Katy and Dave's Wedding at Rufford Old Hall
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Katy and Dave achieved the task that every brides' magazine and wedding planner will tell you is impossible.....they organised their stunning wedding day at Rufford Old Hall within 3 months!
Katy's Top Tip? Ditch the deadlines!
Where did you get married and what made you pick that venue?
Rufford Old Hall near Ormskirk, Lancahsire. (A medieval National Trust venue.) I had been there as a child with my family and with school and it always felt mystical and romantic, and steeped in history. Dave had never been, so we went on a day out in May 2007. While we were there, I asked if there was any availability for that August, which there was! Everything else followed.
The evening do was at The Swan, Aughton (now changed hands). It was brand new as a wedding venue and wasn't even finished until the week before! But it was a fantastic venue and felt extra special as our's was the first wedding there. We chose The Swan because at the time, it was the sister venue to West Tower, Aughton, which had really good reports.
Tell us about some of the wedding suppliers you used
1. Photographer - a friend, Ste Barlow, who had been a wedding photographer for 25 years as a sideline. Reportage photos look really natural, but don’t forget your list of posed wedding photographs aswell – for all the family!
2. Caterers.
At Rufford Old Hall - a friend of my Mum's had been an outside caterer for years, as a sideline. She did canapés and drinks at Rufford. We bought all our own drinks, and Gill arranged them and served them.
The Swan – their own kitchen did the catering - a true hog roast and huge buffet!
3. Wedding Rings – John Greed Design. All done online. They sent a little jewellery sizer, and we had to send the first ones back as they were too big, but it was all done within about 10 days. I nearly kissed our postman : )
http://www.johngreedjewellery.co.uk
4. Flowers – My mum’s friend Eileen Carson, who has been involved in local Horticultural groups for years and is amazing at flower arranging! I took her a cutting from a magazine and she copied it exactly!
5. Bridesmaid Dresses - Alexia Designs. I only had one bridesmaid, and she lives in London, so I found a designer I liked, asked the distributors for a stockist near her. She went and tried on a few different styles and chose the best one for her. I just told her what colour to order. I only saw it on the day but she looked stunning in it!
6. Ushers Suits - Usher’s own suits, with matching ties that I sent out a week before. We just asked everyone to wear a dark or grey suit, that they would wear again.
7. Honeymoon – We started our honeymoon straight after the wedding with a night at Hope Street Hotel in Liverpool. This seemed like a popular option because there were 2 other sets of newleyweds there!
We then had 2 nights in Chester (spending wedding vouchers!) and ten days in Riva del Garda, Italy. We had been there before to a friend’s wedding, and loved it. The hotel had a great spa too. Very important for chilling out!
Liverpool - Hope Street Hotel
Chester - New Blossoms Hotel Chester
Riva del Garda - The Astoria Park Hotel
9. Cars – I asked the travel agents who we booked our honeymoon with, because they happen to provide chauffeur driven cars for premiership managers... and they said yes! They’d never done a wedding before, but the cars weren’t being used. So our cars were two brand new blacked out Mercs!
10. Gifts – we already lived together, so we asked for vouchers which we are still trying to spend!
11. Invitations – my cousin is a printer!
12. Wedding Album - PhotoBox Photobook - cheap, easy and looks fab!
What readings did you use and where did you find them?
Dave found the readings on the internet. One about Castlerigg Stone Circle, where we got engaged. We asked two friends to read them out….
On Your Wedding Day
Author Unknown
Today is a day you will always remember
The greatest in anyone's life
You'll start off the day just two people in love
And end it as Husband and Wife
It's a brand new beginning the start of a journey
With moments to cherish and treasure
And although there'll be times when you both disagree
These will surely be outweighed by pleasure
You'll have heard many words of advice in the past
When the secrets of marriage were spoken
But you know that the answers lie hidden inside
Where the bond of true love lies unbroken
So live happy forever as lovers and friends
It's the dawn of a new life for you
As you stand there together with love in your eyes
From the moment you whisper 'I do'
And with luck, all your hopes, and your dreams can be real
May success find it's way to your hearts
Tomorrow can bring you the greatest of joys
But today is the day it all starts.
Castlerigg, Cumbria, By Anonymous
For five thousand years,
These, stones have stood,
Erected, with sweat and tears,
By, Druidic, brotherhood,
Overshadowed, By mount Helvellyn,
And under heavens gaze,
This, monument of human skill,
Created, back, in pagan days,
Thirty-eight, stones, a metre high,
Each, of which, a hefty weight,
A tribute, to their gods, to cry,
For them an, earthly gate,
Now, they nestle, amongst the hills,
Forgotten reasons,
And forgotten skills
Watching over, each and every season,
A wondrous, sight of mans endeavor,
This stone circle be,
Castlerigg, will stand forever,
For all of us to see
Who designed your wedding dress and where was it from?
Not exactly “designed”!! Same company as the bridesmaid dress - Alexia Designs. There is a small shop locally, where I bought it, and had it altered locally too. My dress was in fact a bridesmaid’s dress, but because I chose the main colour to be ivory (with plum detail), it made a perfect wedding dress.
What music did you have during the day for
i) For the Ceremony we walked in to, “Lullaby” performed by Bond (rocky classical version)
ii) Signing register – Clannad background music
iii) Walking out – “I’m In The Mood for Love”, performed by Jools Holland and Jay Kay
iv) First Dance - Ronan Keating, “This I Promise You”
What would be your Top Tips?
Always ask around – friends, family, neighbours, companies. You just don’t know what skills lie behind closed doors. (At a fraction of the usual cost)
Get married as late as possible! We got married at 4pm for a number of reasons – guests could travel from far and wide; they could check in to accommodation before coming to the wedding (hotels and B&Bs usually only let you check in from 2pm); and we completely cut out the costly “wedding breakfast” meal, by having canapés at the first venue, and the main buffet for everyone at the second venue at about 8pm.
Don’t be put off be deadlines, wedding fayres telling you to book things two years ahead, and so called ‘last-minute’ ordering. It can all be done in 3 months - we did it!
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