Real Wedding: Katy & Matt

Are you getting married in a church? It's still the choice of thousands of brides and grooms each year, although it's often teamed with a new-found religious interest! It's not surprising though, church weddings are wonderfully romantic, and they give a real sense of gravitas to the ceremony. Katy and Matt chose a church wedding, followed by their reception in the seriously grand and gorgeous Peckforton Castle. Katy got seriously creative with her details and colour palette, and you can really see the effect, with a stunning four-tier cake, birdcage table decorations and cute little favour buckets. I really love the addition of seed pearls and lace to her bouquet - just goes to show how you can add your own twist to everything. My favourite spot is the cones of sheet music filled with confetti - an easy and effective DIY project - even your groom could do it! Katy's been kind enough to fill in the Before the Big Day bridal questionnaire, so do check out all her advice below. Stunning photos published with thanks to Amy Turner from iMAG1NE, don't miss the last picture, it's like something from a play!

The Before the Big Day Bridal Q&A - Katy was kind enough to fill in our questionnaire, aimed at helping other brides with their planning process. Feast your eyes on her answers for helpful hints and tips from someone on the other side of her big day!

Where and when did you get married?
Friday 7th May 2010, at St Helen’s Church in Tarporley. The reception was held at Peckforton Castle.

What was your thinking behind choosing the venue and the decoration of the reception?
We wanted a church wedding, and we picked the Castle as our reception venue as it was so romantic and grand.

Did you have a theme, colour or motif in mind?
Our theme was romantic/vintage. Our colours were dusky rose, mocha and ivory.

Who made your wedding outfit and how did you come to that decision?
My mother and maid of honour came with me to multiple bridal shops in Cheshire and Sheffield until I found the perfect dress. I was always looking for a simple and elegant gown, and when I tried on the Suzanne Neville dress I knew it was the one! We bought it from Freya Bridal in Sheffield, and my veil came from Agape in Knutsford.

What about your husband’s outfit? Where was it from?
Hired from Debenhams to match colour scheme of mocha.

And how about your bridesmaids’ outfits
Mocha dresses to match the colour theme, made by Dessy and purchased from Avec Amour in Glossop.

What type of cake did you go for, and how did you come to that decision?
Four-layered tier sponge cake with flowers matching the wedding colours between each layer. Each layer of sponge was a different flavour. The cake was inspired by a cake I had seen in a bridal magazine.

Did you have any favours? What were they? Was there any particular reason why you picked them?
The mens’ favours were miniature bottles of spirit or whisky. The ladies favours were heart shaped chocolates and a tin of lip balm. All the favours were placed in miniature rose coloured buckets with either mocha or pink ribbons tied round. We wanted to pick favours which people could use and would actually appreciate!

Who was your florist, what flowers did you choose, and how did you come to that decision?
The florist I chose was Jacklyn Bagley from Precious Things Florist in Macclesfield. She was amazing! I described the colours and theme of the wedding and she worked her magic designing the bouquet and arrangements. We had lots of flowers to decorate the venue and they were a beautiful finishing touch to the venue.

Who was your photographer and how did you choose them?
Researching on the internet we noticed Amy from Imag1ne had photographed many weddings at Peckforton Castle. We looked at the example photo’s on the website and loved them!! We didn’t want staged or cheesy photo’s, we just wanted to capture the day with natural photo’s and thats exactly what Amy did!

Did you enjoy planning your wedding?
I loved planning the wedding. I spent many hours making save the dates, invitations, menus, order of services, etc but it was all worth it in the end. Also my husband and I spend many hours researching Dj's, string quartets, florists etc to find the best we could for our budget. All the effort that went into planning the wedding and all the personal touches made the day really special for both us and our families and friends.

What advice do you have for brides planning their big day?
Relax and enjoy every minute! Try to be organised but don’t worry if not everything goes to plan, the main thing is that your marrying the man of your dreams!


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