Jessica Bennett for a Simple & Elegant Wedding at The Holford Estate – Clare & Jack

Dress

I am very tall and when trying on a few dresses I found that any that had a lot of detail were too much on me. As soon as I saw Jessica Bennett’s work I knew I wanted to wear one of her stunning, bespoke dresses. She is based in Liverpool and could not have been more helpful, kind, organised and professional.

Through all the stress of moving my wedding around, my dress was the one part I always looked forward to and I cannot thank her enough for making the dress of my dreams.

Groomsmen

Jack and the groomsmen wore bespoke suits from Doherty, Evans and Stott in Manchester. Again, the men who run the shop had a keen eye for modern yet elegant tailoring and accommodated the party to get measured up. I know all the groomsmen loved their suits on the day and are looking forward to wearing them again.

Bridesmaids

I had ordered lots of dresses from various online websites. The range online now is unbelievable, catering for tall, petite, curvy and maternity sizes. In the end my bridesmaid chose her favourite, which was from Jarlo London.

Beauty

My hair and makeup artist, Lisa Simms, was wonderful. We had not been able to book a trial due to Covid restrictions but she knew what looks we wanted to go for. I didn’t feel completely caked in makeup and still looked like myself which was important to me. She is so skilled and not only made me feel special but included my Mum and bridesmaid too. She didn’t rush any aspect of her work and did a tremendous job.

Transport

Broadoaks Cars provided me with a beautiful Rolls Royce to take me to the church with my Dad, and then onto the reception with Jack. Again they were hit hard by Covid and cancellations but were so helpful and considerate throughout. The drivers on the day were wonderful and couldn’t do enough to help.

Photographer

Our photographer was the amazing Kate McCarthy. She is a close friend of my hairdressers and I had seen her work on instagram and loved how she captured the couples making all the moments look fun and not posed in any way that seemed false or tense. She just seemed to capture the most wonderful and special moments. We felt you couldn’t help but smile when looking at her incredible work.

On the day, Kate was organised, she kept time kept for us but never took us away from our special day and guests. To quote Jack’s Dad, “you wouldn’t recommend her; you’d demand people have her. She is worth her weight in gold.”

Videographer

Originally we felt a videographer might not be our style as so many seemed flashy and a bit much for us. With the changes in circumstances and having to drastically reduce our numbers, family members were asking to be sent a video. We felt instead of people filming us on little phone cameras. we should do it properly. Kate then recommended UNVEILED Network Member Amy Louise Photography and once again she came up trumps with an incredible suggestion. Amy was fantastic, capturing our day tastefully and sensitively to the point where we didn’t feel we were being watched. That meant she captured some beautiful moments for us and for that we are so grateful.

Styling

I LOVE flowers! My first job as a teenager was in a florist. From then on I have always adored flowers. We got our incredible bouquet flowers from Kai and Adi at Vedure flowers. They were stunning! Not only did they last, they smelt beautiful and truly made our photos so special. Their team worked so hard and did an amazing job. They were completely flawless.

Vedure did all the venue styling flowers too. They did a floral arch at the church and at The Holford Estate. Everyone was in awe of them.

Favours

We gave everyone a lottery ticket in the hope it might bring luck to someone and chose Lily O’Brien chocolates for everyone to have. Unfortunately there were no lottery winners!

Cake

My cake was made and designed by Fancy Cakes by Rachel. Once again, despite all our date changes, she was so helpful, accommodating and understanding. Everyone adored the cake and we even made party bags for people who couldn’t attend and dropped them off.

Dining

To make the most of the day, we chose a taster menu consisting of seven courses. It made it a little different and special for our nearest and dearest. We had plenty of pink Champagne to celebrate the occasion and to have something nice to celebrate, with it being a year no one will forget.

Entertainment

We had Matt and Donal who are Duo. They sing some brilliant songs and we have often watched them perform locally in Didsbury. Their music suited everyone at the wedding and my nana had a ball clapping along to their tunes.

Special touches

I got wedding photographs of our parents and grandparents framed and placed around the room. This was partially to remember the grandparents who couldn’t be there but also to show the special days our families have had and the merging of two families.

Thanks to

Definitely our venue. Any concerns I had were reassured with proof and facts. Hannah was amazing and liaised with all the suppliers to make the day run as smoothly as possible.

I did in fact recommend The Holford Estate to a colleague at work who had her reception there two days after ours and she said how incredible it was too.

Best bit

Having our family watch us exchange our vows at St John’s Church was extremely special to us. There were lots of tears from the pews. We loved every moment of the ceremony.

Honeymoon

We were very fortunate to jet off to the Maldives two days after the wedding. We weren’t going to go away but felt a week before we should see where we could go. We had our PCR tests and flew off to have the most wonderful week away and had our first Christmas truly together with beautiful weather and crystal clear water.

Advice

We were supposed to have a big wedding and in the end having a small wedding (which admittedly was forced upon us) made everything so beautiful and special. Don’t be afraid to opt for a small wedding with your nearest and dearest as all of our special guests said it was the best wedding they have ever been to.

Savour the day as it’s gone before you know it! We wish we could have the day again… without Covid, although it certainly made a talking point and was all the more special.

The Brides Up North real weddings set close to where we are from were the most helpful for me to look at suppliers. The inspiration features are an excellent way to see what styles you like and what suits you as a couple.