We met on social media in Summer 2020. Antony sent me a message after coming across my Instagram page and we hit it off almost straight away. With covid restrictions we couldn’t meet straight away so after many long phone calls chatting away till early hours of the morning, we finally met for a coffee in the September and the rest really is history.
He is truly my soul mate. I’m 28 years old, from sunny Blackpool. My heart lies with the seaside, so I was super happy that Antony wanted to live in his hometown _which is also by the sea. So, I moved to the other side of the water in Southport.
When it came to our wedding planning, we were so very set on having a very traditional church wedding with white roses and the men in tuxedos. My grandad passed away just before Christmas which was really sad, but he was a Christian and I wanted to honour his legacy but having a traditional wedding.
In the evening we wanted an elegant cocktail style party. We didn’t want to have a sit-down meal and instead set our hearts on having canapés, champagne and cocktails! Our vision came together perfectly.
The wedding planning was amazing for me, and I am going to miss it so much. Thankfully because we had a surprise wedding, I got to do it in private within minimal questions and judgement - which honestly was really nice. Antony and myself embraced our styles to their full potential by doing this.
The idea that I has in mind for my wedding dress was totally different to what I chose. I wanted something silky and plain. Not too much detail like a modern chic wedding dress blended with tradition. What I actually ended up choosing something embellished and very sparkly! There’s no words to describe how you feel when you put THE dress on. The lady who managed my appointment recommended I try it as she thought it would be a good fit for me and my figure, and she wasn’t wrong!
I only visited one shop and I’m so glad that I did. I’m a very decisive person so I knew it wouldn’t take me much to find the ‘one’. I would say I tried on about 5 dresses, but nothing came close to the feeling I felt when I put my dream dress on. I went for Sahara 69712A which for me was the perfect balance between wedding elegance and high chic fashion. I purchased it from Boutique Brides of Crosby _near Liverpool in England.
I picked Sahara because I am quite a bottom-heavy girl. I’m a size 8 on top and a size 10 on the bottom and I have a small chest/waist and a larger bottom/thigh. This means I can sometimes have trouble finding a dress which fits perfectly. Luckily Sahara provided not only comfort but a perfect fit due to the corset style top. The material around my stomach and thighs was beautiful as it almost has a bit of a stretch to it, meaning I didn’t feel restricted. Comfort wasn’t at the top of my list but this absolutely ticked that box for me. The sparkles and pearls were so perfect. It made me feel a million dollars, especially in the light.
For the dress buying experience I would 100% recommend Boutique Brides of Crosby, the women there are so down to earth and have a beautiful selection Ronald Joyce dresses! Deb and Ciara were so helpful throughout the time I was speaking with them from January right up until my wedding and Joanne their seamstress did a FANTASTIC job on my dress.
We got married on Saturday 3rd June 2023 and it was such a beautiful day for weather, the sun was shining very bright! Our venue was the Emmanual Church _Southport, Northwest England which has one of the longest aisles in England, making it the perfect spot for grand entrance. This was then followed by our surprise announcement at The Vincent Hotel _Southport, North West England in their very modern but elegant cocktail bar on the 1st floor.
The day had a few hiccups, one of our balloons popped on a light in the morning but the lady who made them quickly ran back home and made another for us. I also got very nervous outside the church, I’m not usually someone who enjoys the limelight, but I couldn’t wait to get down that aisle and see my husband.
My favourite part of the whole day was the speeches our loved ones did for us. We had Antonys best man, my maid of honour and father of the bride all make one. Feeling the love in the room was an extremely beautiful moment. Looking around and knowing all these people are here to celebrate us. I wish we could experience it again.
I’d say our time with our photographer and videographer after the church was much better than I expected - we are both a bit awkward when it comes to pictures. But they both made us feel extremely at ease and the photos came out amazing.
If I have a tip for future brides, it would be to build enough time into your getting ready routine, I was straight out of hair and makeup and into my dress and didn’t have much time for photos with the bridal party. I also didn’t use my phone at all throughout the whole day as I wanted to ‘be in the moment’ and I absolutely would recommend that to any bride. However, give your phone to someone to take picture and videos for you. I wish I did this as I don’t have much to look back on days after my wedding.
Special Thanks
Photographer Laura Helen- Our photographer was a lovely lady called Laura - we carefully selected her after a couple of video calls we did. She was amazing, contact details
Venue- Emmanual Church _Southport, North West England and The Vincent Hotel
Makeup artist- Michelle Radford
Hairdresser-Cloe Talbot
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