Izzy and Ryan were brought together through unusual circumstances. “The first time I met Ryan, we were introduced by my previous partner in a nightclub, as he was one of his friends,” says Izzy. “I met him a couple of times after that, but we didn’t really speak much. A few years later, we found out that our partners were seeing each other behind our backs! Ryan and I started to message each other about it and the more we chatted, the more we realised we had lots in common and very similar values. Once I got to know Ryan, I discovered we went to the same high school and knew a lot of the same people.” Ryan organised a surprise birthday party for Izzy’s 23rd birthday. “My birthday gift from him was a surprise holiday with two of our friends to Las Vegas,” shares the bride. “Fast forward to the holiday and Ryan and his friend insisted we book a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon. After flying around for a while, we eventually landed and enjoyed a little picnic. Ryan called me over to one side for a photo. Before I knew it, Ryan was giving a speech about how there was a reason we’d come to Vegas and he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. In absolute shock, I said, ‘Is this a joke?!’ My friends and the other tourists on the helicopter all laughed. I obviously said ‘yes’ and we then proceeded to have our little picnic with added champagne, which I couldn’t drink because I was on cloud nine. We finished the evening by flying down the Las Vegas strip at night.” SETTING THE SCENE Izzy and Ryan chose The Glass House in Blackpool to host their big day. “We were first attracted to The Glass House because of the huge windows, which let in lots of natural light and showed views of the grounds,” explains Izzy. “We’d seen a few venues that had hardly any windows and I didn’t like the vibe it gave the rooms. We loved how much of a blank canvas the venue was and that we had a lot of free will to do whatever we wanted with the venue. They allowed us to have CO2 guns during the evening, a smoke machine and cold spark fountains for our first dance, which was an absolute hit with our guests! We’ve since had people come up to us who we don’t even know, saying they’ve seen our wedding on Instagram because of the CO2 guns, which is really cool! “Luckily for me, Ryan had given me the nod to basically decorate the space however I wanted with the occasional seal of approval from himself,” adds Izzy. “I originally wanted a really whimsical mauve theme with lots of candles and fairylights, but as you plan a wedding, you constantly see things that you like and change your mind. In the end, we went with a modern and classic look, with a touch of a whimsical vibe to our day, with lilacs and purples along with lots of green and white flowers. I wanted something classic and timeless, but not overdone. For the rest of the decoration, I left it to the superb team at Above & Beyond Events Ltd., who sorted everything out for us. I told them what I wanted and the results were absolutely stunning.” The happy couple loved creating their table plan. “Typically, organising the seating plan is supposed to be stressful; however, we found it a breeze,” recalls the bride. “Don’t get me wrong, we had family members who don’t like other family members and all that jazz, but we found it quite easy and I think it was down to the number of tables we could have in the room and the number of people we could have around one table. We already knew who we wanted on our top table from the very beginning: Ryan’s parents and my grandparents, as they’ve been my parents; I was even walked down the aisle by my grandad.” Izzy asked her friend to supply their flowers. “I’m extremely lucky to have an amazingly talented friend who used to have her own flower business,” reveals Izzy. “I asked her to create our wedding flowers, and she did a fantastic job; we had lots of compliments. “With the cake, I was extremely lucky to have a client who creates the 33 REAL WEDDINGS
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