This wedding is a very glam occasion indeed with an evening wear dress code and classic black, white and silver colour scheme.
We love the men’s choice of smart suits with braces and dicky bows as well as the bridesmaids’ elegant floor-length lace dresses. Stealing the show bride Holly completes the well-dressed wedding party in her gorgeous princess style gown with simple detailing.
Puling the whole
classy affair
together there are stunning arrangements and elegant décor by Red Floral Architecture and sparkling stationery by Love Invited.With images by Martin Hambleton Photography.
holly says:
We got engaged on 7th September 2011. Will had organised a meal at Piccalino’s in Manchester, which I thought was just a treat for me finishing a course I’d been doing. My mum and step-dad were there so everything seemed pretty much ordinary (barring the fact looking back Will had his best shirt on). Once we had sat at our table a beautiful bunch of red roses were given to me by the waiter and next thing Will was down on one knee in the middle of the restaurant showing me my gorgeous engagement ring. The whole restaurant, even the chefs were cheering. It was a very memorable moment.
We set our wedding date for 6th December 2014. I had always wanted a winter wedding, as I knew living in Manchester we could never depend on the weather being nice. I didn’t want it to be any closer to Christmas so the first weekend in December it was (which happened to be my 27th Birthday).
Our chosen venue was Colshaw Hall at Over Peover, Cheshire. We just fell in love with this venue the minute we stepped foot inside. There are no other venues like it in the area!
We didn’t really have a style/theme but I knew I wanted all my guests in evening wear so there had to be quite a chic and glamorous feel to the day. In terms of colour I like everything quite white and minimal so all the flowers were white and we had stunning Perspex accessories and lots of candles.
Overall the colour scheme was black, white and silver sparkle which I chose because I wanted everything to look clean and simple.
When it came to my dress, I chose a design that was the complete opposite to what I first thought I would chose. My dress was quite ‘princessy’ but not too over the top with an ivory satin, strapless bodice and quite a full skirt. Around the waist it had delicate silver detail. I found my dress in Maria Modes in Macclesfield. The ladies in there were so welcoming and helpful!
Will wore a suit from Whitfield & Ward in Wilmslow. He went for a black evening suit with a dickey bow and braces. Will didn’t want anything too traditional. The groomsmen also wore suits from Whitfield & Ward – the same as Will’s but without a waistcoat.
My six bridesmaids meanwhile wore long black lace dresses. They had a low V shaped dip at the back with a satin belt. I got them from Adeava in Macclesfield.
We were lucky enough to not to have to hire transport on the day, as Will’s dad owns a Classic Car Restoration Company in Denton called Ratcliffe Accident Repair Centre. So we both had beautiful Bentleys to use on the day.
Martin Hambleton Photography took our photographs. I chose Martin to be our photographer after seeing what a stunning job he did for a close friend of mine. Martin really helped with any questions or worries I had leading up to our wedding, he was always on the end of an email or phone. Will and I felt so at ease on our big day and Martin captured such beautiful photographs. We would recommend him to everyone.
We also hired a videographer called Unforgettable Memories who was recommend by Martin. We wanted to have a video of our day so that we wouldn’t miss out on the moments we wouldn’t be able to be a part of. Craig was great from Unforgettable Memories and we are so happy with the final video.
I carried a stunning bouquet of calla lilies that were created by Matt at Red Floral Architecture. Red Floral also provided beautiful arrangements of white roses, Perspex candelabras and lots of candles to decorate. I made our super sparkly silver table numbers.
Our wedding stationery was provided by Love Invited Ltd. Amanda there created the most beautiful stationery. I knew what I wanted so getting that printed just how I imagined was great.
I decided to not give favours to the adult guests. I wanted the evening to be fun so put silly moustaches, lips and hats on a stick props for each guest. I did give the children a little present each though to keep them entertained during the meal.
We didn’t want a traditional cake so went for a sweetie cake instead. I did want it to look like a wedding cake but then be able to be separated in the evening for everyone to enjoy. It was made by Gemma Kelly of Little Gem’s Sweetie Cakes.
Barrett’s Caterers provided the catering on the day and we chose a menu made up of our favourite foods.
As a special touch, Will and my family surprised me with a birthday cake at the beginning of the speeches. Everyone sang Happy Birthday, I have no idea how we will top my birthday celebrations to come!
For an extra but of fun in the evening we hired a photo booth from Hipswing Entertainments, which turned out to be a great idea. The photographs are great and Hipswing provided a great service.
I would recommend every company that was involved in making our day run so smoothly, including our venue. Georgina and the team that run it are all great and couldn’t have done more to make our day special. I loved every minute of it!
For our honeymoon we went to Mexico and stayed in a beautiful hotel called Excellence Playa Mujeres, somewhere we had never been before and it was just paradise. We had ten days to just relax together. We had dinner on the beach, danced all night at CoCo Bongos and found a new favourite cocktail – Banana Mamas.
My top tips to other Brides Up North would be to enjoy every moment of planning and try not to get into arguments about anything as everything always works out in the end. On the big day take everything in as much as you can and to sneak a few moments on your own with your partner. Finally, don’t wear your heels all day, it’s just not worth the pain the next day!
the big picture
