Mary Birdsall and Andrew Connelly

Two bus drivers, Mary and Andrew, tied the knot in beautiful Beamish Hall and had a traditionally-styled day filled with romantic touches.

Check out the fabulous images below, with the information and the “Best Bits”.

Photographer
Vogue Photography
07917334203

Wedding and Reception Venue
Beamish Hall
www.beamish-hall.co.uk

Cake
Choccy Woccy Doodah
www.choccywoccydoodah.com

Florist
THE Florist
0778 601 5078

Brides Dress
Maggie Sottero at Wedding Secrets in the Metrocentre
www.maggiesottero.com

Suits
Suits4U
www.suits4u.co.uk

Bridesmaids dresses
BHS Wedding Collection

Caricaturist
Mike Giblin
www.mikegiblinstudios.com

The Best Bits

Mary said: “Throughout our wedding theme we used butterflies, these were to symbolise two very important people who were no longer with us.”

“The wedding ceremony was particularly special because the registrar went the extra mile to make sure the wording was appropriate to us. It felt like only Andy and I were in the room as we said our vows.”

“The caricaturist added his own element of fun to the day and all the guests got into the spirit, as well as having something totally unique to take away from the day.”

Enjoy!

The biggest wedding exhibition in the North East is back with two shows for Spring 2011

Bridal Gathering has established itself as one of the biggest and best wedding shows for Northern brides.

For spring 2011, Bridal Gathering presents Cool Britannia.

A distinctively British theme inspired by the forthcoming real wedding and current bridal trends for all things quaint and quirky.

For the first time ever, the event will take place at two venues on two different dates.

Sunday March 27th 2011 will see the show return to Durham’s Rainton Meadows Arena, whilst brides will be invited to visit Newcastle’s St James Park for the second instalment on Sunday 10th April.

With over 120 select wedding suppliers at every event, Bridal Gathering is the ultimate chance to gather up everything needed for a fantastic wedding day while having some fun at the same time.

“Our exhibitors are showcasing the most amazing products and each event just seems to get better and better. There is nothing that you can’t find here to plan a dream wedding,” says Karen Bell from event organisers, Anorak Events.

Famed for their unique themed fashion shows (last season had a heavenly ‘angel’ theme) and free demonstrations from the best in bridal beauty and fashion, Bridal Gathering aim to amaze once again with Cool Britannia.

Think cucumber sandwiches, vintage-style bunting and over £2000 worth of prizes to be won on the day in our raffle in aid of Cancer Research UK.

You can book your stand or reserve your goody bag online at www.bridalgathering.co.uk

Download the Press Release (Save Target As..)
Download the Rainton PDF Poster (Save Target As..)
Download the NUFC PDF Poster (Save Target As..)

get in touch with Mia Sposa to find out more.

Attending the wedding show is absolutely free with no ticket required! The event is being held onSunday the 16th of January 2011 from 12-4pm, which is organised by www.weddingpages.co.uk who also organise the Great North Wedding Show at the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead which is considered one of the most popular events in the North East . There will be free goody bags, including sample fragrances, given out by Debenhams Wedding List Service for wedding show attendees.

There will be around 40-50 exhibitors present including companies promoting their products and services to make your wedding day that much more unique and memorable. These exhibitors will also be available to assist you in answering questions or giving you some fresh new ideas. The exhibitors will be coming from a wide-variety of nationally renowned companies, such as Debenhams, as well as from smaller, more local businesses, offering reputable services and products.

During the event, there will be a small vintage section, where you can view some new designs based on the styles of the past to potentially incorporate into your future wedding day. Vintage-inspired designs have recently regained popularity this is the perfect way to really discover these past gems.

Don’t miss out on one of the largest wedding shows in the northeast! This is one of the few opportunities you will have to get all your questions answered in one place.

Find the group and event on Facebook by searching for ‘Durham Wedding Show’.

All of Leigh’s dresses have hidden corsetry to give the ultimate shape and fit and are made with the very finest fabrics.
For more information, or to arrange an appointment visit www.leighhetherington.co.uk

Kate, an accounts supervisor, wanted an on-trend wedding but with traditional values. One thing that certainly wasn’t traditional was her stunning ‘blush’ pink dress bought from Berketex in Newcastle.

“I searched the rails and didn’t really love anything in the shop, but I tried three dresses just to see what styles would suit my figure. The first was ivory lace, the second a white a-line dress and the third a ‘blush’ coloured full ball gown style”

“As soon as I tried the third dress on my mum was in tears. The whole store seemed to stop and watch me model the most beautiful dress I had ever seen.”

Kate knew this unconventional choice of colour was for her, despite her initial reservations,

“It just seemed to transform from looking a bit ‘murky’ to a stunning ‘blush’ as soon as I tried it on and it fit perfectly,”

she explains.

“Other brides were actually queuing up and asking if they could try it on, but there was no way I was letting this dress out of my sight, we took it home there and then!”

A budget savvy bride, Kate designed her own wedding cake using her florist, Jean Hepple, and a standard three-tier wedding cake from Marks and Spencer.

“I didn’t have the £650 required for the professional cake I choose, so I had to go back to the drawing board and decided to design my own. I contacted my florist and she agreed to do the idea I had in mind, so I headed off to M&S and ordered a three-tier wedding cake which was on offer and only cost £76.”

“The vintage roses used for the decoration only cost £50 – £125 for a wedding cake is great value for money and it looked stunning for the price, if I say so myself!”

The day was pulled together with a pink and grey theme with bridesmaid’s dresses from Debenhams and suits from Next.
For the reception, Kate and Ryan hired “the people’s crooner” Jason Isaacs for some easy-listening swing classics.
The day was filled with personal ideas as Kate explains:

“Instead of favours we had bells which were used as name card holders on the tables. I sprayed them gold to match the chairs we hired from Brentwood Marquees and the gold detailing around Matfen Hall.”

“I also had my two Yorkshire Terriers on-hand for photographs as they are a massive part of our home life. To finish off the most wonderful day of our lives we set off Eco Sky Lanterns across Matfen, it was a perfect end to the perfect day.”

Photography by Teri Henaghan, www.terihphotography.com

The bride’s lace Pronovias dress was bought from the exclusive Mirror Mirror boutique in London and the unusual bridesmaid dresses are by Dessy (www.dessy.com)
Men’s suits were hired from Slaters Menswear in Newcastle – we love the floral patterned ties!
The stunning pink, purple and green floral arrangements are by Cornflower Blue in the bride’s hometown of Whitley Bay (www.cornflowerblue.org.uk)
To add a personal touch, the cake was created by a family friend.

Photography by Paul Orchard

Jenny Packham

The original ‘fashion-y’ wedding dress designer, some of the styles might be a little too slinky for the royal family to cope with, but if we had Kate’s fabulous figure we would be rocking a Packham creation, complete with bejewelled headpiece.

Jenny Packham

Bruce Oldfield

A legend in British fashion, the North-East bred designer would be the perfect choice for the ultimate couture-inspired, luxury princess dress.

Bruce Oldfield

David Fielden

You can’t get more high-fashion that David Fielden for your wedding. Kate will stun the nation (and the prestigious guest-list) if she chooses one of the de-constructed, appliquéd or even short styles!

David Fielden

Alice Temperley

Floaty and fabulous, the luxe-hippy look is a specialty of Temperley but the stunning embellishments make her designs perfect for royalty.

Alice Temperley

Other contenders…

Erdem – Fashion’s current darling, you know Erdem will create a dress to remember.
Matthew Williamson – the ultimate boho chic.
Vivienne Westwood – If it’s good enough for Carrie, it’s good enough for the future Queen!

We were absolutely delighted with the turn out at BG AW 2010, a little mix up with the opening times was overcome and hundreds of brides turned up, the fashion show was a huge success and we hope you had a great time if you attended, and we’d also like to remind you that you can now book stands online for Bridal Gathering at www.bridalgathering.co.uk.

We’ve finally pulled together the images from the event, enjoy!

Have a browse and see what you think, and remember, if you’d like to exhibit or even reserve a goody bag from one of Anorak Events’ upcoming fairs, visit www.bridalgathering.co.uk