I’m such a tease aren’t I?! After pressing publish on Monday morning’s blog post, I knew that it would be cruel not to share the rest of the gorgeous shots from Sam and Kenny’s beautiful Real Wedding at The Alnwick Garden on the blog. After all, it’s one of the prettiest days I’ve seen. Could these two be any more photogenic?
So, the purpose of yesterday’s post was to alert you to a very special event coming up very, very soon – opening our autumn season, in fact – The Brides Up North Luxury & Vintage Wedding Exhibition at The Alnwick Garden on Sunday 1st September 2013. To get the full lowdown and register for completely free VIP Bride To Be entry and your goody bag, click here.
Once you’ve been there, done that, some back to share the rest of Sam and Kenny’s big day. With images by the ever talented Sean Elliott Photography (who’ll be joining us on September 1st too), this is one to remember.
Sam says: We got engaged in Dubai, in September 2009. Kenny wrote ‘Marry me?’ in rose petals on the bed whilst I was at the pool sunbathing… quite the romantic!
We tied the knot in June at The Alnwick Garden in the Pavilion Room. We felt that the Garden was somewhere different, with stunning grounds for the perfect photos. It’s also a memorable venue for people who hadn’t been before – the grand cascade as the main viewpoint throughout the ceremony, the rose garden, bamboo maze, the tree house and all of the water features gave guests that little something extra, over and above a wedding in a hotel or stately home.
We didn’t have a theme, we just wanted to keep it simple and relaxed – a bit like us! We chose a colour scheme of black and white with pinks and whites in the bouquets and button holes adding a splash of colour.
I wore the Maggie Sottero “Reece” dress from Blush Bridal Boutique in Uppermill, Saddleworth and Kenny wore a kilt, in Morrison Clan tartan… sticking to family tradition. He had it hand-made at Nicholson Kiltmakers in Edinburgh.
The groomsmen wore kilts in Blackwatch tartan (hired from Slaters), sticking to the groom’s Scottish roots and the bridesmaids wore simple black floor length dresses from Monsoon.
The bridesmaids and I had peony rose bouquets with a mix of pinks and some white roses and Kenny had a pink peony buttonhole (to match my bouquet) with Scottish thistles.
Getting ready with my mum and the bridesmaids was great fun, very relaxed and involved quite a lot of champagne!
Guests were taken to the venue by Dreadnought Coaches in the 1952 Leyland Titan. The guests and groomsmen travelled in more style than the bridal party! When boarding the bus, the groom, best man and ushers gave everyone a glass of fizz to get the celebrations started. I think it’s fair to say the journey for the guests was a real social event!
Arco String Quartet played some beautiful music for our guests’ arrival, my entrance, signing the register and at end of the ceremony – including Elbow – One Day Like This – and The Beatles – All You Need Is Love.
Kenny’s father made all of the ladies’ favours by hand – strawberry and champagne preserve, with little poem on the labels: “A spoonful of sugar and two sweet kisses, now Kenny and Sam are Mr and Mrs”.
The best man’s speech was brilliant, one of the best I’ve ever seen. He used a video to really take the mick out of Kenny and had everyone in fits of laughter. ‘Mr Lover Man, Shabba’ was the song of choice for the video… very entertaining! It was also great to have all of our nearest and dearest in one room together as it doesn’t happen all that often!
A friend of ours, DJ James Cummings provided the evening entertainment. We had a small part of the night dedicated to a ceilidh too, which went down really well and Sean Elliott got some great action shots!
After the wedding we did a road trip through California – Vegas, San Francisco, Route 1 with various stop offs including Santa Barbara and Carmel, finishing off in LA, going to the Standard Hotel for their famous rooftop party on the last night of our honeymoon… the perfect end!
My top tips for other Brides Up North would be: don’t get stressed, don’t have massively high expectations that you may find impossible to meet, make sure your wedding reflects you as a couple, no-one else (i.e. don’t try to imitate anyone else, or do something just because you think your guests will like it – if you don’t), and just relax and enjoy every single moment, from planning, right through to sending out your thank you cards!
Congratulations Sam & Kenny!
Get the date in your diaries – I might have mentioned it a few times (too many?) but our opening event of the season – The Brides Up North Luxury & Vintage Wedding Exhibition at The Alnwick Garden is on Sunday 1st September 2013 from 11am till 4pm. Pre register now for free entry and your VIP Bride To Be Goody Bag!
Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2013 Sean Elliott Photography
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