Smiles, Tears, Friendship, Home and Happiness

It seems like July only just happened, and yet here we are in November as I look back on some of my weddings waiting to be blogged and start work on Becky and Jack's wedding at the wonderful Didsbury House Hotel. As always I will be handing over to them to tell you about their wedding planning and how their day unfolded... but not until after you've taken a few minutes to watch their highlight video below!

The soundtrack

Click below to listen to a Spotify playlist of tracks from their day

OUR WEDDING PLANNING PROCESS

We got engaged in June 2016 on a beach called 'The Secret Beach' on an island called Nusa Ceningan, off the coast of Bali. When it came to planning our wedding, we were torn between a UK wedding or one overseas. Four months before we got engaged, we'd visited a wedding in Thailand and loved how the wedding was very much like a holiday, with everyone celebrating together before and after the wedding.

When it came down to what mattered, however, it was our family. Living thousands of miles from home in Hong Kong, the one thing we truly miss are our family and friends. We're both sociable and adventurous, but also very traditional. We couldn't imagine a wedding without everyone we love there.

From there, the idea of a wedding in Didsbury, Manchester emerged. We met in Manchester, our first home together was in Didsbury and therefore Didsbury seemed like the perfect place.

Didsbury House Hotel had two Saturdays in July free! This was just in the middle of our school summer holidays and in many ways, felt like it was meant to be. The venue also includes twenty seven bedrooms, which was the 'holiday' feel we were hoping to achieve. We hit a speed bump, however, when we were not sure whether we would be able to find a registrar and were looking at celebrants. We thought that we would have to complete the legal part in Hong Kong prior to the wedding which was something that really did not feel right. As mentioned before, we are both traditional in many ways and the thought that my dad could not 'give me away' was something that troubled us.

Luckily for us, we adjusted the date, eventually secured a registrar to marry us at the venue and the 29th July 2017 was booked. Hooray!

We literally enjoyed every single minute of wedding planning. I never realised how organised I could be (being a very chaotic, disorganised person unless it comes to holidays!) and Jack was very chilled when it came to the plans. I loved picking my dress, tasting the food and picking songs for the playlist and band. Jack loved the little details...although that's as much information as I can get out of him! :-) We both LOVED our Hong Kong and UK stag do's and spending time with our friends and family before the wedding was amazing!

THE STORY OF OUR DAY

It was just incredible from start to end. We really couldn't have asked for a more amazing day. The morning was relatively relaxed (well, as relaxed as can be expected) and as we weren't getting married until 4.00pm, it felt like we had a long time to get ready. We both got ready at the venue, but being the bride, I was relatively shielded from everything that was going on. Jack said he felt calm until everyone began to arrive and then the butterflies began to build. (In an excited way rather than nervous!)

Time began to fly by though and before we realised, it was almost 4.00pm. I can still remember the amazing feeling of excitement that overwhelms you as you wait to walk down the aisle. Hearing the music you'd spent hours choosing and then seeing everyone's smiling faces as you enter the room, is really the most amazing feeling. The ceremony itself is almost a blur, but the beautiful photographs really bring back all of the amazing memories.

Hugging, chatting, drinking, eating, laughing, smiling, posing, singing, twirling, dancing....from the moment the ceremony ends, the party really does begin. The band we hired were brilliant and we just wanted it (in a cliched way) to never end. Sitting in the courtyard at almost 5.00am, begging people not to go to bed was how our wedding finally came to a close.

It really is worth all of the hype. Weddings are awesome!

ADVICE FOR COUPLES PLANNING THEIR DAY

JACK:

Pace yourselves so you can be the last people standing!
Consummate your marriage like mad!! (Can I even put that haha?!!)
Listen to your photographer's advice - they've seen so many weddings that sometimes their little tips and suggestions on the day can make a big difference!

BECKY:

Really think about who you want to have 1:1 photographs with and try to find time to make sure you get them on the day.
Try not to make sure you're ready with enough time to spend some quiet moments with the people who matter to you, before you walk down the aisle.
Don't worry about the weather....I was up at 4.00am on the day of our wedding, panicking that it was still raining. We were lucky that it had cleared up by the wedding day, but when it comes down to it, you really don't care at all!

OUR FAVOURITE PHOTOS

We love them all!! We literally don't have enough space in our flat to display the ones we want to!

The black and white confetti shot where we're just having a ball with our friends and family.
All of the ones of just the two of us in the garden.
The one of us on the dance floor - we're just laughing and it sums up the day brilliantly.
One where my sister is doing my dress up and my mum is just watching from behind. I just love the natural photograph of the three of us in such a special moment.
My dad's face in all of them. He was proud as punch and in his absolute element all day.
The two individual pictures of my grandparents. They're just such beautiful representations of the two of them.
Foggy crying when the groomsmen were all getting ready....they're best mates and no distance has ever changed that.

I could literally go on but I think I'll stop there!

KIND WORDS

Hannah's work is just stunning. She's relaxed, kind, helpful and happy to just observe and join in when needed. She gave us advice, had the power to coerce people to come for group photos in a lovely way and really felt like a guest. Her shots speak for themselves and the video, WOW!! We would literally advise anyone who wants a candid approach, with photos that remind you of every minute of the day, to go ahead and book Hannah in an instance. She was incredibly professional and without doubt one of the best decisions we made when organising our wedding.