Megan met Shaun at university while Megan was training to be a teacher and Shaun was studying for a sports degree. “Mutual friends introduced us at Newcastle’s Digital club,” says Megan. “Shaun walked across the dance floor, picked me up and spun me around! We danced the night away and decided we wanted to see each other again. After a couple of weeks, we made it official, both knowing we were in it for the long run. Shaun treated me like a Princess, making sure I was fed good meals – and I never had to get a taxi again.” When it came to popping the question, Shaun surprised Megan on her birthday. “By now we’d been together for six years,” continues Megan. “Shaun said we were going somewhere nice – then drove me to Greggs! As you can imagine, I told him he’d better be joking, before we set off to Beamish Hall for a two-night stay. I still didn’t realise anything was up, even when he started acting strange and unpacked all his clothes in different drawers. Organising for flowers, chocolates, Champagne and a hamper to be delivered to our suite, he then removed a small box from one of the shoes he’d packed and got down on one knee. I burst into tears, screamed, ‘Yes!’, then Shaun opened the Champagne; also producing a load of congratulation cards from our relatives, who were all in on the surprise!” The couple set the date for 27 October 2022, choosing Ellingham Hall for their big day. Here, Megan tells us more about their wedding… ON THE HUNT First things first: it was time for the couple to find the perfect venue. “I’m from the North East and Shaun’s from Yorkshire, so we knew we wanted somewhere in the North,” says the bride. “I started searching for venues, but was very particular when it came to the colour of their carpet or chairs; ruling many out in the process! We then found Ellingham Hall and looked at their virtual tour online, before deciding to go and see it in person. As soon as Shaun saw Ellingham Hall and how grand it looked from the outside, he knew this was the place he wanted to get married at. Walking around, we were able to see all of the bedrooms and loved how quirky and different each room was. We also learnt all about their twonight wedding package, falling in love with the idea of having all our friends and family together for two days. We were sold there and then!” DO US A FAVOUR Choosing other elements of their wedding wasn’t as easy. “It took me a long time to decide on wedding favours,” says Megan. “Shaun had the nickname ‘Sambuca Shaun’ from people at work – which is a story in itself! – so it made sense to do some type of shot as a favour. We bought shot bottles from Amazon with a cork in the top, filling them with sambuca ourselves before travelling to Ellingham Hall. We had to pay a corkage charge to the venue, but it was worth it for our guests’ reaction!” Table-wise, the couple turned to Megan’s university friend, Ashleigh, who runs a design and craft business. “Ashleigh mentioned she was looking to branch into the wedding trade, so we asked her to create our table plan using an acrylic sign and rose-coloured paint to fit with our autumnal theme. She also made our place names in a circular acrylic design, again with rose paint to match. I hoped people would take them away and use them as coasters, and my idea worked – my mam put a hole in the top of ours with ribbons to use as Christmas baubles!” THE CHOICE IS YOURS Pinterest and Instagram were key when it came to helping Megan and Shaun choose their flowers; screen-shotting bouquets before sending images to their florist and venue stylist. “We wanted our blooms to be in keeping with our autumn and rose coloured theme,” says the bride. “The 29 REAL WEDDINGS
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0NTE=