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I feel like I am here, there and everywhere this week – this morning I am dashing up the A1 to Grace The Weddings Company as they make the final adjustments to the beautiful Oscar worthy gown that they are very kindly (Grace The Weddings Company I love you!) dressing me in as I host the inaugural North of England Wedding Awards gala dinner in Yorkshire on Friday night.
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Why I am feeling nervous? There’s only 230 of the industry’s finest coming along. Oh yes, that’s why. 
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Hell, it’s better than the Oscars. Any ceremony celebrating the wonderful (and highly under appreciated) work of our regional fabulous wedding industry deserves some proper recognition.
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And I bet we party harder than those Hollywood lot anyway.
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So whilst I hit the motorway – again – I’ll leave you with this intimate Real Wedding in Yorkshire, sent to me by Brides Up North Featured Supplier Sarah Mason Photography and the gorgeous Anna. Laters!
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Sarah says: I first met Anna, Jonny and Anna’s parents – Carol & Dennis – well over a year ago now. We instantly got on. Carol had made cake which has been a recurring theme throughout all our meetings! I was so pleased when they picked me to be their wedding photographer I knew their day was going to be gorgeous! With all my packages now I include a pre-wedding shoot and we went out and about around Holmfirth on a crisp autumn day last year. It was perfect. We had lots of good chats and then went back to Anna’s Mum & Dad’s where a pot of tea and more homemade cake was waiting!
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I really feel as if I have been welcomed into their family. When we did the viewing of the wedding photos, we discussed how I’d still be popping round for cups of tea, cake and chats for years to come! It was such a beautiful day. Both Anna & Jonny looked stunning and so, so happy.
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Thanks also to my assistant Gavin Richardson.
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Real bride Anna says: Jonny proposed during a holiday to New York in June 2010 during a horse and carriage ride in Central Park. He’d already asked my dad’s permission before we left and had saved the money for me to choose my own ring, which was how we spent the rest of that day!
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We were married on 4th August 2012 in a traditional service at Christ Church, New Mill, near Holmfirth. Our reception was held at The Hepworth, one of our favourite restaurants.
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The Hepworth has always been somewhere we have enjoyed going for meals. Every time we visited I would comment on what a beautiful wedding reception venue it would be, but I didn’t know they actually did hold weddings there until we started looking. The Hepworth has a fantastic reputation for food and we wanted our guests to enjoy a really good meal. We were able to give our guests a choice of meal too. There are several different spaces to sit and relax both indoors and outdoors. We enjoyed the whole venue all day with our friends and family. Luckily we had perfect weather too so we were able to make the most of every space.
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Our theme was all about the colours. I wanted bright, bold summer berry colours – every shade of red, pink and purple.
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My dress came from my local bridal shop Catherine-May Bridal in Honley, the village where my parents live. It was a Benjamin Roberts dress. It took me a long time to find my dress because I knew I didn’t want a strapless gown. I thought I would never find “the one” and it was hiding just a few minutes down the road all along!
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Jonny and the groomsmen wore suits hired from Moss Hire. Jonny didn’t want tails or anything too formal, so he opted for a black lounge suit with a cream waistcoat and tie. The best man and groomsmen wore plum ties.
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The bridesmaids wore vintage plum Mori Lee dresses from The Staite Room in Huddersfield.
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My and my bridesmaids’ bouquets were pink roses, purple hydrangea and sweet peas. The men had bright pink roses for their buttonholes and the ladies wore freesia corsages.
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We hired a silver and black 1948 MKV Jaguar to transport the bridal party from my parent’s house to the church and to take Jonny and I to the reception. The car came from Halifax Prestige Wedding Cars. Jonny was taken to church by a close family friend, Mick, in his racing green 2 seater vintage Jaguar. My dad loves vintage cars and Jags are his favourite so he loved it!
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We were lucky that our church had bells and a choir. The Hepworth have a beautiful grand piano so we hired a very talented pianist, Catherine Rannus, to entertain guests between the wedding breakfast and the evening reception. At night we had the most amazing band, Joe Public. We had first seen them at a friend’s wedding just after we got engaged. Jonny is passionate about music so the band were one of the first things we booked. They learnt a Bruce Springsteen song for us as Jonny is such a huge fan, and then invited him to come up and sing it with them!
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Many members of our families have been married for a long time, as we hope to be. We decorated our reception venue with all their wedding photos, with labels to say who they were and how long they had been married. It was a lovely way to include family members who could not be with us on the day, especially grandparents who are dearly missed.
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I also had a ‘wishing tree’ where guests could leave messages for us. It was a beautiful decoration and the cards are a lovely keepsake.
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I wanted a very simple cake. We chose three square tiers of fruit, chocolate and vanilla sponge. The fruit tier was made by a close family member. The other tiers were made and iced by Sugarcraft, Lindley, Huddersfield. The cake was then decorated with purple ribbon and fresh flowers.
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It’s really hard to pick because we had such an amazing day. I think my favourite part was probably dancing at night with Jonny, all my friends and family, knowing we’d had the perfect day.
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For our honeymoon we went to Las Vegas, Hawaii and San Francisco – what a trip!
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We wanted our wedding to be classic and traditional, but without being too formal. Most of all we wanted everyone to have a good time and enjoy the day with us. My top tip for other Brides Up North would be to decide what is important to both of you.
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Choose vendors carefully and make sure you are clear about how much they are going to charge before you make any decisions. Make sure you choose people who you get on well with too. Sarah Mason Photography and her assistant, Gavin, were such a pleasure to work with before, during and since the wedding and we will treasure the photos forever.
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Congratulations Anna & Jonny! 
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Get in touch to see your own Real Wedding featured on these pages.
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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2012 Sarah Mason Photography
Sarah Mason Photography is a Brides Up North Featured Supplier, but this is not a sponsored post
Contact Brides Up North to submit your business as a Featured Supplier
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