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It may seem unseasonal, but I can bet – judging by pre-registrations for our Brides Up North Super Showcase Grand Wedding Exhibition this Autumn at least! – that a lot of you will now be looking ahead to the end of this year into next and perhaps planning a winter wedding. So, I decided to mix things up a little (not that our weather system isn’t already doing that of course!) on these swirly silver pages and feature this beautiful snow kissed celebration, sent to me by Yorkshire wedding photographer Jane of JB Creatives and real bride Martha.
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Plus, there’s a really cool helicopter involved that you’ve just got to see.
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Wrap up warm!
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Martha says: We were on holiday in Iceland and after a chaotic drive in a 4×4 chasing the Northern Lights, we finally caught up with them and under a beautiful canopy of swirling green lights, Ian asked me what I wanted to do next February. I said I fancied a trip to Bruges but he had other ideas and asked me to marry him. I accepted of course!
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We were married on 11th February 2012. We had our service at the beautiful Priory Church in the grounds of the Bolton Abbey estate near Skipton and our reception at the amazing Devonshire Arms. Initially we wanted a countryside pub, but couldn’t find one big enough, then we stumbled across the Cavendish Pavilion and were delighted with the big space, riverside location and relaxed feel. However, the Cav Pav was not to be as after we had booked it and paid our deposit, they decided to renovate, meaning it would be unavailable for our wedding date. After a brief panic, we were delighted to accept their kind offer of The Devonshire Arms. The hotel provided first class service in the run up to the big day and the day itself. It was the perfect location and proved that good things do come out of adversity!
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We didn’t want things to be too matchy-matchy, so we went for different shades of blue and yellow, aiming for a spring like feel, although the weather was more winter than spring on the day, since there was snow on the ground!
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Like all couples, we wanted our wedding to reflect our relationship and who we are as a couple. As such, we asked the amazing Jane from JB Creatives to design our stationery to reflect the fact that we first met when Ian sold me a dodgy red Fiesta which spouted black smoke and never started first time! Despite this, I still bought the car! A little red car featured on our invites, place cards and the personalised half pint glasses that we gave as favours to all of our guests. The little red car brought us together so whilst I have since traded it in for a sporty Fiat 500 (still red), it only felt right that it was part of our day.
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Ian arrived at the ceremony with about 40 of our guests by coach. He and his groomsmen dished out bottles of beer and mini bottles of Prosecco to get our friends and family into the party mood. I had a slightly more unexpected mode of transport as Ian surprised me, my mum and bridesmaid Rosie, with a helicopter ride before the service! We flew over the beautiful Yorkshire Dales which were blanketed in snow and circled the church, where we could see guests arriving and waving! It was a beautiful, exhilarating and magical way to arrive at the church and typical of my lovely husband who likes to surprise me.
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I wore a beautiful Suzanne Neville dress which I purchased from Posh Frocks in Guiseley. Patricia at Posh Frocks suggested I tried the Suzanne Neville dress which is not the style I had been trying previously, but I knew pretty quickly that it was the one I wanted. The corset design was really flattering and I liked that it was a modern twist on the classic fairy tale ‘princess dress’. The service at Posh Frocks was brilliant, Patricia even lent me her fur stole from her own wedding and was warm, friendly and accommodating.
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I accessorised with bright blue shoes from Kurt Geiger, which were very high but surprisingly comfortable. I also borrowed a pearl hair piece from my good friend Laura, which had been hand made by another lovely friend Becky from Whisties Designs.
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My two sisters were my bridesmaids and wore Allure dresses in navy blue from Coast. They also had fur stoles to try and prevent them turning the same colour as their dresses! My mini bridesmaids were my gorgeous niece Scarlett and Ian’s goddaughter Rosie. They wore cute dresses and furry cardigans from Monsoon. They all looked absolutely stunning. The boys hired morning suits from Moss Bros in Leeds, with navy blue cravats and ivory waistcoats.
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We wanted our day to reflect things that are important to us. My mum Lesley is an artist and created my bouquet and the bridesmaids’ bouquets. Also, my dad Andrew conducted the service and Ian’s sister recited a personalised reading during the service.
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It’s hard to pick one part of the day as stand out, but saying our vows in the church was lovely. They are beautiful words and sum up exactly what marriage is all about. That said, the party afterwards was also amazing!
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I had cream and yellow roses, purple and yellow freesias, eucalyptus leaves, sea holly, a green chrysanthemum and some statice. I absolutely loved my flowers and the fact that my mum created them made them even more special.
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Ian insisted we had a blackboard to record the latest football scores during the reception and my good friend Lizzy also played piano during the champagne reception. In the evening we had the photo booth from Picture Blast which was great fun and a band Ian knew but I’d never heard, ‘The Reason’, who performed a great repertoire of rock music for us to let our hair down and dance to – they were brilliant and the dance floor was never empty.
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We had amazing cupcakes baked by my talented friend Mel who actually teaches English for a living, but could definitely go into business as a baker! As our meal was quite heavy, we chose to have the cakes in individual plastic containers so that people could save them for later.
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We love holidays (who doesn’t) and because we got married in February and I am a teacher, we couldn’t go too far as we only had a week off, so this was the perfect excuse for two holidays! We had a mini-moon straight after the wedding in Northumberland which was just what we needed – not too far away and very relaxing. We then spent a few months planning the perfect honeymoon and are about to embark on an epic trip to Cape Town, then on to Safari in Kruger National Park, followed by a week in Mauritius. We can’t wait, although there’s no way I’m going cage diving!
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My top tip for other Brides Up North is to let your groom be involved. Ian is much more organised than me and I felt that our day reflected what both of us wanted. Planning the day was much more fun together.
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Ian’s top tip, apart from having a least one of you being organised, is to keep things flexible. You can plan things down to the finest detail but things will inevitably change at the last minute, so don’t sweat it, the people there will guarantee it’s all perfect.
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Congratulations Martha & Ian! 
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Contact me to share your Real Wedding day with Brides Up North!
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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2012 JB Creatives
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