Real Weddings

Ronald Joyce for a Garden Wedding at Combermere Abbey – Emily & Takis

Sarah Symonds

A perfect springtime wedding today on the blog! Sunshine… remember that stuff?! We’re taking you along to the wedding of Emily and Takis, a gorgeous affair at the magical Combermere Abbey Estate on the border of Cheshire and Shropshire, a venue steeped in thousands of years of history, dating back as far as the 12th Century!

If impressive gothic architecture and leafy al fresco British celebrations are what you’re after then today, we’ve got you covered. We’re seeing a tasteful white and green palette that really lets the venue shine, with loads of pretty white florals setting the scene and a simple but delectable and elegant tiered cake.

The bride looks utterly beaut in her fitted Ronald Joyce gown of dreams with a fishtail skirt and vintage-style beading flanked by her bride tribe in smart hunter green. Even the sun made an all-day appearance for this fabulous outdoor April wedding! What’s not to love?! We’re handing over to Emily now to run us through how it all came together…

With photography by UNVEILED Network Member Ian MacMichael Photography

Proposal

Emily says: We were lucky enough to be the first couple ever to get engaged at the top of Liverpool’s Royal Liver Building on 21st November 2017. The Liver Birds are our favourite Liverpool Landmark and our flat in London was always filled with pictures of it to make us feel closer to home! It took about 10 months of planning and I had no idea!

Setting

We got married on the 11th of April 2019 and had a glorious sunny day! Our venue has beautiful gardens so we wanted to get married in spring and take advantage of the beautiful blossom trees. We knew April was a gamble with the weather but it paid off and we had unbelievably good weather on the big day!

We chose Combermere Abbey for our entire day. It is the most beautiful venue and the team was so lovely! We wanted somewhere that wasn’t a well-known venue in our circle of guests so that it was a unique experience for us all.

Theme

We didn’t have a special theme but we tried to keep in tune with the style of the venue – our colour scheme was white and hunter green. We absolutely loved it and felt it complemented the beautiful gardens so well.

Dress

I fell in love with my dress in the amazing Boutique Brides of Crosby. The team there really made me feel like a princess and so relaxed!

My Ronald Joyce dress had a detailed, fitted bodice with a slight fishtail and a long train. The winning feature was the back which had an optional 20s style beading which so many people commented on! I wanted something a little bit different but not too out there!

Groomsmen

Takis wore a dark grey, wool tailor made suit from Vincentius Liverpool. They sewed the wedding date inside the jacket too, which was a lovely touch! The groomsmen suits mirrored Takis’ but slightly lighter in colour and were rented from Moss Bros.

Bridesmaids

The bridesmaids all wore floor length, Grecian style, hunter green dresses from Wed2B. The prices, quality and service were brilliant!

Beauty

The whole bridal party was done by the phenomenal hair magician Joanne Traynor of CurlyBlow Liverpool. Makeup was done by the lovely and extremely talented Bernice Flynn.

Transport

I stayed the night before with my bridesmaid on site at the venue, in the Stone Lodge gate house. My Dad and I were picked up by the Crossley Car belonging to the Combermere estate, which drove us down to the ceremony.

Photographer

Our photographer was the amazing Ian MacMichael Photography. We had the pleasure of both Ian and Hazel on our big day. They are extremely talented and passionate and have a great eye for the special touches. We couldn’t have been happier with the photos! Highly, highly recommended.

Videographer

Our videographer was Periscope Film. They went way above our expectations and the end result was more than we could have wished for. On the day, we didn’t feel bothered or “under the lens” – they just slotted in with our guests and absolutely everything was natural!

Styling

We got our flowers from The Flower Barn. I kept it simple with a large, rustic white bouquet which I loved! The Flower Barn also decorated our venue, again just kept it to a white, rustic them. We didn’t need a lot of flowers since we were inside walled gardens all day and surrounded by beautiful flowers!

We hired LOVE letters and a donut wall (best idea ever) from Candy Floss Palace, who offered amazing prices and great service!

Our photobooth was from ProBooths and honestly was perfect, easy to book and great fun on the night.

All of our wedding stationery was made by my Mum. From the Save the Dates to the table plan, everything was personalised and handmade which we think it added that special touch to the day!

Favours

We were very lucky as our favours were a gift from Liverpool Gin. We had a miniature Liverpool Whisky for the men, and a miniature Liverpool Gin for the ladies. My mum made little tags to match all of our wedding stationary to go on them and they looked so cute!

Cake

We chose a “naked” cake covered in fresh fruit and flowers. It was beautifully made by Kath Riley Cakes.

Dining

Starter was a rustic ham hock terrine, for main we had a trio of pies with roasted veg and dessert was salted caramel chocolate pot, all done by our amazing caterers, Olive Tree Catering.

As we aren’t big wine drinkers, we decided to serve prosecco all day instead of wine for a bit of a change! It went down very well!

Entertainment

We chose Harlequin for our band. They played at my sister’s wedding and were amazing so we decided we weren’t going to find anyone better! They have a great repertoire and also finished off with a DJ set.

Thanks to

Definitely our venue! It truly is a magical day and the team at Combermere really know how to make you feel special, and how to give you the best day ever!!

Best bit

Our favourite part of the day was sunset. Our photographer had scouted a great spot by the lake and Ian caught some unbelievable shots of the sunset reflecting on the lake behind us. It also meant we got time to ourselves and it was really special. My dad’s speech was also a show stopper and something we will always cherish – there wasn’t a dry eye in the house!

Honeymoon

We chose Costa Rica for our honeymoon for something a little different and for a bit of an adventure! We did a lot of relaxing mixed in with loads of activities including night time wildlife spotting and paragliding. The wildlife there really is second to none and we felt like we were in paradise! Hotel Makanda was like heaven on earth.

Advice

Our best tip was from my sister. She said, “remember to look at each other during your vows and not the registrar”. It was the best advice we had and we are so glad we got it!

I also used Brides Up North to help me find some prospective venues, plus loved reading the blogs for some inspo!

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