Today’s bride and groom were married at the stunning Warrington Golf Club surrounded by their very nearest and dearest.
The wedding day was a sublime, pink-hued affair with more than a hint of Midsummer Night’s romanticism and revelry.
There were plenty of nods to tradition, including Charlotte’s showstopper of a Camelot-inspired dress, but also plenty of fun, personal touches, such as the Marvel Comics cake and Molly the Chorkie dressed in dusty pink.
So, ready for some romance?
With images by Helen Smiddy of HJS Photography.
charlotte says:
We got engaged during a cruise to the Bahamas in June 2014. Chris proposed on a starlit night whilst we were on route to Miami. It was very romantic, although he had to walk me around the ship four times before he plucked up the courage to ask the question!We decided to get married on 11th June 2016. We chose this date for two reasons: it was exactly two years from the date of the proposal, and I’d always wanted to be a June bride.
We were married at our local church, St Mary’s, in Great Sankey. Chris and I wanted a traditional church wedding, and St Mary’s is so pretty and traditional. We then travelled to Warrington Golf Club for the wedding breakfast and evening celebrations.
Our theme was based around butterflies; I love butterflies, and they always make me think of summer. Our colour scheme was a dusty pink. I’m a self-confessed girly girl and pink has always been my favourite colour.
I wanted a dress and veil that were a little different and suited my style. I’d always admired the fairy-like style of dresses in movies, such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Camelot, and I hoped to emulate this style. I bought the dress in Blackpool and had the veil made to match. My shoes were ordered from Monsoon and my hair vine and jewellery were from Debenhams.
Chris and all of the groomsmen wore a modern three-piece suit in light grey with dusty pink cravats and handkerchief. All were hired from Formally Yours, an online suit hire agency.
The bridesmaids wore full-length, traditional style, dusty pink bridesmaids’ dresses from BHS. They teamed them with high-heeled silver sandals and wore dusty pink flowers as hair accessories.
For our wedding transport we hired a White Rolls Royce Phantom from People to Places, based in Hale, Cheshire.
Our day was captured by photographer Helen Smiddy, of HJS Photography, in Frodsham. I would highly recommend Helen. We had a pre-wedding meeting at which we discussed every aspect of her role at our wedding. She was punctual, professional and discreet. The photographs were stunning and nothing was too much trouble for her. She exceeded all of our expectations.
I carried a posy of cream roses intermingled with tiny bud cream roses and a diamante vine wound through them. The flowers for the whole day were provided by Amore Flowers in Widnes. They were exceptional; I can’t praise them enough.
At the reception, we had table decorations of tall martini glasses filled with displays of cream and pink roses with hyacinths. We also had two plinth displays of the same flowers and a garland around the staircase banister. All of the flowers and arrangements were provided by Amore.
For favours, we had small custom-made boxes of chocolates imported from Leonidas in Belgium. For our evening guests, we had small pink organza bags decorated with butterflies and filled with chocolate beans, again from Leonidas.
Our wedding cake was a four-tier creation. The bottom tier was fruit and the others were lemon, vanilla and chocolate. It appeared to be a traditional wedding cake from the front, but at the rear the icing parted to reveal Marvel Superhero logos (the groom’s only request!)
On arrival at the reception, our guests were offered a glass of prosecco rose or a beer/soft drink. Our menu gave our guests a choice of homemade vegetable soup or Thai fishcakes with sweet chilli sauce to start; a beef, gammon or turkey carvery with roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables for main and then Belgian chocolate praline torte with orange chantilly cream or fresh berry pavlova with raspberry coulis for dessert. We also served a selection of cheese and biscuits, coffee and tea with Belgian chocolates and a choice of white, red or rose wines. With the help of the chef, Matt, at Warrington Golf Club, we felt we chose a menu which would suit the tastes of all of our guests.
In terms of evening entertainment we had DJ Dallas (Jeff) from Warrington, who was absolutely fantastic and the dance floor was full all night. We also hired a photo booth.
All of the suppliers we used offered the special touches that made the day just that little bit more perfect. In particular, the ‘Tall Toastmaster’ Stefan was invaluable. He coordinated the event, really helped sooth our nerves and ensured everything went smoothly. I would certainly use all of our suppliers again and recommend them without exception. They were all excellent; they did their jobs brilliantly! Kiera’s Occasions, supplied our chair covers, dance floor and decorations; Wedding Day Details made our invitations by hand; Wonderful Lesley (recently retired) made our spectacular wedding cake; Louise Cleary and Paris from Vogue hairdressing, took care of hair and makeup; and Anthony’s Travel of Runcorn and Pink Passenger of Warrington for providing the coach and minibus hire.
We would also wholeheartedly recommend the Warrington Golf Club as a wedding venue. The location was perfect and the surroundings were just wonderful for photographs. The staff and management were such a great team: helpful, informative and supportive. My mother was instructed to “put your posh frock on and leave everything to us” – just what she wanted to hear!
If I had to choose the most magical moment of the day it would have to be heading into the church on my dad’s arm to be met by all of our wonderful family and friends; then coming out on Christopher’s arm to be met by our lovely dog Chorkie, Molly (who was dressed in pink for the occasion).
We went on honeymoon the morning after our wedding. We flew to Las Vegas and spent four days there. We saw a show and took a helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon where we enjoyed a champagne breakfast. We then flew to San Francisco and spent three days there, visiting Alcatraz and other sights. We then hired a car and drove to Los Angeles where we spent a week relaxing before flying home.
My words of wedding wisdom to other Brides Up North? Simply to enjoy and make the most of the day. We couldn’t believe how quickly it flew by. We were blown away by the love and generosity shown by our fabulous family and friends, and in particular our Belgian relatives who travelled a significant distance and put in so much time and effort on our behalf. It was so, so appreciated.
