Paul and Stephanie, one of our wedding couples, knew instantly that The Wild Boar was just right for the fun, relaxed and intimate wedding they had envisioned. Here, they share some of the details leading up to their big day.
The Proposal
Paul proposed at the top of ‘Orrest Head’ overlooking Lake Windermere. I’ve never known Paul walk so fast up a mountain to get to the top, whilst I had to stop every few minutes to rest! I now look back and realise why he wanted to get to the top so quickly! Paul got down on one knee and proposed with the most beautiful diamond ring (luckily for him – I loved it!!) and for once in my life I was literally speechless. The first thing I asked was ‘have you asked my dad?’ before of course saying ‘yes’! We then spent time enjoying the view of Windermere with a glass of champers and a gorgeous home-made picnic.
The Brides Outfit
I had two weeks to find my dress! From Paul’s proposal to when we got married was six months and dresses often take this long to arrive so I was on a mission! Mum and I travelled all over the Fylde to find it and I must have tried on numerous different styles. It was only when Emma, a good friend of mine had bought her dress and told me about the gorgeous shop she bought hers from that I headed straight to Lu Lu Browns of Whalley. I spotted a dress, tried it on and knew straight away that it was ‘the one’.
After a nip, tuck and 3000 beads later by the wonderful Charlotte at Legend Bridal Designs of Blackburn I had the dress I’d dreamed of.
The Grooms Outfit
I am not 100% sure I can remember how much say Paul got when it came to the Grooms outfits! I remember there not being much room in the car on the way to look at the suits with the Groomsmen but I was determined to fit in and make sure I was there to help with all the decisions!
I knew I wanted something quite traditional with a modern twist. The bright blue suits with tails from Amelia’s Bridal Boutique in Clitheroe made all the groomsmen look very handsome (even if they weren’t all that happy about wearing a flowery cravat!).
We bought all the men matching ‘Wild Boar’ cufflinks which finished off the suits nicely!
The Bridesmaid Outfits
From a very early stage I knew I wanted vintage pink and bright blue as our main colour themes for the wedding. With the boys in blue, the girls bridesmaid dresses had to be pink and I got them from the ‘Dessy collection’ at The Bridal Boutique in Bispham who was on hand to help every step of the way. I had Paul’s sister Laura with three other of my close friends Gemma, Rachel and Kirsty as bridesmaids and Scarlett, Paul’s cousin as the gorgeous flower girl.
The Ceremony
As soon as we stepped into St Martin’s church in Bowness, we knew this was the place we wanted to get married as it is truly beautiful. Once we had decided we then had the anxious wait to see if the church would allow us to marry there as we did not live within the parish. Luckily for us, this was when we met Chris the curate, who agreed to marry us! After visiting the church several times over the next six months before our wedding, the church became quite a special place for us and Chris was always on hand to reassure and keep us calm.
The Reception
Once we had decided that we wanted to get married in the Lake District, we literally spent one day driving from the top of Ambleside down into Windermere popping into every wedding venue we spotted. One of my most vivid memories of this time was walking into ‘The Wild Boar’, Paul and I just looked at each other and we knew we were both thinking the same – ‘this is it’. The main things we wanted from our wedding was for it to be fun, with a relaxed and intimate atmosphere but most of all with great food! – We got it!
The Honeymoon
We took a while to decide where to go on honeymoon as February is not the easiest time of year for holidays. However, like the wedding, we wanted to do something fun but with a little relaxation added into the mix. So we decided to follow our love for skiing and headed to the mountains of Lech in Austria where we stayed in a beautiful hotel and skied on some of the best snow we have ever skied! Luckily we came back in one piece!
The Photographer
Many thanks to Hayley Baxster Photography for allowing us to share her wonderful wedding photography. View more photos from Paul and Stephanie’s Wedding at The Wild Boar Hotel on her photography blog.