Nothing but the Very Best – Chris & Natalie at Crow Wood Hotel

Chris & Natalie were married on 12th May 2023 at Crow Wood Hotel & Spa Resort.

Photographer: Christopher Lewis Photography

This is a wedding that we at Little White Books couldn’t NOT feature! We’ve worked with Chris ever since he and Martyn created their amazing business, Exceed Events, and we’ve enjoyed watching them grow from strength to strength. And when you are a multi award-winning event supplier, then your wedding has got to be one of the best you’ve ever seen.

I’d booked a weekend away for myself & Natalie to visit London, under the guise of our first child-free weekend together for Christmas. We stayed in The Shard overlooking the Thames and I had booked an evening meal in one of the restaurants there. Whilst Natalie was taking a bath, I popped out to scope out my proposal spot, re-arranging the restaurant furniture to get that perfect window location. I could barely get my words out as we both burst into tears and laughter. By the time we had got back off the train in Manchester, we had already compiled the guest list, top three venues and contacted our main suppliers!

I work in the wedding industry, and so I’m incredibly lucky to be able to work in some of the most amazing venues around the north west. I had arranged to take Natalie around some of my favourites, and whilst walking out of Crow Wood, Natalie looked at me and said, “we’re getting married here”. I told her that she should also go and look at other venues but she said no, she knew that Crow Wood was the one for us.

Crow Wood ticked every box; it’s new, modern, it has beautiful grounds, lots of smart accommodation, and a brilliant event space that transforms to feel different throughout the day and night. Everything is in the one room which feels full of energy. The staff are amazing and the food is incredible too.

Owning Exceed Events puts us in the very fortunate position that we know who the best of the best are! All our suppliers were chosen not only because of how fantastic they are at what they do, but also because of how genuine and brilliant they are as individuals as well. They will always go above and beyond, taking so much care and pride in what they do, which was so important for us.

We also visited the Little White Books Crow Wood wedding fair in January 2022, along with some of the other venue fairs, the main one being the Great Northern Wedding Show in April 2023. The fairs were fantastic, gave us so much inspiration (and allowing Natalie to blow the budget!). Our team of suppliers ensured that we had the very best look, feel and atmosphere from the moment people arrived until the moment they left.

Natalie had a simple but modern vision for the look and feel of our wedding day, and we opted for white flowers, with sage greenery to compliment the sage green bridesmaid dresses with gold accents throughout the décor. We opted for black tie suits for a traditional feel. We were blown away with how the vision came to life on the day and how spectacular the venue looked, which is all down to the incredible talent of our suppliers.

Natalie’s dress was designed by Essence of Australia and chosen at Natalie Ann Brides
in Liverpool. Natalie loved her experience at Natalie Ann Brides so much that she even began working there on weekends to help more brides choose their dream dresses.

Choosing our first dance song was a difficult decision. Anything too slow or cheesy just wasn’t us, so we chose Ben Haenow, ‘You’ve Got Something I Need’, as the words are relatable to us as a couple and the track was fun, upbeat and would start the party perfectly. We were even lifted in the air by our friends when the confetti cannons and spark fountains went off!

Since the wedding all our family and friends have not stopped complimenting the venue, the atmosphere and how amazing the entertainment throughout the day and night was. From start to finish, everyone had smiles on their faces, so much so that they physically hurt from the sheer amount of smiling and laughter. There was always something happening to keep the energy levels high, and it was a great feeling to have all of our family and friends celebrating under one roof and having the most amazing time together.

The most stand out memory of the day has to be seeing each other for the first time at the end of the aisle and then being introduced as husband and wife for the first time, you can never forget how special that feels. And after talking about a non-existing wedding for eight years, all our family and friends were relieved to finally see it happening – it was definitely a long awaited day!