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The Real Wedding gorgeous just keeps coming today. I figured one chic celebration deserves another, so this afternoon we join Faye and Mark for their stunning Manchester city centre wedding with delectable detailing and melodic undertones running throughout.
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Sent to me by the couple and Hayley at Weddings Vintage, featuring some of my very favourite North West suppliers and with images by Sam Clayton Photography, this one is really rather lovely…
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Be inspired!
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Faye says: Mark & I met in 1999 whilst working in a restaurant in Manchester called Simply Heathcotes. Our story is a lengthy one characterised by a couple of break ups, chance meetings at festivals and reunions initiated by my regular winning of competitions on our favourite radio station 6music! Manchester & music were always going to feature in our wedding day.
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Mark planned a very secret (and typically extravagant!) proposal which involved for unexpected days off work for me, a surprise trip to Rome and a Bob Dylan concert in November 2011. Mark proposed on the morning of the concert before a trip to the Vatican. It was a trip to remember and frankly, quite a lot to take in! Mark had commissioned a sapphire engagement ring from RA Designer Jewellery at Manchester Arts and Crafts Centre which was beautiful and a perfect fit.
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We got married on 27th December 2012.
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I am very much a Manchester girl with Mark & I enjoying living in the City Centre since 2006. We were only ever going to have a Manchester City Centre Wedding!
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We chose to get married at St Ann’s Church. St Ann’s is a church we visit often and my mum & I have become particularly fond of it over the years. It was 300 years old in 2012 and for the occasion, it had some restorative building work. It has never looked so lovely.
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It offered the traditional service Mark was looking for with a City Centre location and a lovely Rector, Nigel Ashworth who made us feel very welcome and delivered a very personal address on the wedding day. You would never guess it was in Manchester from looking at the pictures. It looks distinctly Roman which was very apt!
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We held the reception at the Great John Street Hotel. Living in Manchester City Centre, and specifically Castlefield we have spent a lot of time there with friends and close family. We both knew that it was where we wanted to hold the reception straight away.
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We wanted an intimate, easy and laidback occasion and the Great John Street suited this perfectly whilst offering a “home from home” feel due to it being somewhere we had spent so much time at!
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It was really important for us to reflect our relationship in the day itself.
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The constant thread through our relationship over the last 14 years has been our love of music and specifically, Bob Dylan. Once we decided on that everything started to fall into place –we were able to use some of our most loved lyrics in the invitation and reflect some of our favourite songs & albums in the day.
Thankfully we found Hayley from Weddings Vintage who was able to bring it all to life! We loved working on this with her. She was absolutely brilliant and made everything so easy.
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We were also able to put our photographs from our pre-wedding shoot to good use to achieve what we have always wanted – our own albums!
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I wore a Cymbeline dress called Farandole which I bought from The Wedding Shop in Alderley Edge.
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I have to admit that I found dress shopping quite stressful. I was so relieved when I found a dress that I could actually see myself wearing and being comfortable in. It was really important for me to feel like myself and to look like me, albeit a more glamorous version!
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My headpiece was by Hermione Harbutt. I contacted her after seeing her work in a Bridal magazine. I absolutely loved it! It was perfect and suited my hairstyle really well.
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My shoes were Tilly by Rachel Simpson. They allowed me just enough of a heel to be the same height as Mark and were super comfy – both very important considerations!
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My mum Joyce & bridesmaid, Angela were both an amazing support to me. I will always treasure the memories of our “post dress shopping” coffees! Nobody tells you this but the time you get to spend with your loved ones in the build-up to your wedding really is special.
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One of my favourite pictures is of Angela and my mum laughing over dinner on the day. Angela has definitely become Daughter No.2 in the past year! The time together in the run up also brings with it lots of opportunities for tears; I think we must have got all the emotion out there early! We still congratulate each other on how we held it together on the morning of the wedding.
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We chose a True Bride bridesmaid dress from Blush Bridal in Whitehaven. Rachael & Susan were so helpful and they have a really beautiful shop. Angela looked amazing!
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Mark & his Best Man Alex chose suits by Kenneth Cole from House of Fraser with shirts by Duchamp and silk ties by Canali. They both looked really sharp and handsome.
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Sam Clayton was our photographer. We are so pleased with the pictures which capture the day perfectly. Sam immediately “got” us and she was lovely to work with. She made everyone at ease. She is so likeable and everyone warmed to her. Sam was introduced to us by the photographer we had originally booked but who had cancelled. It was fate and meant to be; Sam was brilliant!
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Manchester looks amazing in the photographs.
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This means so much as we have recently relocated to Cambridge – it’s lovely to look back on our home town looking so great. We can’t wait to put them up in our new house.
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We chose to travel in a Morris Minor called Daisy on the day. Mark’s first car was a Morris Minor and his dad has always owned classic cars. It was the natural choice!
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Geraldine and Ken from Regent Classics were a joy and pleasure to work with and Daisy was lovely. Mark & I loved our journey from church to Great John Street Hotel with Ken through the busy streets of Manchester!
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Mark & I met Pete Churchman when he was playing at a restaurant in the Northern Quarter in Manchester. We knew that his style would suit the day and Pete (with a little help from Mark!) did a great job of getting everyone on the dance floor later in the evening.
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Sian at The Flower Lounge in Didsbury did a fantastic job and was able to bring our (very vague!) ideas to life. We both wanted something informal and simple. Sian suggested anemones, gypsophila and ivory freesia and everything came together beautifully with some relaxed decoration at the hotel and simple candles at St Ann’s.
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There are so many favourite parts to the day… walking down the aisle hand in hand with my mum, seeing Mark for the first time, the lovely service, Nigel’s kind words and the boys’ speeches.
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I think I’ll always remember the moments Mark & I had together though; the chat over a whisky sour on the balcony, our carousel ride (great idea Sam!), the glass of fizz on the journey to the hotel. It was slowly dawning on us that we were married and we both felt very happy.
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After the wedding we returned to Rome for New Year’s Eve before going to the Maldives. It was an unreal holiday. Truly amazing!
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My top tip for other Brides Up North would be to relax and enjoy it! Plan your day around you, your relationship and what means the most to both of you. You can’t go wrong.
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Congratulations Faye & Mark!
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Would you like to see your beautiful big day on these pages? Here’s how.
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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2013 Sam Clayton Photography
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