Happy Couple
Lizzie is 27 and works as a teacher. Chris, 30, Strength and Conditioning Coach. They moved to Derby a week before their wedding on 26th July 2019.
Proposal
Chris and Lizzie went on holiday in August 2017, to Lizzie’s favourite place – Disneyland! Chris proposed at sunset right in front of Cinderella’s castle, just before the fireworks entitled ‘Happily Ever After’! It was the perfect proposal for a big Disney fan.
The Ceremony
Lizzie’s dad John Butler conducted the ceremony as he is a vicar. Not at Leeds Minster itself, but he knew the vicar, so he was granted permission to conduct the ceremony. How gorgeous is that?!
Wedding Celebration
Saturday 3rd August 2019. Lizzie and the bridesmaids got ready at Dakota Deluxe in Leeds. Just a short journey to Leeds Minster, where Chris and Lizzie were married. They used to live locally, and Chris’ grandparents married there also. Lizzie shared “We felt very lucky to be able to marry here and it was a very special ceremony”
Reception followed at The Mansion, Roundhay. “Chris and I have been coming to Roundhay since we met 8 years ago. It is a very special place for us and I have loved the style of The Mansion because of its beautiful décor and setting. This was only confirmed when we came to a wedding open evening with Chris’ parents and booked right away!”
The Dress
The bridal gown was from WED2B on Kirkstall Road. It was a sleeved, form fitting mermaid style dress with lace back. The detail on the back was just stunning. A really romantic and elegant dress.
“It was the first dress I tried on! I had done lots of research. Although I tried on about 4 after this I came back to the first dress.”
Hair and make-up
“Make up was done by Danni Alexandra who was incredible. Danni came to Dakota and all I can say is she performs magic! She gave us all what we had pictured and made us all feel very relaxed. Hair was done by Hair by Rachel Neilson. Rachel was lovely and gave us all exactly what I had pictured with a half up half down style for myself and a loose low trailing bun for the bridesmaids. She was excellent and very helpful. She even helped sew a bridesmaid’s dress when we had a little mishap!”
Wedding Photographer
Vivienne and her assistant were perfect. They made myself, Chris and the bridal party feel totally at ease and they captured the natural vibe that I wanted for our photographs.
They came to Dakota Deluxe to shoot the bridal suite in the morning and then made their way to the church.
After the ceremony they photographed us at the botanical gardens right near The Mansion, this was stunning and was such a lovely part of the day. We were completely relaxed and enjoyed every minute and Vivienne captured some stunning photographs here.
The Cake
“My maid of honour, Alice Howell made my cake (Howell Bakes). It was a three-tiered Buttercream icing cake done by a pallet knife, similar to the style chosen by Harry and Meghan. The cake was simplistic white with real flowers around the bottom in a garland. We had our initials made into a gold cake topper for the top from Etsy. The flavours were vanilla on the bottom with a caramel filling, the middle layer was lemon and the top was a caramel cake!”
Honeymoon
“Our honeymoon was to Thailand, where we went sea kayaking and spent time at an elephant sanctuary – which was incredible.”
Groom’s outfit
Next occasion wear. Grey tweed suit with blush ties and handkerchiefs from Swagger and Swoon.
Wedding Flowers
Jo from Fleuriste at Harden Garden Centre. “When I met Jo from Fleuriste she really understood my love for organic, English Garden style flowers. We chose lots of greenery with some big flowers in natural shades of pinks, whites and purples. They also created some beautiful displays, including large hydrangeas and delphiniums – some of my favourites. My bouquet was an asymmetric trailing bouquet with lots of greenery including eucalyptus. Flowers included hydrangeas, roses, double lisianthus, veronicas and other English garden flowers. The 5 bridesmaids’ bouquets were a smaller version of mine with all the same flowers. My flower girl Lily Pearl had a flower crown made from rose buds and looked like a little princess.”
Wedding Colours
“All of the colours were pinks, purples and whites. I didn’t want anything forced, just colours that are supposed to go together in an English garden.” Creating a really natural, elegant vibe.
Wedding Menu
“Chris and I are massive foodies and this was reflected in our menu choices. We had a Goat’s Cheese and Caramelised Onion Tart for starter, Slow Braised Shoulder of Lamb with boulangère potatoes, rosemary & port jus and buttered greens for main and Crème Brûlée with almond shortbread for dessert. We also had canapés as a treat from my dad which went down brilliantly; Onion Bhajis, Duck Spring Rolls and Tempura Prawns. For the evening we had Fish Finger Sandwiches and Bacon Ciabattas and Roasted vegetable, pesto & mozzarella paninis. All provided by Dine.”
“I am a big fan of dessert tables, so I also arranged a Donut wall from Temple donuts, who customised some donuts for us. The table also included some customised macarons from Poppy Pickering in Ilkley and some gold dust cookies made by Howell Bakes.”
Transport
“My bridesmaids, my brother (who walked me down the aisle) and I arrived at the church in an open top black and white Daimler by Otley Wedding Cars. We were picked up by a black XF S Luxury Jaguar from CR Wedding Cars Ltd after the reception and taken back to our wedding suite at Dakota. Both cars were stunning and exactly what we had imagined. Cars were booked through The Wedding Car Directory.”
Entertainment
“We had a harpist for the ceremony who was Alice Kirwan. She performed Canon in D by Pachabel as I walked down the aisle and performed other songs chosen by us such as A thousand years and Clair de lune which Chris and I were blown away by.
We also had Russell Shaun who is a jazz/swing singer who was brilliant. We had ‘Save the last dance for me’ as our first dance and he performed some other Sinatra/Michael Bublé inspired songs. Russell also acted as a DJ for the evening.”
What was the most memorable part of your day?
“It’s so hard for us to choose the most memorable parts of our day, but when we were picked up from The Mansion in the wedding car we could see everyone dancing upstairs and having a great time. I think that’s memorable because we knew we had had the best day of our lives, despite the cliché! And we knew that our guests had thoroughly enjoyed every moment.
The ceremony was stunning, and the church was lit up with sunshine through the stained glass. That with the harpist was like something from a dream.
Another memorable moment was the wedding breakfast. Every last detail was taken care of to the homemade cookies and the chocolates we were provided with, to the personalised treats on the tables. Chris and I decided to have a sweetheart table and it was a lovely opportunity for us to spend some time together enjoying the amazing food!
All in all, it was a magical day thanks to everyone involved.”
Would you recommend Dine to friends and family?
“I can’t explain how amazing our wedding planner, Harriet, was. From the get go, she was so accommodating, and no request was too extreme. Both Chris and I felt that Harriet thoroughly understood the style we were going for and she went every extra mile to ensure that it was our dream day. Coming from a very perfectionist and possibly hard to please bride, Harriet. I salute you.”
