoon. We spent a week in Provence in the most gorgeous AirBnb in the Luberon hills. Followed by a week in a five star hotel on the Cote d’Azur, Villa Mauresque.
Advice
Our top tip would be ‘do it your way’. There were no conventions or rules for us to follow and this freedom really allowed us to enjoy all the aspects of planning and to do the things we wanted to do.
