Today on the blog, we’re taking you on a little journey down a rabbit hole to experience a whimsical and utterly beautiful Alice in Wonderland themed wedding. The stuff of childhood nostalgia!
Say hello to newlyweds Alice and Danny, who tied the knot at Stanley House Hotel in Lancashire last August. In keeping with their quirky theme, expect an oh so pretty baby blue colour palette and plenty of trinkets, teacups and ‘drink me’ favours, of course!
There’s even a huge flower moon circle (Alice’s very own rabbit hole on the day!) and the most exquisite of cakes, adorned with a pocket watch and a little door. Throw in a magician and a magic mirror photobooth and you’ve got yourself one fabulous and fanciful party!
With images by Lloyd-Clarke Photography.
Proposal
Alice says
: We were on a holiday of a lifetime in America, on a road trip from San Francisco to Las Vegas when Danny proposed. We were on the last leg of the trip in Vegas staying in the Bellagio, we’d had a lovely evening and meal together and then back in the room he pulled out the ring and asked me to marry him. I found out later that he originally planned to ask me on a helicopter ride that we had arranged for the following day and it was pretty lucky that he couldn’t wait as the helicopter ride made me really sick!Setting
We got married on 4th August 2018. We really wanted a summer wedding and were praying for nice weather – we were really lucky on the day as it couldn’t have been more perfect.
We tied the knot at Stanley House Hotel in Mellor. It’s a beautiful venue both inside and out, and just a short drive from where we live so not too far for our guests to travel.
The theme I went for was Alice in Wonderland, for the obvious reason that it matches my name, but the more I looked into it, the more I absolutely loved all the quirky things you could do with it. I was really keen for it not to be Disney, but I loved all the little trinkets, teapots, cups and saucers and little keys which all made it really magical.
We went for a baby blue colour scheme, which I thought looked beautiful and really summery, and also went really well with the Alice in Wonderland theme.
Dress
I wore a W by Watters dress from Foxglove Brides. It was the first shop I went to and the first dress I tried on. As soon as I put the gown on, I knew it was the one, I tried on quite a few more after that but nothing matched up.
Groomsmen
Danny and his groomsmen wore a Ted Baker suit from Moss Bros. It was a navy blue colour, which looked lovely next to the pale blue bridesmaids’ dresses. Danny’s suit was a bit different as he had an ivory waistcoat and tie as opposed to the blue of the groomsmen.
Bridesmaids
The bridesmaids’ dresses were from Foxglove Brides too. I just had two bridesmaids and they both wore matching sleeveless dresses that pulled in at the waist and came up to the neck.
Photography
Matt from Lloyd-Clarke Photography captured our wedding. He was amazing on the day and blended into the background; catching all the natural moments that mean the most! I can’t thank him enough for the beautiful photos he captured and would certainly recommend him.
Videography
We had a videographer, Charlotte White who was fantastic. She was a joy on the day and made us two absolutely amazing videos that will really help us cherish the day forever.
Styling
I carried a bouquet of white roses which were styled as though they’d been picked from a garden. They were stunning and really natural looking. The Flower Shop by Morgan in Garstang, provided them and they did a fabulous job! My bridesmaids and flower girls all had smaller versions.
The men had white roses as their flower too, with little trinkets such as a mushroom or a key to tie into the Alice theme.
For the wedding reception, I had a huge flower moon circle, which was stunning. It really made the room look spectacular. My idea was that this would fit into the Alice theme as it acted as the rabbit hole! I had managed to get hold of lots of little trinkets and teacups and my florist was able to make these into our table centres, adding some fresh gypsophila. Each table was a little bit different and looked beautiful.
We had little ‘drink me’ favours with a small shot of cinnamon schnapps inside.
Cake
My cake was made by Iced of Garstang and was decorated in an Alice in Wonderland design with a little door and a pocket watch. After the ceremony, the moon circle was moved to frame the cake, which made it look extra special.
Dining
For food, we stuck to the standard chicken dinner (we have lots of fussy eaters in the family so decided to play it safe) along with vegetable soup and sticky toffee pudding – you can’t go wrong with this choice and it was delicious!
Entertainment
We had a magician in between the ceremony and the meal to keep people entertained whilst all the photos were being taken and then we had a magic mirror photobooth in the evening. We also arranged a singer for after the meal but she kindly didn’t turn up! That was the one thing that went wrong on the day but I didn’t let it spoil things.
Creative Cover Hire supplied my drapes, chavari chairs and LED dancefloor – all of which added to the setting and made the room look stunning as soon as we walked in. We also used Add a Little Sparkle who brought us giant “Mr & Mrs Finch” lights that were really special as they were personalised. They looked amazing!
Thanks to
The team were fantastic at looking after us from start to finish; we can’t thank them enough.
Best bit
The whole day was just magical – I really couldn’t pick just one favourite moment. When you grow up people say it’s the best day of your life and it really is. The day was everything I’d ever dreamt of.
Honeymoon
We went on an amazing honeymoon to Kenya and Zanzibar. We started with three days of safari in Kenya which was incredible and then spent ten days relaxing on the beach in Zanzibar. Absolute bliss! We booked the honeymoon through Destinology who I would 100% recommend, they made it totally stress-free and easy, and made sure we got lots of lovely extras for being on our honeymoon.
Advice
My top for other Brides Up North would be – on the day, just relax! You’ve spent so much time planning and organising and now it’s time to enjoy it. Even if things go wrong, it doesn’t matter – just go with it as I’m sure you’ll laugh about it later!
