Today’s real wedding couple were married at The Portal Hotel, Golf and Spa in Cheshire, surrounded by family and friends.
Emma and George’s big day was all about the pretty, with a sunny yellow colour scheme, a gorgeous bouquet of roses and daisies and some beautiful woodland detailing.
And a golf-buggy excursion around the hotel grounds really paid off – those romantic cornfield and glorious summer sky shots are, we think you’ll agree, to die for.
With images by James Andrew Photography.
emma says:
George proposed while we were on holiday last year in the Dominican Republic. He took me out on a sailing boat one afternoon and as we were relaxing on the open sea, he started to talk about how much he loved me. I was stunned when he then produced a ring which he’d hidden on a piece of string tied around his neck! It was amazing to have that moment, just the two of us out at sea. And I said yes without hesitation, of course!
We chose the date of 25th June 2016 to get married. We’d been together for ten years and so I didn’t want to have to wait very long to get hitched. We chose June for the possibility of nice weather and wanted to get married on a Saturday so that all our loved ones could make it.
Our venue was the MacDonald Portal Hotel, Golf and Spa in Tarporley, Cheshire. We’d looked at five venues in Cheshire and wrote down allof the pros and cons as we went. This was really useful in making our final decision.
We didn’t want to spend an absolute fortune on the wedding and when we saw the package that the Portal were offering, it ticked all of the boxes – plus they had some of the extras we were looking for with other venues. The fact that it was a hotel was also perfect for us as some of our guests were travelling from different parts of the country. It was close enough to home for those who wanted a taxi at the end of the night, plus it had a great mix of indoor and outdoor space in case the weather was less than glorious. Some of the other venues we had shortlisted had amazing outdoor space, but the alternative indoor wedding space needed updating. We couldn’t risk booking a venue like that as rain could have thrown everything off!
The theme developed as we began planning. Yellow has always been my favourite colour, and so I chose it for the bridesmaids’ dresses. The yellow colour scheme followed into the flowers and, using Pinterest, I found I had a love for wooden elements as table decorations etc. This led to the use of brown card for table place cards and favours. We really had no idea what it would all look like together but it really turned out well!
Finding my dress was thanks to the wonderful Tracy Hollinshead at Cherish Bridal in Northwich, Cheshire. Tracy was just amazing from start to finish. After describing my likes and dislikes and some input from my bridesmaids, she produced ‘the one’! The dress was a classic style, with a boat neck and delicate detailing from the waist up.
George and the groomsmen wore grey tailcoat suits with silver patterned waistcoats and lemon cravats to tie in with the theme. The suits were from John at Top That Suit Hire, Hartford, Cheshire.
John also did a wonderful job in ensuring one of my bridesmaids looked the part and matched her up with a waistcoat and jacket. We sourced trousers and a shirt to ensure they were more fitted to her shape, and she looked great alongside the groomsmen and other bridesmaids.
The bridesmaid dresses were from Coast. They wore a one-shoulder, maxi dress in lemon.
The dresses were so easy to wear, perfect for a full day! They instantly suited every bridesmaid, which made things so much easier.
Lucinka Hodnett did my bridal makeup as well as my mother’s and four of my bridesmaids’. She was truly professional and took into account all of our personal preferences. She was so easy-going and made the experience totally enjoyable, joining us in the bridal suite and timing everything to perfection.
Steph and Carries from Fox Hairdressing in Northwich also joined us in the bridal suite on the day and did my hair, my mother’s and three bridesmaids’. The girls made everyone feel relaxed and used their creative touch to create exactly the look we had in mind.
I would really recommend having hair and make-up booked in; it took a lot of the stress off everyone on the day and made us all feel extra special!
Our photographer was James Andrew of James Andrew Photography, based in Staffordshire. We recommend James so highly; he provided a very personal experience and was keen to capture every moment. He’s so easy to talk to and made everybody feel completely at ease. James’ creativity shone through on the day and he made the experience really enjoyable for us both. We took golf buggies out onto the course and James proved he had a great eye for picturesque places to take pictures. The sky on the day was beautiful and he captured it perfectly.
Our flowers were provided by Hannah Williamson Flowers of Cheshire. I carried a loose hand-tied bouquet of mixed flowers in lemons, creams and soft pinks which included roses, lisianthus, matricaria and daisies. The bridesmaids carried smaller versions.
Victoria Sidebottom from Dressed To Impress of Blakemere Craft Centre, Cheshire provided the room decorations and flowers from Hannah Williamson were used to finish off the table pieces.
Victoria is a true professional and was able to transform the venue with use of lighting, archways and candles as well as chair covers to match the colour scheme and table decorations which included jars of flowers on wooden bases.
For our cake, we chose a three-tier creation from the wonderful Douglas Cooper at the Charleston Cake Company. Doug matched up the pattern on the cake to the detail on my dress and finished it off with lemon ribbon and flowers from Hannah Williamson. The tiers were carrot cake, Victoria sponge and lemon sponge, and the flavours really came through. So many of the guests commented on the taste and were spotted going back for more! For favours, we gave guests miniature Baileys and Jägermeister with personalised wedding tags.
For the wedding breakfast, we offered guests a choice of starter between ham hock and apricot terrine, apple chutney and toasted brioche, or a fan of Galia melon with berry compote and seasonal sorbet. For the main, the choice was pan-fried chicken suprème stuffed with Applewood cheese, wrapped in Parma ham and a dash of tomato and basil jus, or a sweet potato, feta cheese and spinach wellington. Dessert was simple: sticky toffee pudding, vanilla ice cream and toffee sauce.
The Portal provided a DJ for the occasion and we sent over suggestions of the music we would like. We also encouraged requests on the night which went down well with guests – they didn’t leave the dancefloor all evening!
We used Brides Little Helper for a ‘love’ sign to light up the venue for the reception. We’d recommend one highly for a fabulous finishing touch, and Brides Little Helper were great in terms of communication and the service they provided.
We also had a Smiley Booth photo booth which was enjoyed by all of our guests and provided great keepsakes for us. Guests also had unlimited prints to take away on the day! Smiley Booth were also great to deal with and the package was fantastic value for money. Plus, the printouts were a great way to catch up with our guests’ activities during such a busy day!
We used a bouncy castle from DLA for the children who attended, although this was taken over by some of the ‘big kids’ at points!
We also had Jenga blocks for our family and friends to sign instead of a conventional guest book. We thought this could be something we could keep and use in years to come.
After our wedding, we would definitely recommend our venue to other couples. The Portal has everything you need under one roof, so if you’re looking for somewhere with the best of both for indoor and outdoor spaces, plus somewhere your guests can stay and a great room to party in throughout the evening, it really does tick all of the boxes.
We truly enjoyed every moment of our day. I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but it couldn’t have been better. Seeing all of our guests mingling and enjoying the day was great – having everyone you love in one place really is hard to beat.
George and I also got to spend a little time to ourselves while out on the golf buggies and this was a highlight for both of us. We needed a chance to reflect and catch up after getting ready separately, and this was our first opportunity to share stories about the day so far.
We flew out for our honeymoon the evening after the wedding, which was a little bit crazy, but definitely kept the buzz of the wedding alive! We went to Sri Lanka as we wanted to do something a little different than our usual beach holiday and made sure it was one to remember. We had a five-day tour, which included visits to Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Dambulla. We climbed Lion’s Rock, went up to Lipton’s seat and we went on an unforgettable elephant safari. We finished off our trip with six days on a beach resort in Trincomalee, where we were able to relax and unwind.
My top tip for other Brides Up North would be to grab a moment for you and your partner once the ceremony is over. You’ll be in demand for most of the day, so make time for each other! Also, don’t stress – any last minute changes can be fixed and someone will help you. Don’t feel you have to fix it yourselves. We had great support from friends and family and a few minor hiccups were solved without having to lift a finger. We just explained the situation and people were more than happy to fix things for us. Just focus on enjoying the day and soaking it all up!
