LOVE CHANGES everything Annie and Thom’s big-day plans were thrown into turmoil when their venue suffered a fire just days before the wedding Images courtesy of Matthew Rycraft Photography Thom was Annie’s first ever Tinder date and as it turned out, they’d grown up just one road away from each other. “We knew loads of the same people and enjoyed all the same local places, yet it took an algorithm to bring us together!” Annie says. After a whirlwind romance they bought their first home together four months later and Thom proposed on their first anniversary. To celebrate the occasion they planned a weekend away and Thom suggested they go for a walk on Crosby Beach, as this was where they shared their first date. It was there, much to Annie’s surprise, that Thom popped the question. The couple took their time choosing a wedding venue, a process which included two trips to Barbados just to rule it out! But one thing that was clear was the date, 12th February, as this was when they met and got engaged. The downside to this was that their original 2021 plans all had to be moved by a full year due to Covid. They wanted to say “I do” at Thom’s family church, St Peter’s, and fell in love with their reception venue Thornton Manor on the first viewing. “With its history and cosy feel we felt it was the perfect winter-wedding venue,” Annie says. However, disaster loomed around the corner as a fire broke out at Thornton Manor the weekend before the big day. “It was a surreal day, finding out the wedding we’d been planning for more than three years wasn’t going to happen. Plus, it was such a sad sight seeing a building that meant so much to us be destroyed, but we both agreed that whatever was to come, we’d be walking down the aisle that Saturday,” Annie remembers. So, they gathered their options together and made a plan. On Monday morning Annie called 75 wedding venues to see if there was any way they could host the wedding, which was just one week away. By 11am, they had a few options with viewings set up and a self-imposed 4pm deadline to make a decision and let suppliers and guests know. Not least because they had guests who were already on their way over from the U.S! Then, they met their wedding’s saviour, Rachael from the Isla Gladstone Conservatory. Annie tells us what happened next, “She agreed to let us have a viewing within the hour and as soon as we walked in we knew it was right. Although very different, it still felt historical and even on that dull February day the light and airiness of the space was amazing. So, Rachael got straight to work and we achieved together in two days what most people do in 12 months. Nothing was too much trouble and she worked with our existing suppliers, even allowing our caterer to work in their kitchens. We really do owe saving our wedding to her. She went above and beyond to make a miracle happen.” So, after enough re-planning and stress to last anyone a lifetime the big day went ahead on the all-important date at the beautiful Isla Gladstone Conservatory. Read on as the bride shares more happy memories of the occasion with us... REAL WEDDINGS 45
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