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And just like that, it’s the Bank Holiday weekend! Can I get a whoop, whoop?!
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Whatever your plans for the extended weekend – venue hunting, holidaying, or maybe even saying I do (I can be sure there’ll be a few of you doing that!) have the best one.
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I’m off for a long lazy “we’ve got two more days of the weekend after this” lunch with friends, but I’ll leave you in the company of smiley real bride Louise as we look back on her gorgeous Real Wedding, with images by Ruth Mitchell Photography.
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Louise says: Sam asked me to marry him in Volos, Greece in August 2010. We had been together for four and a half years so it wasn’t a complete surprise but I was in shock for about ten minutes and kept asking if he was sure and if he meant it!
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We were married on 9th June 2012 at The George Hotel in Piercebridge, County Durham. My parents live in Greece and we decided against a wedding abroad as we wanted as many of our friends and family as possible to be able to attend. We therefore decided to get married near where Sam is from in Durham.
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We loved The George due to the beautiful garden, river and bridge which we knew would look great in the photographs. We also knew the atmosphere was just what we were looking for: a relaxed party.
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My dress was one shouldered Justin Alexander dress with gathered raw silk from the waist up, lots of layers of tulle for the skirt and little belt with a diamante buckle. It was from The Big Day in Castleford, West Yorkshire which some of my friends own.
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Sam had a grey bespoke lounge suit made by Michelsberg Tailoring in Leeds.
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Our bridesmaid (my sister Lucy) wore a dress from Alfred Sung at Dessy. The best man and ushers wore grey lounge suits from Slaters.
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I carried a mixture of cottage garden flowers tied with ribbons. I really didn’t know what I they would look like until the day as I had no set idea of what I wanted. I was so happy with the result, Adam Prest is fabulous!
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We bought a Polaroid camera for guests to snap photos and stick them in the guest book with their messages.
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The beautiful table centrepieces were by Adam Prest, and our chair covers were by Party On Balloons and Event Hire.
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We love cooking (and eating!) so we had a bit of theme with our tables named after our favourite chefs and the favours being some of the recipes which mean something to us such as the first meals we ever cooked each other.
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Our cake is unusual in that the groom helped to make it! Sam made a fruit cake for the bottom layer, the middle layer was a chocolate cake made by my mum and my sister made a sponge cake for the top layer and then did a fantastic job of decorating the whole thing.
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Sam and I both agreed that the first dance was our favourite part of the day. We spent the whole song chatting and laughing.
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After the wedding we honeymooned in Italy and travelled around Bergamo, Lake Como, Milan and Venice.
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My top tip for other Brides Up North would be remember to organise someone (other than your slightly inebriated new husband!) to help you get out of your dress. It took us about half an hour for Sam to undo all the tiny buttons with a crochet hook and was not a very romantic start to our first night as a married couple with all the huffing, puffing and swearing!
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Congratulations Louise & Sam! 
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Contact me to see your own Real Wedding featured on these swirly silver pages.
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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog images © 2012 Ruth Mitchell Photography
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