Sarah and Mike’s eyes met across a crowded room at a friend’s party during their first year of sixth form college. Indeed, it was his eyes that Sarah was attracted to: “They’re a lovely shade of blue,” she says. The pair hit it off right away, immediately feeling at ease in each other’s company, even though it took Mike another month to convince Sarah to go on a date with him. But needless to say, they’re both so glad he did. When the couple had been dating for a year or two, Mike took Sarah to a romantic spot in their home county of Lincolnshire to watch the sun set. But, when he suggested an impromptu visit back to the same place one Friday evening, she had no idea what he had planned. After setting up the camera to film the sun going down, he got down on one knee and asked Sarah to marry him. “I burst into tears, I never thought I’d react that way,” Sarah remembers. Mike had bought the ring months beforehand and had been planning this proposal for some time, despite spending the wedding day of a friend, just days before, deflecting questions about whether they might be next! Mike was keen to say “I do” in a church, and Sarah was happy to go along with his wishes. “We have quite a few around us, but St Helen’s Northwich is definitely the biggest and prettiest in the area. Also, the vicar was lovely and we had a great rapport with him, so felt that was the one quite quickly,” Sarah explains. When it came to the reception venue, the couple fell in love with the family feel of Abbeywood, as well as it’s rustic yet elegant vibe. “We both love walking and being in the countryside, so its beautiful gardens and glass house made it feel just right for us,” Sarah tells us. Join us now as the bride shares more memories of their beautiful wedding day, which took place on 6th November, 2021... SETTING THE SCENE As a huge book lover, Sarah knew she wanted to include her main hobby in the theme of the wedding day. “I love the classics such as Pride and Prejudice, and Jane Eyre,” she tells us. So, they chose five of Sarah’s favourite books and five of Mike’s and named the tables after them. They also selected quotes about love or marriage from each and incorporated them into the tablenumber design. The table plan itself was also literary themed with each table being depicted as an open book complete with the number on one side and guests names on the other. The place names and favours were combined in the shape of mini honey pots from a local producer. “We wanted to include a nature theme and felt honey would be great,” Sarah explains. Each pot had a ribbon tied around it with a key and name tag attached. The key was a bottle opener and the tag read: “The key to happiness is love and the ability to open a bottle.” Guests names were written on the other side. The centrepieces, created by Victoria from Dressed to Impress, were birdcages wrapped in eucalyptus with candles inside. Each stood on a stack of three antiqued books, surrounded by vases “My brother read a poem at our ceremony, which I'd given to Mike on his 21st birthday. I hadn't heard it read aloud for so long, and it describes everything I felt for Mike then and still do now.” REAL WEDDINGS 29
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