Lorraine and David had their real wedding at St Mary’s Church, South Hylton in December 2006.
How they met
Lorraine is a receptionist in A&E. David came to work as a staff nurse and caught her eye.
Proposal
David proposed to Lorraine in August 2005. They had managed to get a couple of days off work and so decided to go to Lumley castle for the evening. During their stay, David got down on one knee and produced a ring that he had purchased the day before.
The bride’s real wedding outfit
Lorraine’s stunning claret red dress was bought from Pronuptia, Ashford. Designed by Forever Yours, with a huge ball gown style skirt and encrusted sequin style corset top, it had ruches in the skirt that were sequined and beaded. It suited their Christmas wedding perfectly.
Jewellery accessories
For her real wedding, Lorraine wore pretty diamante drop earrings that were a gift from David. Her Swarovski drop necklace matched the earrings perfectly and passed as her “something borrowed”. She also wore a ruby and diamond bracelet and red diamond Swarovski stones in her hair.
He wore
David hired all the suits from Greenwoods 1860. They consisted of grey pinstripe trousers with white shirts and winter white waistcoats. They finished off the look with a claret ruche tie and handkerchief with black Prince Edward style jackets and black patent shoes.
Bridesmaids
Their bridesmaids looked perfect in a classic black dress with black fur shrug and pretty tiara.
Flowers
Lorraine carried a beautiful bouquet of red roses with lots of greenery and berries at the real wedding. The venue was adorned with red roses and white lilies, and on the top table was a big arrangement of red roses and peace lilies. There were Christmas tree’s in all of the windows in The Garter Suite where the wedding breakfast was held which looked stunning.
Transport
The happy couple set off in an adapted seven seat cream vintage Rolls Royce.
Ceremony
“The ceremony was so emotional. When David and I had parted the day before I cried my eyes out and I thought I was going to go to pieces when I saw him. When I arrived at the back of the church everyone turned round and that is the first time I really felt nervous. The vicar just looked at me and said ‘take a deep breath, take your time and follow me, you will be fine, David is waiting for you’ which is when I instantly calmed down.”
Cake
Pauline, who made the cake, is Davids mums neighbour and she asked in advance for pictures of everyone that would be on the top table and their clothes so she could ice make them perfectly. The huge real wedding cake was a fantastic replica of the top table with the 11 people sitting at it. It looked amazing and was a great talking point for everyone.
Favours
The favours were red glow in the dark champagne flutes which were a real hit as they lit up as soon as liquid is poured in.
Theme
In keeping with the time of year the theme was Christmas.
Special moments
“It was so lovely that my best friend spent the night before the wedding with me in our house as I felt I would sleep better in my own home. She also did my hair the next morning and my sister did my make-up. It was so special to have my only sister as my matron of honour, her husband as our best man and my nephews as our little ushers. The Vicar is a close family friend and married my parents in 1970 and also christened my sister and I. Lumley Castle hotel is my favourite place, it was great that David proposed there as well as having our wedding reception there.”
Honeymoon
After the real wedding, Lorraine and David spent their honeymoon in paradise in Thailand. They went to Patong, Phuket for a week then went on to Phi Phi Island for two days.
Groom’s tip
“Make sure you have the right jacket on! I ended up putting on the best man’s jacket whilst we were getting ready. Luckily Jonathon checked his jacket whilst we were in the church and had a minor panic as the rings were in ‘my’ jacket. On a serious note, help the bride as much as you can without getting in the way.”
