It’s time for a good dose of those warm and fuzzy feelings, as we pore over this beaut of a winter’s wedding from November 2019, set at the luxurious Didsbury House Hotel.
Doing things a little differently, Megan and Jade arranged a ‘first look’ on their big day – a precious moment together in their bridal suite before exchanging vows which, they confess, helped to calm their nerves. The couple also stole some time away to capture the most beautiful photos surrounded by the greenery and lushness of a botanical garden.
It was their desire to create a warm and cosy ambience for their guests, and we think they nailed this with their blush pink and burgundy palette, complemented by accents of gold, not to mention their chic floral arrangements and glistening lanterns. As for the hot chocolate favours – these were the perfect touch!
Here’s Megan to share more of the couple’s wonderful highlights from their big day.
With images by UNVEILED Network Member Lee Brown Photography
Proposal
Megan says: We got engaged on 6 April, 2019. I had planned a trip to the Lake District, and we hired a small boat and went rowing on Lake Windermere. Whilst out on the lake I slipped out the ring and asked Jade to marry me. I don’t know whether I was more relieved that she said yes or that I didn’t drop the ring into the lake!
Setting
Our wedding took place on 24 November, 2019. We knew that we wanted to have an intimate, wintery wedding in November to give us the perfect amount of time to plan our special day. When we visited our venue we knew it would fit our plans perfectly, and decided to snap up a date to make sure we didn’t miss out!
We chose to have our ceremony and reception at Didsbury House Hotel. We had exclusive use of this luxurious Victorian townhouse and all its rooms, which was ideal as it meant our guests could stay over. We chose the venue for its very unique features, and the warm and cosy atmosphere of the hotel fit perfectly with the laid-back vibe we were after.
Theme
We didn’t have a specific theme, but we knew that we wanted everybody to feel relaxed. We also wanted to be able to chat with all our guests and not feel too overwhelmed. The venue has its own quirky style and provided the perfect setting for our late afternoon ceremony.
Our colour scheme was blush pink and burgundy with gold accents. We chose these warm colours as winter weddings needn’t feel cold!
Dress
After much indecisive dress hunting, we stumbled upon the wedding section on ASOS and both fell in love with our dresses. We wanted different styles but wanted them to complement each other. Jade’s embellished bodice wedding dress went perfectly with my long sleeved embroidered and beaded design.
Bridesmaids
Our bridesmaids wore blush pink pleated maxi dresses, also from ASOS, and our flower girl wore a white embroidered dress from Next.
Groomsmen
Our groomsmen wore dark navy textured suits from M&S paired with blush pink floral ties.
Beauty
Absolutely Flawless did our hair and make-up beautifully on the day.
Transport
We stayed in the hotel the night before our wedding, after an evening meal with both sets of parents. We didn’t hire any transport as our ceremony and reception both took place at the hotel.
Photographer
Lee Brown Photography captured our wedding. We were so pleased that he was available on our special day as we loved his style of photography from browsing through his website. Throughout the planning process, Lee was very informative and we immediately knew we were in good hands. He made us feel at ease and relaxed, and was extremely professional. His non-intrusive approach was exactly what we wanted, and he has captured some fantastic natural shots.
Styling
Our flowers were prepared by The Flower Lounge. We chose to have flowers going up the grand staircase of the hotel, which made the whole ground floor smell incredible!
We were so pleased with our bouquets, buttonholes and corsages. We also had flowers on each dining table and fireplace to complement the gold lanterns.
The Flower Lounge exceeded all our expectations and were fantastic at helping us choose flowers that matched our overall vision for the day.
Favours
My mum made the most adorable hot chocolate wedding favours for our guests to take home.
Cake
Our cake was made by a local independent bakery, And The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon. It was a two-tier chocolate buttercream cake with a rustic horizontal stripe going up the side, decorated with lots of fresh berries.
Dining
We had a three-course wedding breakfast for our ceremony guests. In the evening, we had additional guests and served late night snacks, which were provided by the hotel restaurant. A lot of our guests have since said that the food at our wedding was one of their highlights from the day!
Entertainment
We chose a DJ recommended by the venue called Chicks with Decks. She had great reviews and worked with us to create a playlist for our reception.
Special touches
Turning away from tradition, we decided to have a ‘first look’ prior to our ceremony. Once we were both ready, we met in the bridal suite and it was so special to have that moment captured by our photographer.
After this we headed to Fletcher Moss Gardens for some more photos whilst it was still light before our ceremony started at 4pm. Whilst our guests were mingling after dinner, we then headed into the grounds for some moonlit photographs.
We are so pleased that we decided to include a first look in our day as it helped to calm any pre-ceremony nerves and enabled us to have an evening ceremony whilst still getting some stunning daylight shots.
Thanks to
From the moment we looked around Didsbury House Hotel we knew it would provide the cosy atmosphere we wanted for our wedding day. There was great communication from the venue throughout the planning process, and on the day itself we felt totally at peace. We would highly recommend this special venue, particularly for couples looking for a smaller and more intimate feel to their wedding day.
We would also like to recommend our photographer Lee Brown, as we felt he went above and beyond to make us feel at ease and capture our day perfectly.
Best bit
Our favourite part of the day was heading outside after our wedding breakfast to enjoy sparklers with our guests – we love looking back at photographs of this!
Honeymoon
We went to Mauritius for our honeymoon. It was the most beautiful and tranquil place we have ever been, and we enjoyed lots of snorkelling and relaxing on the beaches.
Advice
Don’t be swayed by tradition, do what is right for you as a couple and try to savour every moment. You will hear it a thousand times, but the day really does go by so quickly!
We found the Brides Up North Instagram page really helpful when trying to collate ideas for our day. It was great to gain insight into the local suppliers that are out there, and hear reviews from couples who had already tied the knot.
