The proposal
“I knew we were heading in the direction of marriage, but I was completely blown away by the timing and the ring he’d bought,” smiles Lauren. “It happened under the Christmas tree on Christmas Day of 2011. I had opened what I thought was all my presents, until he pulled a ring box out of his pocket! Ben’s mum had also given him one of her diamonds to use in the ring, and he’d had it specially designed with the help of Hancocks jewellers in Manchester,” she adds
The bride’s outfit
Lauren looked every inch a princess in her beautiful Alan Hannah gown. The design Vienna cost £2,230. “It was the first dress I tried on, and I knew instantly it was ‘the one’,” she says. “I tried it because it was very similar to Kate Middleton’s dress (which I adored), and as soon as I put it on I felt like a fairytale princess.”
The groom’s outfit
Ben wore a Hugo Boss dinner suit, with a black bow tie and a waistcoat from Slaters. “He looked so handsome and dashing – my very own James Bond,” remembers Lauren
The bridesmaids
“I picked my two best friends from high school,” explains Lauren. “I bought them full-length black, chiffon Dessy dresses with off-the-shoulder straps. I also bought them matching pearl jewellery from Accessorize, and they had their hair set in rollers to get that vintage Jessica Rabbit look.”
The ceremony
Lauren and Ben had a glorious string quartet perform while guests were seated, and then Sense of Sound Choir to sing throughout. “The bridesmaids read On Your Wedding Day, and a good friend Dhruv Patel had everyone in stitches by reading the lyrics to The Power of Love – it took a while for people to catch on to what he was reading!”
The reception
“We picked a film theme for our reception, and we tried to create an old Hollywood glamour feel, with the men in dinner suits, a Rat Pack singer, and a beautiful black and white colour scheme, with accents of lace and pearls. All the tables were named after films and we gave away boxes of popcorn with our sweet buffet – arranged by How Sweet It Is,” explains Lauren. The Flower Lounge filled the venue with fresh blooms, and Joanne at Vintage Twee made all the couple’s bespoke stationery. Their glorious five-tier cake was made and designed by Beaulea’s Cake Studio
The honeymoon
Was a trip to Orlando for 10 days of theme parks, followed by Miami for another two days, and then on to Barbados for seven nights of relaxation and luxury – it sounds like bliss!
Real Wedding Gallery
