Sam and Dave’s wedding was three years in the planning but was all they wanted and more
Dave and I met due to our mutual love of football and more importantly - Bolton Wanderers! We began the 2006/07 season meeting up with our own groups of friends at the same pub before and after each home game and before we knew it, we were meeting as one big one! Having spent most weekends with each other, albeit with all our friends, in the new year we finally got together and within the space of a year we were living together and welcomed the first addition to our little family – Zack, our beautiful dog.
In the winter of 2009 we found out I was expecting our first child and in the August of 2010 we became parents to our gorgeous daughter, Isla. It was during my pregnancy that we had discussed getting married but we never officially got engaged. As my 27th birthday approached, marriage was discussed again and on June 20th we decided that we were going to go for it. Having not planned this, we didn’t have a “real” ring so Dave nipped into the kitchen and produced a Haribo sweet one. It was completely perfect and I obviously said yes; I still have my “’engagement ring” in a keepsake box today. Then, after the birth of our daughter, we went ring shopping together and found the perfect engagement ring.
We knew that we wouldn’t get married straight away as we wanted Isla to be involved in the wedding and to hopefully enjoy and remember the day with us. So, we chose May 2013 (two years 10 months later). Although we still had nearly three years to plan, we started to look at possible venues. We did most of our research online but nothing really stood out to us. Then, one of my friends had told me about Stanley House and suggested we take a look. The moment we visited, we knew it was the venue for us.
After attending one of their open days, I met a gentleman named Howard Wing. He started singing to us from across the room in his fabulous swing style. He wooed us immediately into having him perform at our wedding (and what a performance it was!)
We were also in search of a photographer. Lisa Aldersley had been recommended to me by two close friends and when I met with her, also at the Stanley House open day, I could see straight away why people spoke so highly of her. Not only is her photography out of this world but I felt an instant friendship with her which I knew would be important on our big day.
Next was the dress shopping and this was more fun than I ever thought it would be. I always imagined I would wear something simple and fitted - but how wrong I was. As soon as I tried on my Justin Alexander gown, I felt like Cinderella. There was no way I was leaving the shop without it. The ladies at Fairytale Brides were just fabulous and nothing was too much trouble.
As we had selected the full wedding package from Stanley House this included chair covers from Creative Cover Hire and Flowers from Linda at The Flower Shop, Clitheroe. We visited both places and the staff were excellent. They always had our interests at heart and were eager to get it exactly right for us rather than getting us to spend extra cash. I have to make a special acknowledgement to Linda for my bouquet, which was the most gorgeous bouquet I had ever seen.
About two months before our special day I had my one and only bridal nightmare! My makeup artist cancelled. Luckily, Kirsty Eaton was a available and she was amazing. Our hairdresser was Hollie (Diva Hair and Beauty, Bolton) who I have known for around six years she did a great job.
The day before the wedding the bridal party stayed at Stanley House and we had a lovely dinner together. Next day our ceremony was due to start at 1.30pm and at 1.20pm we got the call to say everyone was seated. My mum walked me down the aisle hand-in-hand before giving me away. I was like a giddy school girl, giggling with nerves and happiness. The moment the registrar said “you are now husband and wife” we began to relax and fully enjoyed the day. We walked back up the aisle with our gorgeous daughter/flower girl and was one of the happiest moments of my life.
As we rolled on to the evening, we had a hand magician join in with the entertainment and he had everyone wowed and of course we had the standard box of flip flops to save the ladies feet. Then in was time for our first dance. We chose for Howard to sing ‘Under My Skin’ before the DJ took over and we danced into the night. Our honeymoon came a few days after the wedding, Las Vegas!! What an unforgettably incredible trip.
A few weeks after, we received our wedding photos from Lisa and we were so happy with the outcome. Not only did she capture the fun and happiness of the day, her reportage style photography captured the personality of our guests. We couldn’t have chosen better.
Suppliers
The Venue: Stanley House www.stanleyhouse.co.uk
Photographer: Lisa Aldersley www.la-photography.co.uk
The Wedding Singer: Howard Wing www.howardwing.co.uk
Further Wedding Entertainment: Astro Magic astromagicman.co.uk
Make-up: Kirsty Eaton www.kirstyeaton.co.uk
Hair: Hollie Hackley www.divabolton.co.uk
Flowers: The Flower Shop Clitheroe www.theflower-shop.co.uk
Chair Covers: Creative Cover Hire www.creativecoverhire.co.uk
The Dress: Fairytale Brides www.fairytalebridesltd.co.uk
The Suits: John Francis www.john-francis.com
Stationary: Clairabow www.clairabow.co.uk
