Laura & Michael Were Dancing On The Clouds At Their Wedding At The Villa, Wrea Green

Laura Jane is a great friend of Little White Books; she’s a professional makeup artist that has worked with us for a number of years now. Earlier this year it was Laura’s turn to tie the knot – and being a regular at our wedding fairs she was spoilt for choice with ideas for her big day! Here’s Laura’s story;

“We first met at
Runshaw College. We were on separate courses when all of a sudden, the fire
alarm went off. Michael opened his classroom door as I opened mine which was
directly opposite; our eyes met and he kept looking back at me on the stairs.
When I got home I had a friend request from Michael on Facebook, he asked me on
a date and the rest is history.

He proposed
whilst on holiday in the Dominican Republic. One evening we were having a stroll
along the beach, when he asked me to turn around so I was facing the sea.
Meanwhile he got down on one knee, pulling out the ring box declaring his love
for me and then asked me to marry him… I replied “are you joking?”, and then I
turned around and said “Oh my God, you’re not joking!” “Yes, Yes, Yes!!!” Then
he slipped on my gorgeous diamond ring.

Being a
professional makeup artist I have visited quite a lot of venues through my job,
and had narrowed it down to five possible
venues for us. However, The Villa in
Wrea Green impressed us the most with the marquee-style Pavilion suite
complete with fairy lights; when the lights were switched on we both said “This
is the one, it’s magical”. We also loved
the character features at the front of the venue and the piano lounge which is
very modern and classy.

My colour theme
was coral, ivory and gold, however, as we were getting married on Easter Sunday
we also wanted an Easter theme. As well as bunnies and baskets for decoration,
our wedding favours were wooden egg cups with nests and a chocolate egg,
complete with luggage tag that said ‘Thank you for sharing our special day,
Laura & Michael, 27.03.16’.

I had a couple
of specific ideas for our day. For our first dance we had a dry ice machine,
which gave a ‘dancing on clouds’ effect. Our first dance song was ‘Tenerife
Sea’ by Ed Sheeran. As a surprise for Michael, who enjoys the odd flutter, I booked
casino tables which were also a huge hit with our guests. We had a candy cart, a
photo booth, light-up letters and a love heart sign. I also planned another
surprise for Michael, I had a caricature picture done of us in our wedding
attire, which was waiting for us in the
piano lounge – we now have this displayed in our lounge at home.

I found many of
my suppliers through attending wedding fairs, our friends’ recommendations and
the internet. I visited most of Little White Books’ wedding fairs, which I found extremely helpful; I was able
to gather a lot of information, talk to a variety of suppliers and gain more ideas. I also exhibit at some of the
Little White Books wedding fairs to advertise my business ‘Beauty by
Laura Jane’ so I already knew a lot of the wedding suppliers. I found Pinterest
very helpful for ideas too – I had a board for everything. All of my suppliers
were excellent in the run up to the wedding, and
The Villa proved to be a fantastic venue and we are extremely happy we
chose to have our wedding there.

I found my
wedding dress at a wedding fair, it was being modelled on the catwalk. I tried
it on straight away and ordered it from ‘Because I Love You’ bridal centre, they have two shops in Harwood and
Farnworth. The designer for my wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses was
Ronald Joyce.

On the day
itself there were so many wonderful moments. Just as I was about to walk down
the aisle, my bridesmaids had ‘that’ look on their faces – you will know what I mean when it’s your turn. My Dad told
me he was so proud of me and how beautiful I looked, he held my hand and
linked my arm as we started walking down the aisle and said quietly “Don’t
rush, slow down and enjoy it”. During the
ceremony, Dad handed me over to Michael and said “For the last time…” I
remember saying “I do” to Michael, everyone applauded, then Michael gave me an almost everlasting-kiss. The
speeches were excellent. We ended the night dancing to ‘New York, New
York’ by Frank Sinatra – I just remember feeling so overwhelmed. The whole day
was about our family and friends helping us
celebrate our love for each other,
whilst enjoying themselves in a happy atmosphere; they have all said the
day flew by and was one of the best weddings they have been to.

If I could share some advice with future couples, it would be to try to enjoy every moment of your day, try
to spend as much time talking to
your guests together, otherwise you are celebrating your marriage apart
from each other. Also I highly recommend getting your wedding photographed and
filmed as both are something to look back on in years to come and treasure.”