The saying about quality and quantity could not be truer of the lovely real wedding that we are sharing with you on the blog today.
With a modest guest list of 38 day guests and 53 evening guests, Stephanie and Gary wanted their intimate wedding to be a reflection of them as a couple, whilst also being an enjoyable and memorable event for their guests.
Picking a unique venue and prioritising elements such as the photography, food and entertainment, whilst getting stuck into some DIY décor, meant that Stephanie and Gary could have the special day they had dreamt of, whilst remaining still within budget. Excellent work guys!
With images by Brides Up North Sponsor, James Tracey Photography.
stephanie says:
We got engaged on the 28th May 2014. I had my suspicions that Gary was going to do it soon as he’d booked for us to go for afternoon tea at the Hilton in Manchester. We were in the process of buying our house and the Wednesday before when we were booked for afternoon tea, we’d had our final meeting with the bank to say the mortgage had been agreed. We went to the pub after to celebrate and then came home. I got my PJs on, put the bins out and put the washing on, just usual things to do on a Wednesday, and turned round to find Gary with two glasses of whiskey. He asked me to come with him into the front room and gave me a glass and then got down on one knee with a ring. It took me by surprise! I never wanted a huge spectacle of an engagement so what he did was perfect. He’d even been on his own to get the ring and got it spot on!We were married on the 24th March 2016, the Thursday before the bank holiday weekend. We got together on the 27th March 2008 so knew we wanted a date around when we got together and we wanted a weekday wedding. The Thursday was a good choice because most people then had the bank holiday Friday off work to recover!
We got married at The Belle Epoque in Knutsford, Cheshire. It was the only venue that we went to look round and we knew straight away it was the one for us. We wanted somewhere that was unique, intimate and personal. From our first meeting there, all the staff were so incredibly helpful and we loved that it was a family business and not part of a large chain of hotels. We could pick and choose what we wanted for our day and we could stay there the night of the wedding and have breakfast with family the day after. The setup of the venue was ideal too; we loved that each part of the wedding was in a separate room and guests didn’t have to be shipped off somewhere whilst the room was re-organised and that people could sit away from the DJ during the evening do and chat. Generally, it’s an absolutely stunning venue!
Gary and I are self-confessed beer geeks, so beer had to feature heavily in our wedding. I also wanted to still keep it girly and vintage-y too so I guess the theme was ‘Beer and Birds’ Each table was named after one of our favourite breweries and we had a selection of their bottles as table decorations with fake roses in. The men’s buttonholes were made of beer bottle caps and I had beer bottle caps on my bouquet. All the stationery featured vintage birds and we had a birdcage table plan. I got the design from Dollface Design on Etsy. My mum was unsure when I told her my vision but everyone said how unique and ‘us’ is was.
I am quite girly so pink was the colour theme but very subtly! I didn’t make Gary wear anything pink. We just had pink roses in the table decorations and my bridesmaid wore pink. The buttonholes did have small pink rose buttons on, which my bridesmaid and I also had in our bouquets.
My dress was stunning and nothing like I imagined I’d pick! It was a Victoria Kay design from The Cavendish Bridal House in Hayfield. I always imagined something lacy, vintage and with sleeves but in the end I went with full on princess! As soon as I tried it on, I knew it was the one. It was strapless and corseted and came with a little lacy bolero jacket. I loved the sparkles in it and I liked that I could take the jacket off in the evening. Tara at The Cavendish Bridal House was fantastic in helping me choose it. I was surprised at how comfy it was, I didn’t want to take it off at the end of the night! I didn’t have a veil, I knew from the start that I didn’t want one and when I tried one on, it just didn’t suit me. Instead I had a simple tiara, again from Cavendish Bridal House, and shoes by Vivienne Westwood. The shoes didn’t last long though!
On the wedding day Rebecca Anderton did my hair and make-up. She came on recommendation from our photographer and was brilliant! She got the look I wanted spot on, nothing too over the top and something natural. She also did my mum and bridesmaid, and did an amazing job.
Gary chose a suit from Slaters in Manchester. It was a simple dark grey suit, with white shirt and silver tie. We always said we weren’t bothered about hiring matching suits for the bridal party and wanted to spend money on buying him a nice suit to keep. Slaters were fantastic in helping him choose and helping him get something that fitted so well.
The best man wore his own suit and I only had one bridesmaid, my cousin Emily. Her dress was from a website called dressesforgorgeousgirls.com. I then got her a pink cardigan and pink shoes from Primark. Her dress had pink petals in the netting skirt, however she did so much dancing and playing that the dress ripped and petals were floating all over the dancefloor! That’s nothing to do with the quality, I think she just had so much fun!
Gary and I stayed at the venue the night before and the best man stayed next door. It was lovely that we could have breakfast together and spend some time just the two of us before the ceremony. Gary then went next door to get ready and I had the hotel room with my mum and my gran.
We booked James Tracey as our photographer, and I couldn’t recommend him highly enough! We didn’t meet him until a month before the wedding, even though I’d booked him in June 2014. I spent ages looking at photographers, and especially ones who had done weddings at The Belle Epoque before, and I loved James’s relaxed documentary style. He really stood out for me. He was brilliant from the minute he arrived to the minute he left and I cried happy tears when I saw the photos. He made Gary and I feel so relaxed, as posing for photos doesn’t come naturally to either of us! All our guests said as well how great he’d been and there were times that I forgot he was still there! My mum was so also grateful that he’d help her get her jewellery on in the morning because she’d had her nails done!
I made mine and my bridesmaid’s bouquets from brooches and pink rose buttons. It took me months but was definitely worth it. I bought most of the brooches from eBay and used pins and tiny beads to stick them to a Styrofoam ball. They were so sparkly, but so heavy!
When it came to the styling, we were lucky in that The Belle Epoque is so beautiful that we really didn’t need to do much to decorate it – it was just a case of adding touches to make it our own. They supplied us with their own floral centrepieces and we added our beer bottles and roses.
As we got married just before Easter, we gave out Mini Eggs as our favours. We gave everyone eight Mini Eggs each to symbolise the eight years we have been together. We also gave everyone a drinks token for one drink at the bar, and gave out little thank you coins to our witnesses and everyone at the top table had a wine glass charm. Everyone loved the little touches.
I also made activity packs for the kids, which included Lego, books, pencils and stickers, which kept them entertained during the meal and their parents appreciated the thought.
From getting engaged (and to my mum’s dismay) both Gary and I said we weren’t bothered about a cake so we ended up getting one from Sainsbury’s. It was a pink rose cake to fit in with the theme. I then bought a cake topper from Etsy with a bride, groom and dog on to finish it off. Our dog was very much part of the day in spirit even though he wasn’t there!
As we didn’t have a big wedding cake, we wanted something as a centrepiece and so we hired light up letters from The Word is Love. They looked fantastic in the room and Suzie and Ollie from The Word is Love were fantastic. We looked at a few companies for light up letters and they were just top quality, and friends of James Tracey! A definite recommendation for any bride and groom.
Another reason that we chose The Belle Epoque is because they are so well known for their fantastic food. They provided all the food and drinks on our wedding day. We had canapes, Bellini’s and Pimms after the ceremony. For the wedding breakfast we had goats cheese tart followed by G&T sorbet, chicken and crushed potatoes for main, and then sticky toffee pudding dessert. The food was incredible! Two of our guests said that it was on their bucket list to eat at The Belle Epoque because of how well known it is and they were blown away by the food! In the evening we had a buffet. Gary loved the pork pies that were and still comments that he’ll never have a better one!
The entertainment for the wedding is a story in itself! Gary wanted an Irish band so when we came across The Wild Murphy’s online, we booked them. We were just finishing the meal when I checked my phone and saw lots of missed calls and voicemail messages. It was the band. Their van had set on fire on the M1 and they were currently sat on the hard shoulder with their equipment, holding traffic up and they weren’t going to make it. Cue frantic phone calls by everyone to find a last minute replacement! The bar staff managed to get us a DJ at the last minute and we will be eternally grateful for their efforts in doing this for us. Everyone commented that I’d stayed so calm but it couldn’t have been prevented and it just made our day even more memorable. We danced the night away and I think the kids preferred the DJ anyway! I’m told that my 13-year-old brother even got the bar staff dancing!
Overall, The Belle Epoque were absolutely incredible. All the staff there made us feel so special and helped to make our day so perfect. They were fantastic with the kids and also helping out elderly relatives. Their attention to detail in making sure everyone enjoys the day is phenomenal. They also did our room up for when we got back at night which was so thoughtful. We both couldn’t recommend them highly enough.
Though it might sound a little odd, I think my favourite parts of the day were the times that it was just Gary and I. The day goes past so quickly and you are so concerned with making sure you speak to everyone and mingle that it’s easy to forget your new husband or wife! We made a point of making time during the day to have a catch up, just the two of us, and it was lovely.
Another favourite part was the last dance. We decided early on in the planning that we weren’t going to have a first dance because it just wasn’t us, but the DJ played Take That Greatest Day and got Gary and I both up on the dancefloor as the last dance. Take That are quite special to my mum and I so when the dance finished and we both caught each other’s eye, and got very emotional! Gary was just glad for it to be over!
After the wedding we had a few nights in Aberdeen. We’ve been to Scotland a few times and love it, but had never been to Aberdeen. Also with Gary proposing with whiskey, Scotland is only appropriate as a honeymoon destination! We are planning a trip round Scandinavia in the summer as a bigger honeymoon.
My top tip to other Brides Up North is simple – enjoy it! It goes past so quickly so enjoy every minute. Make time for each other and make sure you spend some of your day just the two of you. Also remember it is your day so do what you want. We also DIY’d a lot and my advice to anyone wanting to do the same would be to get this started early. It takes longer than you think it will!
Couples should also talk to each other about what aspects of the wedding are important to them, and what aren’t. We did have a tight budget but we still did everything that we wanted (DIY helped here!) There’s a lot of wedding traditions that just weren’t important to us, such as transport, flowers or a cake. It meant that we could spend more on a photographer and venue, which were more important to us.
The most important thing to both of us overall was that the day reflected our personalities but also that everyone enjoyed the day, which I think they did! We kept things small; we only had 31 adults and seven children in the day, and then an extra 15 people in the evening. We are lucky because we both come from fairly small families but it was lovely that we felt we had the chance to mingle with everyone throughout the day.
