Your North West Wedding - Feb/Mar 2020 (Issue 60)

REAL WEDDINGS 41  R ebecca and Andrew met at their local church. “We were friends for four years before we started dating,” says Rebecca. “He invited himself round for coffee a few times, and we hit it off. One night we went out for some food, and he told me that he liked me and we got together soon after. We enjoyed lots of time together eating cake, drinking prosecco, travelling and watching box sets.” Andrew’s elaborate proposal, unfortunately, didn’t go to plan. “He wanted to plan a memorable and romantic proposal,” shares the bride. “He recruited our two friends, Simon and Tori, to help. He booked for us to go on a balloon ride, followed by a sunset picnic on the beach. We arrived at the balloon site, and Simon and Tori were hiding ready to take photos when suddenly we looked over at a large family who were also waiting to take off in the hot air balloon! As we greeted the pilot, he dropped his head and admitted he’d double booked us! We left the site feeling disappointed and settled for an evening at home with a KFC. A few weeks later, we went to Formby Point while the sun was setting. We sat on the dunes with a blanket and Andy got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. We left the beach, and video called our family who were delighted.” SETTING THE SCENE “We looked at various venues and were struggling to find something that was both stylish and relaxed,” says Rebecca. “After visiting the wedding barns at Wyresdale Park, we knew it was the perfect place for us.” The couple chose a rustic theme for their big day. “We both love the shade mulberry, so we decided on our colour scheme quite early on,” shares the bride. “For the table plan, we got an old palette from Andy’s work, cleaned it up and varnished it. We then used some old and borrowed picture frames and stuck them to the wood. Andy loves Oasis, so we decided to use some of the band’s songs as table names.” The lovebirds incorporated flowers into their décor from Heyes Floral Design. “I had a natural bouquet that included lisianthus and gypsophila,” Rebecca explains. “Our centrepieces were tree trunks with different sized jars placed on top filled with blooms.” Andrew and Rebecca decided to have a naked cake provided by Julia Bass. “The design was covered in buttercream and decorated with flowers,” says the bride. “We placed it on an old wooden barrel with a fairylight backdrop that looked stunning.” The catering was supplied by The Wedding and Event Food Company. “We went against tradition and chose steak, Lancashire cheese or chicken and mushroom pie,” says Rebecca. “For dessert, we had white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake. Carol did a wonderful job of making it all look and taste amazing. In the evening, we had a buffet followed by lots of handmade cakes from family and friends.” The couple’s nearest and dearest made the day perfect. “Our loved ones helped us make a lot of our decorations,” explains Rebecca. “Andrew’s mum made all the bunting using hessian and lace. Our friends