The grooms – age, occupation & where you live? “Mr Sean Welch-McMahon & Mr Paul Welch-McMahon – I am 46 and work as an Interior Designer. Paul is 52 and works as a Reward Human Resource Manager. We live in a cottage in Shadwell, Leeds.”
Date and location of wedding (and reception if different): “Saturday 18th June 2016 at The Mansion Roundhay.”
The proposal: “Paul’s 50th Birthday gift from me back in August 2014 was a trip to New York for the Christmas light switch on.
Mid way through our stay in the City we went to a fabulous theatre located in downtown Soho. We watched a production of The Nutcracker Rouge which was outstanding!
The bar area of the theatre had tasteful decor with funky lights, in fact it was that good we went back after our last nights dinner for a nightcap. It was then that Paul proposed… OMG I could not believe it, an experience I will never forget!”
The suits: “My suit was a Vivienne Westwood single breasted grey pin stripe and Paul’s was a made to measure grey and navy check single breasted jacket with a waistcoat.”
The ceremony: “4pm at The Magnificent Mansion….Roundhay.”
The cake: “Made by a family run business in Manchester called Alexandra cakes.”
Honeymoon: “Monday 20th June Paul and I started our four week amazing Honeymoon in the beautiful city of Boston. We stayed at the gorgeous Fairmont
Hotel positioned right in the heart of the city. We found Boston a beautiful city that you can easily walk round making sightseeing very enjoyable.
The highlights for our stay was a sunset boat trip on Boston Harbour just breath-taking and the historic architectural buildings, beautiful. After a few days in Boston we flew to buffalo Airport where we grabbed a cab that took us to The Marriott Hotel located on the Canadian side overlooking the magnificent Niagara falls.
Wow what an experience Niagara Falls is – unbelievable, and the Hotel location and views stunning. After two crazy days in Niagara it was time for Paul and I to
start our road trip. Our aim was to drive through and visit many beautiful places and sample some of the delicious fresh food on offer, my word New England didn’t disappoint! A highlight of our trip was to stay for a few days in a gorgeous area called The White mountains in New Hampshire; we then drove to and stayed in Burlington Vermont which was set on the beautiful Lake Champlain. Now it was time to head to the coast for the July 4th celebrations, Provincetown, Cape Cod here we come! Another great highlight here was a whale watching trip to see impressive humpbacks. After spending four fabulous days on the Cape it was time for Paul and I to fly to Miami and start our second road trip, this time taking us both to Florida Keys. The final part of our amazing honeymoon was spending four unbelievable days staying on the South Beach Miami…!”
Photography: “Mark Gillow photography@mgillow.co.uk – website coming soon…”
Flowers: “In the room where the ceremony took place, the flowers were from Caine Florist in Harrogate and the beautiful lavender plants used for the table decorations were from our local Greenscapes nursery on Brandon Crescent, Leeds.”
Wedding stylist: “That would be ME!”
Menu: “Starter….Sweet Pepper & Chilli Tarte Tatin Asparagus & Summer Salad. Main course…. Sirloin of Beef wild Mushroom Bourguignon Confit with
Button Onions Rich Red Wine Sauce, Crushed New Potatoes with Garlic, Buttered Greens. Dessert was Chocolate Orange Panacotta Dark Chocolate Mousse, Saffron & Orange Panacotta topped with a Summer Berry Compote & Amaretti Biscuits. Finished with Coffee & Chocolates.”
Transport: “We hired a double-decker bus from Hunters Coaches to take Paul and I and all the guests to Malmaison Hotel in Leeds where we were all staying.”
Entertainment: “We had a super band called Jo Simmons Jazz Band to play before the ceremony and during, then finishing on the terrace while the guest drank Pimms and ate delicious Canapés. For the evenings entertainment we had a brilliant DJ from the DJ company called The hi-life.co.uk”
What was the most memorable part of your day? “We both had the most amazing day for our wedding; the standout moment for us was at the end of the ceremony, turning around to face our guest who were all clapping and cheering – it was emotional and moving to know that they were there for us.”
Would you recommend Dine to friends and family? “When I walked up to The Mansion on my first viewing for our up and coming wedding and saw the beautiful architecture of the exterior and the fabulous modern interior, I knew then I would be feeding back to my partner Paul, that this was the venue for us. Throughout the build up to the actual day, the level of professionalism and service from Natalie the Events Manager was excellent, nothing was any trouble at all! On the Big Day we could see the handwork that had gone into setting up the rooms to make them beautiful. Throughout our day the timings given, were perfectly executed and the level of table service the team gave was just outstanding. The food was beautifully presented, totally delicious and lots of it. We had lots of great comments from all our guest. The chefs clearly know what they are doing! All our guest said that Natalie and the team were true professionals and worked as a team brilliantly!”
Any advice for couples planning their wedding? “I know that it can be a little stressful when you are planning such an important day, but remember to give yourselves plenty of time to work through any action plans you might put together. Most importantly is to enjoy each part of the build up because your big day really does come around rather quickly.”
If you are interested in celebrating your wedding or hosting a private event at The Mansion, please do get in touch with our events team by calling: 0113 269 1000 or emailing: themansion@dine.co.uk
