Kate and Stuart met through a mutual friend who organised charity gigs. “We had both recently become single, so our friend suggested that we meet for a coffee,” says Kate. “Our first date was in August 2015 in Manchester. We had similar interests and hit it off right away. Stuart lived in Nottingham at the time and moved to Manchester six months into our relationship to live with me.” Stuart proposed during lockdown. “We had talked about getting married at some point, but the proposal came as a total surprise,” shares the bride. “He proposed with a Haribo ring, as no jewellery shops were open because of the pandemic.” SETTING THE SCENE The happy couple chose to have their ceremony at Salford Lads Club. “We’re both fans of The Smiths and loved the iconic venue because of its rich history,” explains Kate. “For our reception, we booked Buile Hill Park Hall as it isn’t too far from Salford Lads Club, and it has a stage and a lovely outdoor space.” Kate and Stuart gave their guests Haribo sweets as favours to represent Stuart’s proposal during lockdown. “We want to keep the wedding quite casual, so instead of a traditional seating plan, we asked our guests to sit where they liked,” recalls the bride. “We decorated the tables with sugar skull luminaries from Craft Harmony. For the flowers, we opted for red roses as they’re my favourites and pale white and blue blooms for my nieces; the eldest is a Manchester City Women’s fan and would only carry flowers if they were the club’s colours. “Our cake was made by our good friend Amy,” adds Kate. “We opted for a leopard print and black design with white chocolate sugar skulls on top and fondant icing roses. It was three-tiered with Victoria sponge on the bottom, chocolate in the middle and carrot cake on the top.” For their food, the couple opted for a pizza van from Fratelli’s and an ice cream van provided by Lucia’s Ice Cream in the evening. “We hired a vintage Fiat 500 to take me from our house to Salford Lads Club,” reveals Kate. “The car also took us from the ceremony to the reception venue. Our guests were picked up by a red, vintage double-decker bus from RM Buses Limited and transported to Buile Hill Park Hall.” DRESSED TO IMPRESS “I wore an ivory 1950s-style dress from The Pretty Dress Company,” says the bride. “I chose it because I loved the style. I accessorised with leopard print shoes, red roses and rockabilly-style jewellery from Dolly Cool. I also had a leopard print pashmina in case it got cold and I used a vintage, ivory jewelled bag that I have had for years.” Stuart opted for a red mod suit, Dr. Martens, a black and yellow striped tie, yellow tartan socks and a yellow pocket square from Mod Clothin Crown Jester. “My bridesmaids chose navy blue gowns,” shares Kate. “My sisters wore cocktail-style dresses that they picked themselves and my nieces chose outfits that reflected their personalities. Ruby is very sporty and doesn’t like wearing dresses, so she opted for a navy jumpsuit and white trainers and Scarlett likes frilly dresses and accessories so she wanted a navy blue dress, silver sparkly shoes and a matching handbag.” TIME TO CELEBRATE “We hired a rockabilly band called El-camino,” explains Kate. “They are friends of ours and Glenn, the double bass player is also my tattoo artist. They went down well with guests of all ages and did covers. Stuart also created a Spotify playlist of all of our favourite songs, which we played using our tablet and through the PA system.” REAL WEDDINGS 31
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