With a Disney princess dress and a beautiful marquee, this really is a fairy-tale wedding!
Nic and Paul were married at the Thistle Haydock on 27th April 2012. They met through working together, speaking many times over the phone so they got to know each other quite well before actually meeting in person! Here they tell us in their own words about their wedding preparations and their special day.
Paul: After opening our presents under the Christmas tree in 2010, I told Nic I had one more present to give her that I’d left upstairs. I ran up to get the ring I had hidden in the bottom of my wardrobe. When I came back down, Nic was standing next to the tree looking at her presents. I got down on one knee and asked the question.
Nic: Soon after I’d said ‘yes’, we looked on the internet for possible venues in the North West, narrowing it down to about six venues in total which we then went to visit.
I had visited the Thistle at Haydock once before, for a conference, and was impressed by the look of the hotel and really enjoyed the evening meal we had there. I also dreamed of having the wedding breakfast and reception in a marquee, so when we saw the marquee at the Thistle it ticked all the boxes.
We met with Kath Robinson the wedding planner to discuss our budget and possible dates, and she was really helpful in arranging a package that would suit our budget without compromising what was important to us for the day. We also went to an open day before booking, and when we saw the marquee set up for the wedding breakfast, it looked better than we could have imagined. That was when we knew it was the right venue for us.
Nic: Next came my dress, which was the Snow White Disney dress by Alfred Angelo. I had already seen a couple of the Disney dresses on the internet that I liked, and so looked for retailers in the Cheshire area that stocked them. When I went to the first stockist I tried on lots of different dress styles, as people had advised me that you often choose a dress which is very different from what you first imagine. All the dresses were lovely, but I couldn’t get the Disney dresses out of my head. So I went back to the first shop a week later, and when I saw the Snow White dress I suddenly remembered how much I loved it and then none of the others could compare. I knew it was the right one for me, and so I ordered it the very same day.
I fell in love with all the detail on the bodice, the flowers on the skirt and the way it flattered my petite frame whilst others had drowned me. I took my mother and two sisters with me to help me decide, and we all agreed it was the best dress for me.
Paul & Nic: We booked a package with the Thistle, which included the chair and table covers and the DJ. We didn’t have any particular colour in mind for our wedding so we looked at images on the internet for different colour schemes. We finally decided on a black and white theme as it looks so classy and understated.
For the flowers we used a local florist called Edith Higham, who we had bought from in the past.
When we booked our consultation she gave lots of advice on which flowers would be in season and so would help us stick to our budget, and which flowers complimented each other. She also went the extra mile by creating floral hairslides for the bridesmaids for free.
Our photographer was ‘Martisan’ who was recommended by a friend; he was fantastic. He stayed with us from 10:30 am through to after our first dance at 9:00 pm so he managed to capture a wide range of pictures. His prices were really competitive compared to quotes we’d had from other photographers, and he offered longer hours than them. Lots of our guests commented on how friendly and professional he was – he took some great photos of us, our family and our friends. He kept in touch with us leading up to our day to ensure he knew exactly what we wanted from our photographs. He was a pleasure to have as part of our day.
Nic: On the morning of the wedding, I went to my local hairdressers, HCUK in Birchwood, at 9.00 am in the morning with my mother, auntie, and my three adult bridesmaids. We had four stylists who worked on us to ensure we were finished in good time.
My hair was styled by the master stylist Heather, who I had been going to for a few years. She had carried out a hair trial before the day so we could decide on the best style, and she prepared my hair extensions for me at no extra cost.
Then we went home to meet our make-up artist Claire and her assistant. They work at a local Spa in Birchwood, Serenity Spa, which I had visited many times over the last couple of months as I was preparing for my day. They did the make-up for me and my three adult bridesmaids between them, and they stayed until just before the wedding car arrived to pick me up so that they could ensure my make-up was perfect just before I left.
Paul: Claire really helped out. Not only did she do the make-up but also several beauty treatments for Nic and her bridesmaids leading up to the wedding. In the morning she was also on hand for minor emergencies like broken nails, fixing hair and she even put Nic’s veil in when nobody else was brave enough to do it!
Nic and Paul: During the day, our Master of Ceremonies, Lee Trigg, was excellent. He couldn’t have done enough for us and made sure everything went perfectly. The atmosphere was amazing. Everybody got on so well and really enjoyed themselves. The venue looked lovely and the music selected by the DJ in the evening suited everybody and got everyone up dancing.
Our ‘first dance’ was a song called ‘I’m Yours’ by The Script. We both wanted something that wasn’t a common wedding song for our first dance, and this was one that meant a lot to us both.
Nic & Paul: Having our wedding at the Thistle Haydock was brilliant. The venue looked amazing and all the staff were so helpful and friendly.
All our guests commented on how nice the venue was and everybody there really couldn’t have done any more for us. Looking back, we know we wouldn’t change a thing!
Paul: For our honeymoon we went to Riviera Maya in Mexico. A couple of Nic’s friends had been on their honeymoon there and said how amazing it was – we weren’t disappointed.
So many people said to us before our wedding that you should try not to worry about anything on the day and just enjoy it because it is the best day of your life – and they were right. So our advice to other brides and grooms is just ENJOY IT!
Who’s who:
Venue: Thistle Hotel
Photographer: Special thanks to Martisan photography for supplying Nicola and Paul’s fantastic images.
Florist: Edith Higham
Hair: HCUK
Make-up: Claire at Serenity Spa
Toastmaster: Lee Trigg
