Inspiration
Lilac & Travel Themed Wedding / Charlotte & Anthony
- BY CLAIRE BOON
- 07/11/2019
- 7 MIN READ
Charlotte & Anthony’s Wedding at Mere Court Hotel, Cheshire / Saturday 3rd August 2019
Photography: Jess Yarwood Photography
The Proposal
It was their 11 year anniversary (and Charlotte’s birthday), and Anthony surprised Charlotte with a trip to Paris to celebrate. He didn’t tell her where they were going until they got to the airport. They had a lovely weekend in Paris and after a lovely meal, Anthony took Charlotte to the Jardins du Trocadero to watch the Eiffel Tower light up at midnight. He made them walk round and round to find the perfect spot to sit before settling on the original place found! Her feet hurt a lot at this point! They sat with a bottle of red wine watching the lights before Anthony got down on one knee and popped the question. Charlotte instantly said yes!
Theme / Colour Scheme
They have been together since they were 15 and have been friends since they were 3 so they wanted their history to play a big part in their day. They wanted their colour scheme to be lilac as this is the colour they wore at their year 11 Prom. This meant the bridesmaids wore lilac, the flowers were lilac and the order of service in the church had a lilac ribbon around it.
They love to travel so also wanted travel to be a big theme throughout the wedding. One of the bridesmaids designed the wedding invitations. These were travel themed showing their journey together from nursery to present day. Their table names were pictures of them in different places they have visited. The table plan was a map of the world with pins in located guests to their seats. Their card box was a vintage suitcase which they attached photos of places they have travelled to inside.
Special Touches & Unique Ideas
Anthony loves Jaegermeister and Charlotte loves Beyonce, so for their wedding favours they had a shot glass with the phrase ‘Drunk in Love’. Their names featured along with the wedding date with a mini glass of Jaegermeister in. The Jaeger was drunk during the toast of the Grooms speech. Charlotte’s bridesmaid also made the order of the day.
They had a kids table with games, cards, glow sticks and bubbles on to keep them entertained.
They love pictures and have pictures all over their house so decided to have photo bunting throughout the venue along with photo beer mats. Charlotte and Anthony made sure that on the photo bunting there was at least one picture of them with every guest attending the wedding so they could find themselves. They also included their first ever picture together – Anthony’s fourth birthday party with him dressed as a Power Ranger and Charlotte as Snow White. How cute!
They knew they would never read a guest book and because they love pictures, they asked the photographer to take a picture of everyone at the wedding together so they could put that into a large picture frame. Therefore, instead of a guest book, they had a large photo frame which all guests wrote special messages on. Next to this, they also had a photo collage which Charlotte made Anthony when they were 16 for everyone to look at and for old friends to reminisce with.
The Big Day
Charlotte stayed at the venue the night before the wedding and woke up early so went down to the reception room to check the air con was on and ensure the flowers were ok. She was very calm and did not feel nervous at all, only excited. They had been together for so long that there was nothing to be nervous about.
The bridal party all got ready in Charlotte’s room with the make up artist. They had a great view of the front of the venue from the bedroom window so enjoyed seeing everyone leave for the church and see what they were wearing. They all drank a lot of Prosecco as they were getting ready.
Once ready, Charlotte’s dad walked in and saw her in her dress which is now one of her favourite pictures from the day. They all shed a little tear and then it was time to go. When they arrived at the church, her childhood friends parents were outside of the church wanting to see them walk in and out.
Funny Moments
Charlotte hates being late so told the vicar she would be ten minutes early – definitely not late! She arrived at the venue ten minutes early but nana had got lost! It turns out they were so close to the venue and thought they had gone wrong so turned around and drove in the opposite direction. They didn’t arrive until twenty minutes after her. The photographer went inside to tell the vicar Charlotte was there but were waiting on the last of the family. The vicar then told Anthony – he was apparently nervous because he knows she is always early and didn’t understand why she wasn’t walking down the aisle!
During the ceremony, Anthony kissed Charlotte too early which the vicar had to tell them about and then make them do it again.
Top Tips
Have someone dedicated to brush your hair! Charlotte’s hair had to be down and straight because it does not hold curls and it wasn’t until her wedding breakfast when one of my friends told me she needed to brush her hair! She had already had the professional family photographs done though!
Charlotte and Anthony stuck together throughout the whole day. They said to each other, everyone is here for them therefore they wanted to speak to everyone and speak to them together. During the wedding breakfast, they made a point of going round to every table and speaking to everyone who was there. They also spoke to everyone at the evening do and danced with everyone who was dancing throughout the night.
Don’t stress! They were so chilled planning it all because they just wanted it to be a big party. So long as everyone had fun, that would be fine. Everyone had a great time and so did they.
They set aside 15 minutes after the wedding breakfast to go to their room, have a can of red bull to keep them awake for the evening do and just catch up with each other.
Top tip – After everyone has finished eating the evening food, put the typical cheesy tunes on to get everyone up dancing again such as the Macarena, Cha Cha Slide etc. They did this and no one sat down again after this.
Suppliers
The wonderful local wedding suppliers that helped bring Charlotte & Anthony’s vision to life are as follows:
Venue: Mere Court Hotel
Photographer: Jess Yarwood Photography
Cake: Pretty Princess Cakes
Stationery: Bridesmaid Kelsey Barr
Cars: Klassic Cars (Bride) and Century Cars (Bridesmaids)
Dress: Cherish Bridal
Suits: Slaters
Bridesmaids: Ever Pretty
Hair & Makeup: Jody Ann Yates
Rings: Costco and Secret Sales
Mother of the Bride: Brides and Mothers
We hope this special feature gives you inspiration for your wedding or event.
Want to feature your wedding our blog? Please contact claire@bouquetandbells.com.
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