Sam &
Mark were married last Autumn with a Church service followed by a marquee
reception at the Thistle Hotel, Haydock. The Thistle is now part of the Hotel Collection, The Haydock Park Hotel. Sam tells us her story:
We met at
our local pub; I was out with my friends and Mark was watching the rugby with
his brother and friends. We played Rock Paper Scissors then that was it!
We’d
talked about getting engaged for a while, then one Friday night Mark got down
on one knee and proposed using one of my costume jewellery rings… I said yes, then
we immediately visited the Trafford Centre to buy the real thing! I chose my
ring and he just passed it to me but the shop assistant made him put it on me properly.
We then visited our families at 10 o’clock at night to tell them all our news!
When it
came to choosing our venue, I had always dreamed of a marquee but I didn’t know
that some hotels had them within their grounds and then a colleague of my
mother-in-law told her about the Thistle. I went to view the hotel & the
marquee with my mother-in-law, and I instantly fell in love with the venue –
luckily Mark loved it too.
We had
decided to get married on our anniversary which was in October. We had an
autumnal theme with orange bouquets by Boc Boc and Halloween pumpkins! My
favourite colour is purple and when my bridesmaid (Emma) was trying on dresses
at Romancia in Billinge, the first one was purple and I loved it, as did she!
So luckily the purple went beautifully with the whole orange autumn theme. The
centre pieces produced by Boc Boc featured pumpkins as did our cake which was
by Alison Loves to Bake.
When we
were planning our wedding we visited a number of wedding fairs including a
Little White Books wedding fair at the Thistle itself. This is where we discovered
our photographer Sam Rigby and our cake maker Alison Loves to Bake. We also
booked our photo booth there and harpist for the church.
I
discovered my dress at Romancia in Billinge after I had already found my bridesmaid
dresses there too. I tried on a few styles and none of them really felt ‘right’,
then the assistant chose a gown for me. I was a little reluctant to try it on
because it wasn’t one that I would have chosen for myself, but I’m so glad I
did. I absolutely loved it! She put the gown together with a floor length veil
and I loved that too. My dress and bridesmaids’ dresses were by Phoenix Gowns
and they were made from the same material so it just felt like they were meant
to go together.
When our
big day arrived, we were fortunate enough to be able to invite all of our
family and friends. The fact that everybody was together made the day all the
more special for everyone. Friends and family have said that they absolutely
loved every minute of the day, as did we. To top it all off, St. Helens played
Wigan in the grand final and we were able to have the match on which fell
perfectly between the meal and the evening reception – and of course Saints
won!
If I could
pass on words of advice to other brides & grooms, I would say don’t stress
too much. I know that it is natural to stress with the big lead up but
everything works out on the day as it is supposed to! Also for the groom I
would say to put the speech down on paper as Mark winged it and forgot a few
things…
Special
thanks to Kathy at the Haydock Park Hotel, and Sam Rigby Photography
Flowers
& Stationery – Boc Boc of St Helens
Cake – Alison Loves to Bake
Wedding
Dress & Bridesmaids – Romancia Bridalwear
Harpist – Sarah Davies
Suit Hire
– Tyrers
Chair
Covers – Chair Angels
Casino – Pier Fun Casinos