Charlotte and Ross (who was a great teenage friend of mine *waves!*) decided to go with a classic and traditional big day, complete with a church ceremony, black tie suits and a gorgeous lace gown (we approve Mr W!).
Roses were the flower of the day in elegant tones of cream and pink, which made up super pretty bouquets and adorned the pew ends and cake.
The result is an utterly gorgeous celebration that will certainly stand the test of time.
With images by Katie Sidell Photography.
charlotte says:
We got engaged in Central Park in New York. Ross proposed while we ice skating. I was so shocked but over the moon! We set the date of the wedding for 21st May 2016. We had our ceremony at the beautiful Great Budworth Church. Alec there was a fantastic vicar and made the ceremony so special! We then had our reception at Arley Hall & Gardens, Cheshire.
We went with a traditional look for the wedding with Ross wearing black tie and my dress was lace, which I wore with a cathedral style veil. I loved the look of the black and the ivory outfits together. Our flowers were all pastel colours and we love roses so they were the main flower.
Ross’s suit was a tailored Moss Bros black tie suit with matching black waistcoat and tie. The groomsmen wore tailored Ted Baker black tie suits.
My dress was from Maria Modes in Macclesfield, the designer was Pronovias, made in Barcelona. I also had two veils sewn together to achieve two different looks.
The bridesmaids’ dresses were from ASOS.
On the day of the wedding I travelled to Great Budworth Church with my father in a cream vintage car, which was hired from Broadoak Wedding Car Hire.
Our photographer was Katie Sidell. She was amazing with a fantastic pre-wedding shoot to prepare us for the big day! We also took our dog Edward along to get some lovely photos with him.
We had also videographers from Chapelford Films, who documented our day.
Ross’s aunty Lynn did the flowers for the whole wedding. There were lots of fake and real roses everywhere, we ordered the small roses from Ireland especially.
Ross’s mum Trudy made our wedding cake. It was amazing with six layers of different flavours: one lemon, two chocolate, two chocolate caramel and one fruit. The layers were covered in icing with real and iced flowers all down one side of the cake. I sent Trudy a picture of what I wanted which she enjoyed the challenge!
For the wedding breakfast we had a smoked haddock starter, maize fed chicken with a filling of smoked garlic, scotched onion and caramelised onion for main, and lemon meringue for dessert. The caterers Heritage Portfolio, were amazing!
To provide entertainment we hired The Mini Big Band, a ten-piece brass band with a lead singer. They were amazing and had every one of all ages up and dancing! We also had a saxophone player to perform while guests arrived and then pianist Maria Scott played during the wedding breakfast.
Following our wedding we would certainly recommend our choice of venue to other brides and grooms. Arley Hall were superb for arranging the day perfectly and all of the staff knowing exactly where we needed to be and when. The venue was the most picturesque and the most romantic venue I had visited. The hall and gardens are perfect for picture opportunities and great for people to be able to wander around the different rooms and outdoor areas. I had an instant feel for the place and knew that the hall would be perfect for our special day.
Looking back I’d say that my favourite part of the day was the ceremony and walking down the aisle. Even though I knew Ross was there waiting for me, my expression is hilarious – I was so excited to see him. The vows and promising my all to Ross was the most important and special part of the day for me. Ross says his favourite part of the day was the drive from the church to Arley Hall after we had just got married. We had some time to ourselves to take in what had just happened and to get excited about what was about to come at the reception.
For our honeymoon we went to an all-inclusive resort in Mauritius. It was a fantastic way to relax and enjoy each other’s company after the hectic time of planning a wedding. We spent most of our days relaxing by the pool. The food was fantastic and the weather was as we imagined.
My top tip for other Brides Up North would be to spend lots of time with your partner (as we did). Enjoy speaking to all your guests and having lots of mini catch ups with each other throughout the day. While the band played we danced constantly making sure we enjoyed every moment of our day. So just have lots of fun and don’t worry about any of the little details!
Ross’s top tip to other couples would be to ensure that you have everything completely sorted in your head before the big day arrives and make sure you have got some trusted people within the wedding party and at the venues that know everything so that you don’t have to worry about a thing on the day and can sit back and relax.
