Adella’s Story

Craig’s parents owned the local pub where we lived when we were children, Craig is a year older than me and always used to joke that I was too young for him! He used to catch the bus to the next town every night to go and see his friends in the next village. I would make my best friend Lauren walk past the same bus stop each night just so that I could say hello to him!

Craig’s parents divorced and Craig moved away from my home town and joined the army. Years later I was in a local night club and bumped into Craig again, I was in a relationship with someone else at the time. People joke about love at first sight but I knew that night when I saw him that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.

I finished my studies and my relationship at home and moved to Devon, which is where Craig is based in the army.

We have just bought a lovely new home in Cornwall and are ready to start a family together.

The Proposal

I went away in summer 2005 with my sister and a couple of girlfriends. I had always wanted to travel around California but due to the restrictions of Craig’s job, he wasn’t able to come with me. He insisted that I took the opportunity so I went with the girls. The trip was 5 weeks long and I missed him terribly everyday and swore I’d never leave him again.

The day I arrived home Craig had said he couldn’t see me until the next day as he had work commitments. As I walked through the arrivals terminal at Manchester Airport he appeared out of the crowd, it was the best surprise ever! That evening we went out with family and friends and when we got back to my parents house Craig asked my dad in a kind of humorous way if he would approve should Craig ask me to marry him, dad said yes. At that time Craig and I had no money as we had been saving to get our first place together in Devon. Later that evening Craig spoke about wanting to ask me to marry him in front of my mum but explained that he couldn’t afford a ring and apologised to me.

It was then that my mum took off her engagement ring and gave it to Craig, she told him it was ours and she hoped it meant as much to us as it did to her. Without thinking Craig was on one knee in front of me asking me the question I’d waited so long for. I said ‘yes’ before he even stopped talking! I know its not the top of the statue of liberty or anything like that but to me it was perfect.

The Outfits

The Bride – When I first went wedding dress shopping I had this big Cinderella picture in my mind and thought that the bigger the dress was the better. I was so wrong when you see what I wore. I was in Amy Louise in Nantwich with all of my bridesmaids and the lady in there kept bringing me different dresses to try on. When she brought me the dress I eventually chose I thought that’s boring, when I put it on and stepped out of the changing room I knew from their faces that it was the one. My dress was strapless and fitted all the way down to just above my knees with a fish tail flare at the bottom. The best thing was that it was still big at the back and has 2 very pretty flowers at the bottom of my back! The dress is Thai silk and against the bridesmaids dresses it looked amazing.

The Bridesmaids – Once I had chosen Sandhole Oak Barn I knew that I wanted to keep everything very natural and pretty, I had the girls dresses made by someone who was recommended to me. They wore full length fish tail style satin dresses which we in a Baileys colour. They had matching draw string bags, which were also hand-made and ivory shoes with tiny diamante detail on them. The look was finished off with a gift from me and Craig of diamante necklace and earrings. I was so proud of them all.

The Groom and Groomsmen – The ushers wore black formal suites with Irish cream waistcoats and cravats, which were hired along with the Groom, best men and fathers.

The Wedding and Reception Venues

The Ceremony – Since I was a young girl I had always loved St Mary’s Church at Astbury. It is set in such a beautiful little village and the church itself is spectacular inside. I had no question about where I wanted to get married and Craig was happy with my childhood dream to come true.

The Reception – I grew up in Cheshire and knew I wanted something with a country feel about it. There are many wedding venues near to us which are very popular but I wanted something different and unique that not many people had heard of.

I searched high and low at wedding fares but the same venues kept popping up and I just didn’t want any of them. Then one day I thought I’d look on the internet as a last hope of finding the perfect place. I searched through many websites and eventually came across Country Wedding Venues. I selected Cheshire as my preferred location and there it was, the first page that appeared Sandhole Oak Barn and what I couldn’t believe was that it was only a ten minute drive from St Mary’s Church. It must have been fate.

I didn’t even think twice I knew it was everything I had been looking for and much much more. I made an appointment to view it as soon as possible and travelled home from Devon with Craig to take a look. Sandhole Oak Barn has got so much character and is unique is so many ways, the high rise ceilings and fabulous veranda that overlooks a huge lake just sets the perfect scene for wedding celebrations. Craig and my mum both loved it so the decision was made.

The Decorative Touches

Room decorations – I wanted to stick with the natural look for Sandhole, the inside of the Barn is so fantastic and breathtaking without decorations so I didn’t need to add much to make it look better. I decided to have white chair covers for all the chairs with a beige organza bow as this really gave the room the “wow factor”. Along with the tall vases, flowers and table decorations was all the venue needed. It looked beautiful!

Table centrepieces – I chose high vases for my centrepiece decorations with one gladioli in each. The vases were filled with clear pebbles and sat on round raised mirrors. To make the whole thing glisten I set tea lights in glass holders around the vases on the mirror, the effect was superb. No wedding table is complete without the disposable cameras for your guests to take those pictures you treasure!

Favours – Yes, we did offer favours although at one point we did consider them being a waste of money as most people but them in their bag and forget about them. The lady who had hand-made my stationary said she could make my favours for a reasonable price. I chose the old fashioned love heart sweets, Hannah wrapped them in paper, which matched my theme and finished them off with ribbon to match the chairs. They had our names and wedding date printed on the outside, perfect and cheap!

The Cake

Our wedding cake was made from a design I saw in a leaflet from a big company in Chester. I was put in touch with a local company in Congleton called Rich Desserts who said they would be able to make the same design cheaper for us. We wanted to use the wedding cake as the dessert for the wedding breakfast, so we chose a cake which was all individual portions with a larger cake for the top tier so that we could cut it. The top tier was served to the top table. The portions were made up of a hard chocolate shell which was covered in transfers of my choice. Inside the base was made up if a kind of chocolate fudge cake but Matt put in a bit of Baileys to give it more flavour. On top of the base inside the shell was filled with truffles, chocolate leafs, twirls and much more, it looked so colourful and everyone commented on how tasty it was.

The Transport

I was so lucky to find a private company who hired out the exact car I wanted an ole style Beauford Tourer, which was cream and black. The car took my dad and I to church and Craig and I to the reception. The car was beautifully decorated with flowers and a ‘just married’ sign along with a bottle of champagne.

My bridesmaids travelled in a silver E Class Mercedes and Craig and the best men travelled in his dad’s new black American Dodge, both were decorated with weddings bows.

Advice to other couples

We didn’t get married until 2:30pm, get married as early as you can, the day will fly by so quickly so the longer you can make it last the better.

To the groom I think Craig would say, relax, he got so nervous about church and saying his vows, but when the time comes you realise there is nothing to be nervous about. Everybody in the room wishes you happiness and nobody is bothered if you mess up a few words or cry!

To the bride, take every single little minute in your stride and let it sink in, don’t panic, don’t rush, its your day so people will fit in around you. Walking down the aisle is the most amazing and overwhelming thing you will ever do, enjoy it and don’t walk too fast, make it last forever.

The Suppliers

Wedding Reception Venue – Sandhole Oak Barn

Venue found through Country House Wedding Venues

Bride’s dress – Amy Louise Bridal Gowns, Nantwich, Cheshire

Bride’s accessories (veil, tiara, shoes) – Amy Louise Bridal Gowns

Groom’s suit – Platts Suit Hire, Crewe, Cheshire

Bridesmaid’s dresses – Hand-made by Suzanne Jane, Crewe, Cheshire

Wedding rings – Ernest Jones Jewellers, Plymouth, Devon

Wedding cake – Rich Desserts, Congleton, Cheshire

Flowers – Privately done by a friend of the family

Cars – Now and Forever Wedding Cars, Congleton, Cheshire

Invitations – Hand-made by Hannah Louise, Plymouth, Devon

Wedding list – We bought our new home just before the wedding so we asked for various vouchers from Debenhams, Next and Argos.

Disco/DJ – Hip Swing, Cheshire

Wedding favours – Hand-made by Hannah Louise, Plymouth, Devon

Photographer – Mere Studio, Rochdale, Cheshire