If you’re considering a city chic winter wedding, we think today’s celebration for the union of the gorgeous Amy and Liam will be right up your street.
Feel the real warmth of this relaxed and cosy wedding, rich with deep reds, burgundy, navy and tweed. Sequined bridesmaid dresses add that perfect amount of festive sparkle, gorgeous in the darker months and a great pairing with the beautiful Sottero & Midgley beaded bridal gown of dreams.
In today’s post we hear about how Amy in fact took inspo from our Real Weddings when planning her big day, and how she and her grandmother pulled together the styling and the floral arrangements themselves! Atta girl!
With photography by UNVEILED Network Member, Kate McCarthy Photography
Engagement
We got engaged when we were on a family holiday with my family. We were in Portugal in one of our favourite restaurants called Parrilla. Liam had arranged for them to bring a cake out that said ‘Will you marry me?’ on it.
Setting
We were married on the 29th November. We ideally wanted it for the first Friday in December but it was booked up, so that was the closest we could get. We wanted it to be a proper winter wedding. Luckily we had nice weather on the day – cold but sunny.
We got married at the Worsley Park Marriott Hotel. The whole wedding was there, so it was easier for the guests and they could stay over at the venue if they wanted. We chose the venue as we had been to a wedding there before. a few years previously, and it was a lovely wedding and venue.
Theme
We didn’t have a specific theme, we just wanted it to be as wintery as it could be. As we were going to New York for our honeymoon, we used places we wanted to visit as the table names. The colour scheme was navy blue and burgundy. We chose those colours as they worked really well together and fit for the time of year we had the wedding.
Dress
I had a Sottero & Midgley wedding dress. It was from The Confetti Box. I took all my bridesmaids and my mum with me, so I could try a few different styles on; I asked them all to pick a dress for me to try on. In the end, I went for the dress that my sister picked out for me. It was very detailed at the top with beading on it and then at the bottom it was very simple and plain. It wasn’t a big puffy dress, it was more A-line. I loved it.
Groomsmen
Liam wore a navy suit with a checked tweed waistcoat and a burgundy tie. We got the suits from Whitfield & Ward. The groomsmen wore the same suits as Liam but with a different waist coat and tie.
Bridesmaids
The bridesmaids wore sequined navy maxi dresses from Next.
Beauty
My amazing friend Molly Payne did all of our makeup and she did my hair. I had a girl called Becka come and do the hair for my mum and bridesmaids. She works in a salon called Panache.
Photographer
The photographer was the amazing Kate McCarthy. We couldn’t have asked for better, she was amazing throughout the whole day and the pictures are incredible. We would highly recommend Kate to anybody.
Videographer
We booked a videographer though Kate, called Amy Louise Photography. She was amazing too, and the video is gorgeous.
Styling
We used Brides Up North for inspiration on our wedding day. We found it very useful and we got some great ideas.
I had a bouquet handmade by my grandma. We used a mix of artificial flowers and real foliage in burgundy and cream, with eucalyptus and foliage. They were amazing.
My grandma did the flowers for the centrepieces. My auntie and cousin have their own company for room decoration for events so they did our decoration for me. They are called Extrafleur. The room looked amazing.
We had some signs and table names done by a lovely lady called Emma Paper Doll. We had some Polaroid cameras for the guests to take pictures and hang onto some peg lights we had put up.
Favours
We decided to donate £1 to Cancer Research for everyone that attended the wedding. So everyone got a little card at their place setting.
Cake
We had a semi-naked cake, in three tiers. Each tier was a different flavour. We had chocolate, lemon and vanilla. A lovely lady we know called Sam Walker did our cake for us. It looked amazing.
Dining
We went for a buffet as it was more of a relaxed wedding. We had curry, hot pot and all the bits to go with it. We had red and white wine for the women and beers for the men. We had mulled wine as a ‘welcome drink’ so it was a bit more festive. We had canapés for all the guests whilst they were having their welcome drinks and we had chips barms with gravy and curry sauce for the evening.
Entertainment
We had a magician called Ian Lavin for the welcome drinks and while the photographs were happening. We also had a singer called Alana Rose for the welcome drinks and the meal.
We had a DJ at night through ice entertainment called Andy. We wanted the guests to be entertained whilst we were off having our photos taken.
Thanks to
We would definitely recommend our venue. It’s lovely in summer and winter. All the staff are lovely and everything went smoothly for us. They have a Master of Ceremonies who has worked there for years and he was brilliant throughout the day.
Best bit
We loved everything about it. We can’t pinpoint one part of it that we loved most.
Honeymoon
We went to New York on our honeymoon. We have always wanted to go there around Christmas time. It was perfect and everything we thought it would be. The Christmas decorations are incredible. We managed to get tickets for a Knicks game as well which was really good.
Advice
My advice would be don’t let the organising of it stress you out. Just do a little at a time and don’t stress about the small things. You don’t notice the small things you forgot on the day.
Take time to take the day in as it goes so fast ,and take time for yourself if you need it. Enjoy the lead up to it and the day. It really is the best day ever.
