Your North West Wedding- April/May 2020 (Issue 61)

KATIE AND OLIVER’S CONTACTS Ceremony venue , Towneley Hall, towneley.org | Reception venue, Sweetwell Farm | Photographer , Maddie Farris Photography, maddiefarrisphotography.co.uk | Alterations , S.E Alterations – Bridal Specialist, se-alterations-bridal-specialist.business.site | Hair stylist , Michelle Yates Hair & Make-up Artist, facebook.com/michelleyatesmuha | Make-up artist , Rachel Owens, rachelowensmua.com Cheese tower , Godminster, godminster.com | Flowers , Hedgehogg Florist, hedgehoggflorist.co.uk Transport , I Do Campers, idocampers.co.uk | Entertainment , Suited Entertainment, facebook.com/suitedlive | Magician , Mike Driver Magician, magicalmysteryman.com | Mobile bar hire , The Bar Stewards, thebarstewards.co.uk | Catering , Stomping Grounds, stompinggrounds.co.uk Despite the speeches being a huge part of the day, I’d have to say what stood out the most was when we were both hiding behind the tipis nervously rehearsing our first dance routine. We’d both agreed when planning the wedding that we wanted to create an upbeat routine. We’d had 12 lessons, and the last few were pretty gruelling in the end, but we smashed it! Despite having to adjust to a couple of lifts for the first time in my heavy wedding dress, not only did it go down a storm with our guests but we really enjoyed it. We knew we wanted to build our own playlist of bangers and classics so we created a list of songs on Spotify and our friend lent us his PA system to play them. The absolute star of the show was Mike Driver Magician. We met him at a wedding show at Towneley Hall and were really impressed so we decided to enter a competition he was running and we won! This gave us a great discount. All of our guests had a brilliant few hours with him and we’re convinced he’s a wizard! He mingled with everyone brilliantly and looked like he was enjoying himself. We’re both in full agreement that the people that really helped make the day flow smoothly and allowed us to sit back and enjoy ourselves, were our incredibly mobile bar company, The Bar Stewards. From the moment we arrived they were already waiting for us with drinks. They also helped our caterers set up in the field earlier in the day. Later in the evening, we had a spot of rain so they moved as much of the bar as possible inside the tipi. It worked brilliantly and they ended up staying there as it become increasingly well used and somewhat abused. They bonded with everyone there and were constantly attentive throughout the night. We’ve stayed in touch and have met up since the wedding. Having everyone you love around you to celebrate one of the most memorable days of your life is truly the best. It’s an incredible experience and amazing feeling getting to share it with all of those that care about you. For our honeymoon, we went to Kenya for 10 days followed by six days on the beach in Zanzibar. It’s something that we’ve wanted to do since we were kids and we found a great deal that covered everything we wanted to do including safaris, national parks and boat trips. 40