Stephanie and Liam took a trip to Italy for their romantic Lake Garda wedding. Filled with fun and laughter, it’s a perfect wedding abroad!
WHO: Stephanie & Liam
WHERE: Torre del Benaco Castle, and Tenuta Cipressi é Olivi Restaurant & Relais
WHEN: May 2012
PHOTOS: © Richard and Caroline Wynn-Davies
The proposal
“Liam proposed at the top of Easedale Tarn in the Lake District, after a few months of telling me fibs about not having a ring. You see my ring was made in Malaysia in January 2011 after we had visited for Christmas and New Year (where my Mam lives) and I had no idea when I was going to get it.
Little did I know that my step father, Rob, had taken it from Malaysia through Singapore to Jordan and then Iraq, where his colleague then took it from Iraq through Dubai and into Newcastle Airport where Liam drove up from Leeds to collect it!
I had no idea what was about to happen, I didn’t suspect a thing!
The following weekend Liam took me for a nice ‘leisurely’ walk in the Lake District, this turned into hiking up a massive hill in the rain and wind! I had no idea what was about to happen, I didn’t suspect a thing, even when Liam wouldn’t let me walk on his right hand side (where he was hiding the ring). At one point, half way up the hill, cold, wet and tired with sore feet, I shouted at him ‘if you don’t have a box with a diamond ring in it by the time we get to the top of here we’re finished!’ – luckily he did!” laughs Stephanie
The planning
“We started planning our wedding pretty much as soon as we got engaged in the February, visiting lots of different venues and wedding fairs, plus buying all the bridal magazines I could get my hands on! We soon realised that the cost of a wedding in the UK was going to be a lot more than we could afford in the time. We then turned our attention to looking for venues abroad, specifically Italy, and settled on a stunning Lake Garda wedding” explains Stephanie
I wanted Liam to think ‘that’s my girl’ instead of ‘Hmm, wasn’t expecting that’, so when he uttered those words to me my heart fluttered and I knew I’d cracked it!
The flowers
“My bouquet and bridesmaids flowers were DIY-made, using silk flowers I bought in Malaysia (well travelled flowers!), I can’t take credit for them though as my grandma Sheila and her good friend Mary put them together for me using their floristry experience. I was on hand to give them my ideas and the final ‘OK’ but ultimately I let them two as the experts take creative control,” smiles Stephanie
The ceremony
“I loved every minute of our Lake Garda wedding day, but I’ll never forget the moment I got to the end of the aisle. I looked at my husband-to-be in the eye and through his tears he managed to tell me I looked beautiful. He looked pretty handsome himself!
For months running up to our wedding I kept asking Liam what he thought my dress would be like and how he imagined me to look walking down the aisle because I didn’t want to not look like me if that makes sense? I wanted Liam to think ‘that’s my girl’ instead of ‘Hmm, wasn’t expecting that’, so when he uttered those words to me my heart fluttered and I knew I’d cracked it!” she says.
The details
“Best Weddings Away and our coordinator Carla made our Lake Garda wedding absolutely perfect with their beautiful venues and wealth of knowledge of local suppliers, plus the run up to it was completely stress free. She provided us with her honest opinions and we trusted her as an expert, she’s planned an awful lot more weddings than we have!
Our photographers Richard and Caroline Wynn Davies are absolute legends as far as we’re concerned! We can’t stop looking at our photos, they’ve managed to capture every special moment throughout the day and all the funny candid shots. We both love how natural the photos look.
I also loved my wedding dress shop Ava Rose Hamilton in Silsden where I bought my Pronovias Famosa gown. They have the best selection of dresses I’ve seen under one roof and all of the girls in the shop are really happy to help. Bernie helped me pick out my dress and she always made me feel really comfortable….even when I was stood in massive spanx pants!” laughs Stephanie
What would you change?
“Since our Lake Garda wedding, lots of people have asked us if there’s anything we would have done differently, and I’ve wracked my brain to think of anything I might change, but I can honestly say that there is nothing – our day was perfect!” smiles Stephanie
