Today we head North West for the fresh, funky and absolutely delightful wedding of Michelle and Marc, sent to me by Peter of Pixies In The Cellar. My favourite wedding photographs are always those where the newlyweds’ personalities shine through and whilst beautiful, aren’t too formal or taking themselves too seriously. I don’t expect all of you to co-ordinate a flash mob first dance (yes, Michelle and Marc did!) but relax, be yourselves and you’ll create the most stunning memories.
Enjoy.
Michelle says: Marc proposed on 25th August 2012 in the picturesque coastal town of St.Ives in Cornwall whilst we were on holiday there together. It was at a little chapel over looking the sea. It was a perfect night with the sunset in the background and the breath-taking view from the church. We both love Cornwall and having spent many holidays there it holds very special memories for us both.
We said “I do” on Friday 12th July 2013 which just happened to be the hottest day we had so far this year!
The marriage ceremony was held at St.Oswald’s Church, Lower Peover, Knutsford, Cheshire. To appreciate why we chose this church you only have to walk up the cobbled path in the idyllic village and see the beautiful building. The original church dates back to 1269 and the tower was added to the building in 1739, it is a Grade 1 listed building with stunning features inside and out.
We chose Peover Golf Club in Knutsford for our wedding reception, after seeing the wonderful and truly unique clubhouse built in solid oak we knew we had found the perfect place! It is set in the middle of mature woodland with views overlooking the picturesque golf course. It has the relaxed atmosphere and intimate feel we wanted for our venue. Alan and Ben at Peover Golf Club put us at ease straight away and were very welcoming, they assisted us throughout the wedding planning process and were very supportive of our ideas. We did not feel restricted in any way and we were allowed to create our dream wedding day at the venue.
Our theme was vintage country chic with a modern twist! We wanted the men to wear tweed and bow ties and wild summer flowers to compliment the look. We did not want anything too formal.
We based colour theme around our flowers…using blues, purples and whites mainly. We prefer to mix colours rather than stick to one rigid colour theme. The bridesmaids wore corn flower blue chiffon and this picked out the blue floral print on the men’s bow ties.
I wore a simple but elegant 50’s inspired ankle length dress with lace gloves to give a vintage feel,the gloves were the ones I wore on my first holy communion as a child (something old)! After visiting lots of bridal boutiques trying to find the right style of dress I came across a wonderful shop called Bellissima, in Cheshire. The service was excellent and the wonderful ladies who run the shop make you feel like nothing is too much trouble. A very stress free and enjoyable experience. Cannot thank them enough!
I had my shoes specially made by Freya Rose in London and customised them with mother of pearl heels and lace bows.
Having six adult female bridesmaids, one two year old flower girl, a man of honour, three best men, one six year old ring bearer and three ushers was quite a challenge! The flower girl dress was from ‘Mi Mariposa’ online boutique at www.notonthehighstreet.com
The men’s bow ties were from Ben Sherman and the bridesmaid dresses were from Warehouse. The men’s waistcoats and trousers, groom’s suit and ring bearers outfit were all from Next. Marc also wore a made to measure shirt by Frank Rostron in Manchester and cufflinks by Mulberry.
Our amazing photographers were Peter & Sara from Pixies in the Cellar. Marc had known Peter for many years and had always been impressed by his previous photography work. Despite it being over 30 degrees Peter and Sara worked hard all day to ensure we had a varied range of group, couple and natural shots of our day. We have had so many comments about our pictures saying ‘they are the best wedding photographs they have ever seen’ and we couldn’t be happier with the final images.
We are lucky enough to know a very talented florist. David Jayet-Laraffe at FROG Flowers, Northern Quarter, Manchester.
The bouquets were natural round posies combined with mainly purple and blue flowers: lavender, roses, echinops, stocks, cornflowers, seasonal flowers and hints of ivory, lemon and green flowers mixed with eucalyptus, rosemary, grass… like the stems have just been hand-picked! The stems were tied with ivory lace and pearly pins for bride and blue chiffon and pearly pins for bridesmaids.
The groom had a buttonhole with purple and blue wild flowers, galax leaves with a pearly pin (like a little natural bundle of wild flowers)
We also had individual button holes for all our immediate wedding party.
The bridal party travelled in 1930’s vintage cars- a seven seater Imperial Landaulette and a six seater Regent Tourer. The cars were hired from Horgan Cars based in Cheshire. Both cars were able to have the top down which was great driving around in the sunshine!
The groom & groomsmen travelled in a friends brand new seven seater Land Rover Discovery.
Most of the decorations and finishing touches were handmade. Marc made large wooden letters of or initials for the fireplace and a wooden signpost for outside the venue. We handmade all the invitations, table names, table plan and order of service booklets. We made little vintage keys and luggage tags for name places for our guests to keep. We also placed photographs on the fireplace of our grandparents (who are no longer with us) on their wedding days. Our best friend and artist Thomas Wolski commissioned a unique piece of art work for us that we got all our guests to put their thumb prints on instead of a guest book.
My uncle spent months making a fantastic white Victorian style post box to put wedding cards & gifts in.
We found a lovely local company in Stockport,Cheshire called Ella Bella Cakes. Rachel who runs the business not only makes the most delicious cakes we have ever tasted but her attention to detail and customer service was faultless. We opted for a tower of cupcakes with a small top cake. We made the cake topper and bunting ourselves for a personal touch.
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We found a Cheshire based band called ‘Live Wires’ who played popular covers from all decades of music. They were a great group of guys who really got the party started and tailored the music to our taste. They had a professional booking service through Alive Network who we would definitely recommend.
It is difficult to chose a favourite part of the day as we both loved every minute if it. We enjoyed seeing the surprised look on our guests faces when we pretended to do a slow first dance and broke into a flash mob dance routine with our bridesmaids and groomsmen!
After the wedding we went island hopping in the Seychelles in August for 16 days. Whilst on Mahe island we were lucky enough to spend a week at a private boutique villa called Petit Amour Villa. A truly luxury and relaxing honeymoon!
My top tip for other Brides Up North would be to try and include personal touches and don’t feel like you have to go traditional. Make sure you are organised and plan your day well so that you don’t have to worry about anything on the last few days running up to your wedding day. Most importantly just relax and ENJOY it!
Congratulations Michelle & Marc!
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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2013 Pixies In The Cellar
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