Real Weddings

Fete-d Romance, A Real Wedding, Lydia and Tom

Julia Smith

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The lovely Lydia, a new friend of mine, sent Brides Up North her gorgeous Real Wedding.

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Take it away Lyd: Tom proposed whilst we were on holiday in Sorrento in August 2008. I’m pleased to say he surpassed himself on the romance front, asking me on bended knee at sunset with a view of Mount Vesuvius and the bay of Naples…he even had a glass of prosecco waiting to celebrate, what a smoothie! We booked the wedding for the following summer and so we had to quickly get organised with the planning…especially as our first daughter Emilia was due to be born in February 2009!

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 Lydia and Tom

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We were married at Wheatley Lane Methodist Church, Fence in Lancashire on 4 July 2009. The reception was held at my parents’ house nearby in Roughlee. We wanted the day to be really relaxed and have quite a village fete/festival feel about it and therefore as there is quite a bit of land around the house we decided to hire a giant tee pee tent to have the party in. The tee pee was supplied by Papa Kata, a great company based in York. We had 130 guests for the day, with another 100 joining us for the evening reception.

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Lydia and Tom

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To continue the relaxed country theme we travelled by tractor and decorated trailer down to the church…I’m glad the windswept look was in that year! The service was really vibrant, filled with lots of singing and laughter. The tumbling cascades of white and cream flowers were prepared by my two Aunties and a friend who is an expert in arrangements.

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Lydia and Tom

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Back at the reception, village fete games filled the time whilst photographs were taken by our excellent Preston based photographer Laimonas Stasiulis. On offer was welly wanging, a football shooting in competition and a North v South tug of war led by the Bride and Groom (needless to say the North won both the boys and girls contest!)

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Lydia and Tom

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Both Tom and myself have 2 sisters each and therefore, the bridesmaid numbers did spiral slightly out of control with a total of 8. It was definitely a case of ‘the more the merrier’ though as the 6 older bridesmaids looked fantastic in matching dresses of all different colours, whilst the little ones were adorable in mini versions of my dress. Tom’s best man and 5 ushers looked very dashing, each accompanying the bridesmaid who’s dress matched their cravat.

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Lydia and Tom 

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Lydia and Tom

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Lydia and Tom 

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I managed to buy my dress before I got too big from a gorgeous bridal boutique called Lulu Brown’s in Clitheroe, Lancashire, which is where I went to school. It was white with halter neck straps, a jewel encrusted bodice and really full tulle skirt – lots of fun to twirl around in!

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Lydia and Tom

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The scrumptious meal was followed by a Ceilidh dance before our guest hit the dance floor to party the night away to an iPod playlist of classic anthems compiled by us.

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Lydia and Tom

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Lydia and Tom

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All in all, the perfect day!

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Brides!  Contact Brides Up North to see your Real Wedding featured on the blog!

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