Catriona & Rob – Cheshire Wedding Photography

Catriona and Rob

I have a beautiful wedding to share with you this evening, Catriona and Rob married in the beautiful St Vincent’s church in Altrincham, followed by a super fun reception at The Mere, in Knutsford. We had great fun racing around for portraits in golf buggies and dodging all the showers that had been forecasted. It was a wonderful day and it was such a honour to share Catriona and Rob’s day with their family and friends. Now over to the happy couple who have kindly shared some fantastic planning tips and their story!

Where did you meet?

A very un-romantic night out in one of Birmingham ‘finest’ nights clubs-Oceana! It has since closed, so obviously we were part of the last chance saloon of love!

The proposal

Rob gave me a trip to Paris for Christmas 2014 and we flew out the following Monday so spent new year there too. We took a walk from the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre and he proposed on the Pont des Arts with a padlock. It was the most amazing feeling ever! We were on cloud nine, ten and eleven for the rest of the week! But the champagne helped to bring us back down to earth. We also ended up coming home with our engagement ring after a browse in Tiffany’s on the Champs Elysees ended with us walking out with a little blue box!

Planning

We both agreed on a church wedding and as I’m Catholic, we had our pick of the local churches. We settled on St Vincent’s in Altrincham a beautiful traditional church just down the road. We’d also looked at a few venues in Cheshire and The Mere was perfect as it was beautiful and also had a golf course, which touched on Rob’s love of golf.

Outfits

I loved looking for a wedding dress, I think I tried on every single one in Cheshire! Once I’d found ‘the one’ I kept trying to better it, but couldn’t. So I knew that was what I’d wear on the day. One thing that wasn’t going to be traditional was my shoes, so I got some turquoise Valentino’s for the day, my something blue. This also matched with the turquoise accents in the colour scheme, a nod to the Tiffany blue.

The men’s suits were from Moss Bros and they were great as the boys had to pick them up from shops in Preston and Birmingham. So smooth and easy and they had lots to choose from.

What was the most memorable part of your day?

Rob: mine was walking into our reception room to do the first dance and seeing everyone smiling and clapping for us on the dance floor.

Catriona: for me, seeing Rob at the altar was my favourite part. I’d not had any nerves on our wedding day, but just wanted to see him. When I did, I knew everything would be great that day.

Advice for future couples wedding planning?

Listen to lots of advice, but only choose what you want. It is your day and it all has to be about you two. A lot of people will express their opinion, whether you want it or not, while at the time you may worry about upsetting them by choosing something different, on the day, none of that matters. As long as you are both happy, everyone else will be too.

Also girls, definitely have a hair and make up trial and coordinate it with a dress fitting. It is really difficult to imagine it all together when you’re only half done. I thought I knew what I wanted hair wise, but when I had my trial I didn’t look like me so asked her to change it on the day. Best. Decision. Ever!

We aimed to have everything paid off a month before and everything sorted a week before. This left us enough time to make last minute changes if people couldn’t come and table layouts as everything was pretty much set before then.

During the drinks reception when you are having photos, make sure your guests have something to do while drinking. We added on canapés at the last minute and had booked a magician for this bit, it kept people entertained and created a real buzz so they didn’t feel like they were waiting around. Speech-wise, we chose to do them before the meal so everyone can relax and can enjoy their food, people will love them anyway, as they’re there for you.

Your suppliers, anyone you would like to big up and recommend?

Agapé bridal boutique in Altrincham were great, I felt like they really cared about my dress and how it would make me look and feel. They were incredibly honest and I felt confident when I’d chosen my dress.

Rebecca Wilson did the hair and make up for the day and she was great, it was like having a friend over to do your make up. We had music going, too much food, fizz and lots of juice to give us energy.

Heather’s Creative Florist did our buttonholes and bouquets as she’d done some friends weddings. I just sent her some pictures, our budget and she did the rest.

**Obviously our photographer and videographer were great. It was good to do a pre-wedding shoot so that we got to know Lucy and knew what it meant when she shouted ‘spoons!’. But it really did make us feel relaxed on the day as we’d already built up a rapport with both of them. Also, you need people who are great at what they do but also a bit bossy, it is hard trying to organise 100 adults!**

The Mere were also great, they were so happy to help us with everything and did it all perfectly. It also helped having the venue down the road so we could pop in and meet with the wedding team whenever we needed to. Even though the wedding coordinator changed twice when we were planning our wedding, it was all handed over smoothly. Just what you need in a wedding.

Trailfinders were also superb at organising our honeymoon, they took all the stress out of it. They knew what we were looking for and just sorted it we are having /had the best time and would definitely use them again.

Oh and the National Wedding Fair (Feb/March and September/October) was great to go to, it gives you loads of ideas and let’s you meet local suppliers. Go with girls you trust and who will be honest, if you don’t, they’ll end up suggesting things they would have for their wedding instead of what you like! I’d go once you have booked your venue, as before then it can be pretty overwhelming unless you have a clear idea of what you want. I ended up getting my wedding day jewellery from there. The girls at Victoria Walker Boutique were great and made my earrings and headpiece.