Maeve & Joe got married in a stunning location: Llangollen Railway Station in North Wales. Maeve tells us the full story of their wedding with gorgeous images from the amazing Andrea Ellison Photography .
What was your budget? 11,000
How would you describe your wedding theme? The wedding ceremony took place at Llangollen Railway Station setting the theme for our wedding. We decorated the station’s room and then the two of us and 60 guests got on the ‘ wedding belle ‘ steam train for afternoon tea and a glass of champagne, this took us to Carrog station where we had photographs and enjoyed the scenery, before coming back to head over to Llanarmon for the reception.
What was your favourite part of your wedding? The vows were my favourite part of the day along with our photographer Andrea Ellison who made our day so special, she captured every moment perfectly and every picture was so natural and stunning we were made up with the pictures. And the speeches, emotions where running high during the speeches there was laughing, tears of joy and again more laughter.
Tell us about your Wedding Dress Along with three of my bridesmaids I headed to Swan Brides in Congleton, where I was made to feel so welcome. I walked in to a room full of stunning dresses, I was made to feel so special. The whole experience was just how I imagined it to be and more. I tried a few lovely dresses, but it wasn’t until I tried the third backless stunningly beautiful Stella York gown that I knew I’d found ‘the one’ I didn’t want to take it off it was my dream dress and I couldn’t wait to walk down the aisle in it.
Who did you pick as your bridesmaids &/or best man and why? My bridesmaids were my two beautiful sisters, my two sisters in law and two of my best friends I’ve had since childhood. I picked them because I knew they would be supportive, I knew they would help plan and organise my big day and do it with my best interests at heart.
My partners best friend was best man, he’s been best friends with Joe through thick and thin and he does well under pressure making him perfect to give a speech!
Why did you choose your venue? The surroundings were breathtaking, it was peaceful and we knew from our first visit it was where we wanted to have our wedding.
How did the proposal happen? We were childhood sweethearts and always knew we would marry one day. Finally time was on our side: I had just come back from travelling in America, excited to see each other we took a walk to Horseshoe Falls where we used to go when we where young. Joe proposed with a ring inside a walnut we sat in the beautiful sunshine and drank champagne and cider to celebrate.
Any DIY stories/tutorials you’d like to share? We did our own flowers with the help of the groom’s mother, we travelled to Liverpool flower market at 6am two days before the wedding and picked everything fresh. Myself the bridesmaids and flower girls all had beautiful unique handmade bouquets. My partner also made home-made fudge for each of our guests. And as place names we had home-made sloe gin in a small glass for each of our guests with their name on, I loved these unique little touches that made our day one of a kind.
What was your first dance & why? We never really planned on a first dance, but our photographer sprung it on us so we just went with it, it ended up being to Layla.
In hindsight, was there anything you would have done differently? If I could think of anything I’d have maybe hired a band.
Do you have any advice for future couples? Make time in your day to escape together to be alone and take it all in, it can all get a bit hectic, remember it’s your day and try to saviour every precious moment.
What’s the best piece of marriage advice you received? To never stop making an effort with one another and making each other laugh.
What was your favourite thing about planning a wedding? Making plans with family and friends, the butterflies I would get when I’d think about my special day and how I couldn’t wait to see it all come together.
The Suppliers
Photographer: Andrea Ellison
Ceremony Venue: Llangollen Railway Station
Reception Venue: The West Arms Llanarmon Dyffryn-Ceiriog
Bride’s Dress: Stella York from Swan Brides in Congleton
Bride’s Jewellery: Boodles
Groom’s Outfit: Charles Tyrwhitt
Cake: Drinks and bites @No.35 , Middlewhich
Flowers: DIY
Hair: Emily Morris Llangollen
Make Up: Beau Blushes , freelance makeup artist, Workington
The Wedding Album
