The Wedding of Katherine & Nick

Katherine & Nick’s Stunning Pastel Spring Wedding with All-White Bouquets and Caroline Castigliano Gown

With Meraki Floral Designs providing gorgeous green & white rustic wedding flowers and decor

Katherine and Nick, from Altrincham (Manchester), were married under the Old Railway Bridge here with us on the 21st April, 2018.

The Proposal:

To celebrate the big 3 0, Nick took Katherine to New York for her 30th in June 2017. Everyone (including Katherine) was expecting it to happen there but Nick decided that would be too obvious! So about 2 weeks after they got back, Nick took Katherine to Dunham Massey Country Park on a gorgeous sunny Monday evening and popped the question over a picnic and champagne. It was perfect.

Why Tower Hill Barns:

We almost didn’t come to look at the venue as we thought we would have too many people! We’re so glad that we did – the minute we walked in, we looked at each other and just nodded. We confirmed there and then that we wanted to book. We had only been to see one other venue earlier that day and knew we didn’t want to go and see any others – it was a total no-brainer.

The Big Day & The Ceremony:

Katherine: I slept pretty well and woke up feeling really excited. We’d had such awful weather in the lead up to the wedding. In early March, the “Beast from the East” arrived, and it just so happened to land on my hen party weekend. We were in Bristol and it caused all sorts of dramas; there was cancelled food and activities. That same weekend, Nick and his friends also got stuck in Munich on his stag do because of the snow and ice!  

So, we were expecting the worst. We were so desperate to get married under the Railway Bridge, so when I woke up and saw how gorgeous the weather was, I couldn’t believe it! 

I had a lovely relaxed morning with my five bridesmaids, and then we walked down the aisle at around 1pm to “Mr Probz, Nothing Really Matters”. Having a reputation for always being late, it seems that I was the only person ready to have the ceremony at 1pm, despite having my hair and makeup done last. All of our guests were enjoying the sunshine and the free bar and my bridesmaids were still milling around the house and doing finishing touches. There’s a great photo of me standing outside the house ready to go and sending my dad back inside to get them!   

Nick: As Katherine said, she was worried about the weather. I, however, just knew the weather would be great. The day for me started with breakfast at the Lions Quay Hotel with my dad, father-in-law, best man and 3 groomsmen. We then spent time getting ready. Although I did notice some buttons loose on my waistcoat, so luckily, I had a needle and thread to hand, and was able to sew them back on before heading to the venue. 

Once we arrived at Tower Hill Barns, we completed the final touches; the table plan, light-boxes etc. whilst drinking champagne and getting some great photos together before the guests arrived. 

We welcomed our guests, some of whom arrived an hour early and made the most of the bar being open early. Although there were some others, who arrived 10 minutes late! It was a good job the bridesmaids weren’t quite ready, as it gave them time to get a seat before Katherine arrived. 

We got married under the Railway Bridge and I was feeling pretty calm and relaxed right up until the point when I saw Katherine walking down the aisle. My heart rate doubled at this point. She looked stunning in her dress and I knew I was the luckiest guy in the world. 

The Food, and Speeches:

The food was incredible. Quite a few of our guests even said it was the best food they had ever had at a wedding! We served goats cheese croustillant, with piquillo peppers, smoked aubergine puree, black olive and basil shoots for the starter. For mains we had a trio of lamb, confit shoulder, crispy belly and roast rump with dauphinoise potatoes, honey chantenay carrots and greens, with lamb jus. And for dessert we loved the apple tart tatin with crème anglaise. For the evening we had a hog roast. 

We put together our own playlist of 80s and 90s classics for throughout the meal. One of our favourite moments of the day was when the room erupted into song to “Nothing’s gonna stop us now” by Starship during the meal.  

We had traditional speeches from father of the bride, groom and best man, which were all perfect. My dad has a reputation for getting emotional and crying when talking about his children. He decided that he would never get through it if he did a traditional father of the bride speech and talked about me so he mostly took the mickey out of Nick and I. The whole room was laughing from start to finish. It was hilarious!

The First Dance & Evening Do:

We had our first dance outside on the patio, which was amazing as it was such a gorgeous evening and there was so much room for people to see. We walked towards each other as “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith was playing through the speakers, but as we met the music changed to “You Make My Dreams Come True” by Hall and Oates. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and preferred the idea of having a fun, upbeat first dance tune, rather than something slower.   

We had a band called H2NY after the first dance. We told them what sort of music we liked and highlighted a couple of songs we wanted them to incorporate into the set, but otherwise let them choose the music. Their song choices were amazing, we definitely could not have chosen them better ourselves. Given that the weather was so gorgeous, it was great that the music played outside on the speakers so people who were not in the Old Barn could still hear it. 

Venue Styling and Suppliers:

We went with a rustic, country theme for the wedding, paired with soft colours. I chose to do all-white flowers (very on-trend), and they complimented nicely with the blush pink Watters bridesmaid dresses. I had a piece of fabric from the bridesmaid dresses attached to my bouquet as well, which flowed down the front of my Caroline Castigliano dress and tied in with the colours. All of the stationery – the invitations, menus, table plan and favours, and even the rustic boxes for the centrepieces and the post box – was handmade by Nick. My wedding ring was handmade by Steve Jones Jewellers. 

The Honeymoon:

We spent two weeks travelling Vietnam, from North to South, for our honeymoon. We spent time in Hanoi, Halong Bay, HoiAn, Saigon and Con Dao. It was absolutely beautiful. 

Top tips for other couples:

Everyone told me to take my time and enjoy every minute as the day passes by so quickly, but I don’t think you will ever be prepared for just how quickly it actually does! Take as much of it in as you possibly can and try to steal a few moments with your new husband/wife during the day. Don’t sweat the small stuff in the lead up to the wedding, you probably won’t even notice it on the day. 

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