REAL WEDDING Tropical Loving 12524 views

Hannah & Stuart
02 August 2008

They Met Hannah and Stuart were first introduced by a friend ten years ago and dated briefly before going their separate ways. Five years later they bumped into each other again at the local night club - and have been inseparable since. Stuart proposed in the garden at Hannah's parent’s which he had transformed using hundreds of candles. By candle light he got down on one knee and with champagne at the ready Hannah said yes!

Wedding Venue
After looking at 4 or 5 venues, the couple fell in love with Harlaxton Manor. They liked the grandness of the manor house and the mile long drive leading up to it. As an American university, Harlaxton was only used for 17 weddings a year which gave it a nice unique touch while exclusive use gave the couple many beautiful rooms as well as the grounds.

The Theme A 'tropical summer wedding' set the theme for the day with a colour scheme built around hot pink and orange with an accent of lime green. "I wanted bright tropical colours and we achieved this through the use of the flowers and bridesmaid dresses. We named the tables after the islands in the atoll we were going to on our honeymoon in the Maldives. We had hot pink stationery designed especially for the day, hot pink and orange skeleton leaves on the tables as well as hot pink tea lights. In the conservatory we had hot pink and orange lanterns burning all day and evening which looked stunning' said Hannah.

What They Wore Hannah wore a beautiful satin gown called Shanessa with tulle overlay and hand-stitched lace detailing by Rosetta Nicolini for Berketex Brides. To complete the outfit she had a simple diamante tiara and veil, also from Berketex Brides, along with ivory satin Rainbow Club shoes which had pretty diamante detailing on the strap. As the finishing touch, she wore a delicate necklace and earrings with diamante and crystal flowers that she had found at the NEC wedding fair. Stuart wore a two-piece lounge suit by Hugo Boss from Flannels in Nottingham, in brown with a lighter brown pinstripe. All the groomsmen also had ivory silk waistcoats hired from Pronuptia in Nottingham. Stuart's dark brown laced shoes were from Jones Bootmaker’s while his button hole was a hot pink rose with lime green hypericum berries, with hot pink and orange wire and bead detail. We had the hot pink cravats made out of the same material as the bridesmaid dresses by a local suit shop. All groomsmen wore hot pink and silver cufflinks to match. All four bridesmaids wore hot pink, with the two older ones in 50s style dresses with orange net.

The Cake Hannah's mum made a gorgeous four-tier cake in ivory with orange ribbon and matching roses and hpericum berries between each tier.

The Flowers
'I had a classic hand-tied bouquet with hot pink and orange roses, celosia and pin cushion protea for texture and the addition of lime green hypericum berries', says Hannah. At the reception, table centres were created from large goldfish bowls filled with the theme flowers and edged with foliage. They also had stunning fireplace arrangements and pedestals with hot pin and orange gerberas with lime green foliage.

First Dance An ex-music teacher of Hannah's sister played swing music on the Grand Piano during the reception until the newlyweds took to the dance floor with U2's 'With or Without You' followed by Barry White's 'Can't Get Enough of Your Love'.

A Moment to Remember Hannah says: 'the ceremony was beautiful. We had a lovely vicar who made us feel very relaxed. It was a really memorable moment when one of my close friends made a reading which she had written herself especially for the day. And whilst we signed the register, we requested that the choir sung ‘All I ask of you’ from the musical Phantom of the Opera which is my favourite song – it was amazing.'

Honeymoon At midnight, when the reception came to an end, the couple spent the first night as Mr and Mrs in the bridal suite - the same four-poster room used in the film, The Haunting! Next day, they left for a fabulous honeymoon at Kuredu Island Resort in the Maldives.

Any Advice? 'We were married at 11.30am and still felt the day could have been longer as it goes so quickly!', says Hannah. She also adds that she could not have planned her wedding without WeddingPath, saying 'knowing I wasn’t the only one going through it all was fantastic - although my boss would disagree!' Stuart learnt that preparing your speech well in advance is vital - he was still writing his while they ate dinner!

Hannah & Stuart's Contact Book
Venue Harlaxton Manor, Leicestershire
Photographer Derek Whitehouse Photography 01664 561704
derekwhitehousephotography.co.uk
Bride’s Dress Berketex Brides, Grantham bbride.com
Groomswear Flannels, Nottingham flannelsfashion.com
Cake Hannah's Mum!
Flowers Stems Florists 01162 247638 stems-flowers.com