June 05, 2024

Bright Reds, Blushing Pinks & A Fabulous Celebration

Antonia Grace

This one is going to knock your socks off! Lauren & Mike celebrated their gorgeous day surrounded by 100 of their nearest and dearest. Opting for the most beautiful pinks & reds to accompany their theme...

With so many lovely touches, we know you're going to love this one! From singing waiters to hot sauce favours... It was a fabulous day filled with so much colour, laughter and love!

So... Tell Us How You Met?

We met at Manchester Metropolitan University during freshers week, one of my roommates had a birthday and we decided to throw a birthday party in their honour and invited the whole block of residence to celebrate, turns out Mike lived next door and we hit it off instantly and we’ve been together ever since!

Now The Proposal Story!

It was on the 2nd June 2022 and Mike surprised me with a weekend away in Chester. It wasn't until we were in Chester that Mike realised, he had taken us to the wrong location and we had to turn around. We finally made it to Leek in the Peak District and we went for a walk around a nearby lake it was there that Mike proposed, it was extra special as we had our dog Stanley with us too, of course he had no idea what was going on and didn't understand why we stopped.

Antonia Grace

Why Elmore Court?

I’ve always had a list of venues saved that I knew I wanted to look at and Elmore Court was one of them. I loved everything about it on photos and felt it really offered what we were looking for. When we got engaged one of my friends suggested we look at Elmore as they’d recently been to a wedding there and it was near to Mikes mums, they only had great things to say so it sent Elmore right to the top of the list for us! We immediately booked a viewing and travelled down, and instantly we fell in love, everything about Elmore is so well thought out, from the ceremony room to accommodation and the gillyflower. I remember we both looked at each other as we walked around and just KNEW Elmore was the place we’d be getting married.

Where Did Your Wedding Inspiration Come From?

I spent a lot of time scrolling on Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok for inspiration alongside other weddings that had been and gone at Elmore! Originally we were looking at pastels and wildflowers but I started to notice I was saving a lot of images with bright pinks, reds and lots and lots of disco balls! It took us getting the bridesmaid dress samples to decide on the colour scheme which I then sent to our wedding stylist Lauradana who brought the vision to life. She even recommended a beautiful ombré bouquet for me and suggested that the bridesmaids have monobloom bouquets to contrast their dresses which we absolutely loved as it was something we'd never seen before.

How Did You Find The Planning Of Your Wedding?

My job as a Media Planner meant I found a natural rhythm with wedding planning, we had a lot of help along the way from the family and friends which helped. Looking back we loved the process and planning the day, of course, there were times it was stressful and being indecisive I sometimes felt we’d picked the wrong things, but it all came together in the end. Alice at Elmore was also a huge help, she guided us along the way and kept us on track with timings! I certainly feel a little bit lost without a wedding to plan now that it’s over!

We loved your gorgeous gown how did you choose this look?

I knew I wanted an A-line dress and something comfortable that still felt like me, everything I was looking at was mikado or satin, still off the shoulder but quite long trains. Initially, I thought I’d found one at my first appointment with my mum, sister and nan but I had other appointments booked with some of my bridesmaids so I held off and I’m so glad I did. As soon as I tried 'the one' on we all knew, it was such a gorgeous dress and I’d never seen one like it before, I still felt like me but the bride version! The dress is Alena Leena and it’s called Armeria, it felt so romantic and fitting with the theme of the wedding, was comfortable and I also loved the fact the sleeves came off to really have a dance in the evening!

Antonia Grace

On The Morning Of Your Wedding, How Did You Feel?

I’m not going to lie, I think we both felt nervous. The excitement was absolutely still there and the morning was extremely chilled out with some minor stresses but no more than usual. Our bridal party and groomsmen did an incredible job of keeping the morning fun and positive to reduce any stresses. I was running a little late and it did lead to a little bit of anxiety on my part as I hate being late but, it was only by about 10 minutes or so and didn't have an impact on the day.

Tell Us About The Ceremony?

I think the ceremony is one of my favourite parts, it’s when we legally got married! I really wish we had a videographer as our friends and family keep talking about how fun it was and that they could really feel our love. I’ve dreamt of walking down the aisle to Kissing You for as long as I can remember, and it felt so magical. I remember my dad telling me to slow down as I just couldn’t wait to get to Mike and get married. We had two readings which we picked for their sentiment and honesty about love and marriage, they were ones we really felt a connection with, and my sister and my friend Izzy did an amazing job. As we were pronounced husband I remember feeling so happy we’d finally tied the knot, Antonia (our photographer) captured the moment perfectly and the ceremony photos are some of our favorites.

How Was Your Drinks Reception?

After a very chaotic confetti toss, I was certainly ready for a prosecco, we got really lucky with the weather and we were able to have drinks on the lawns in the sun, it was great to see everyone finally and chat with our friends and family. We also used the time to have some of our group photos so we were able to get some time with the wedding party and close family which was lovely.

What Was Your Food Of Choice?

For starters we had the smoked duck breast and the arancini and for mains, we chose the roast! As a Yorkshire girl anything with Yorkshire pudding and gravy was going to the top of the list! We chose the beef roast and the squash Wellington which came with roast potatoes and cauliflower cheese. We also went with the vanilla cheesecake and brownie for dessert. All of it was incredible and people keep saying how great the food was. Elmore did a brilliant job.

Antonia Grace

What Was Your Reaction To The Gilly?

When we did our first look at the Gillyflower I remember pure awe, Lauradana (WeddingCreations) is simply magical, she brought the Gillyflower to life, I can take zero credit! I remember just walking around with such a huge smile on my face, I couldn't have done what she did to the space, it was stunning in its own right but she really wove the theme through into the space, it was simply stunning. I trusted her completely with everything, from flowers to the signage to the tables and I'm so glad we did.

First Dance?

We went through so many options! For ages, we thought we had ‘the song’ until I saw a TikTok of having your first and last dance song match! We ended up choosing First Date, the acoustic version by Taylor Acorn, and then our last dance was the Blink-182 version. I can't believe I actually got Mike to agree to a Blink-182 song but we really loved the lyrics of making the night and our commitment to each other last forever.

What Were Your Wedding Highlights?

There are so so many we simply can’t choose but our guests really made the day, it felt full of love and that really shone through on the day. We’re so lucky to be surrounded by incredible people.

The ceremony, 100%!

We also surprised the guests with secret singing waiters who got everyone doing the conga around the Gillyflower and dancing together really set the tone for the evening!

The evening was also incredible, our DJ is a friend from primary school and we also had a saxophone player and both were incredible in getting everyone dancing, we had people up on shoulders (including me) and it was some of the best fun we’ve had.

Antonia Grace

Any Tips For Couples Currently Planning Their Wedding?

Enjoy the ride but remember the reason why you’re planning a wedding. It can be so easy to forget that, at the very core it’s a celebration of love between two people and get wrapped up in the details. Stay true to yourselves as a couple and the rest will follow.