Joanna and Craig's wedding is a lovely way to round off the week. From Joanna's gorgeous silk flower crown, to the floral archway, to the antique key table-plan, to the white wooden swing - it's a wedding day just brimming with pretty details.

I think Joanna has some of the most perfect voluminous curls I've ever seen and her and Craig make a very elegant couple. We do love it when a Groom goes for an electric blue suit!!

Joanna and Craig had a very difficult moment in the run up to their wedding day, which meant they had to postpone their date...but thanks to their wonderful suppliers and the support of their friends and family they still had the day they had dreamed of.

Have a great weekend everyone and I'll hand you over to Joanna to tell her and Craig's story...

PIN THE GALLERY

Joanna the Bride:We fell in love with Thornton Manor as it had a lovely romantic charm, from the moment we drove through the arched gatehouse and were guided into the grand entrance hall we had a feeling this place was special. The Music Room where we had our wedding breakfast is spectacular and was perfect with a high painted ceiling and beautiful candelabras on each table.

We could hire the whole house with bedrooms and gorgeous cottages on the grounds exclusively. The girls stayed in the Thatched Pavilion where we also hosted a BBQ for the wedding party the night before with brilliant catering from Craig at Secret Garden Catering and the boys stayed in the Groom's Cottage.

We knew we would not be having a church wedding but a civil one at our venue and we were disheartened at some of the lovely venues we visited that had charmless rooms in which to say our vows. That was, until we saw the room at Thornton which was beautiful! But when we discovered we could be married outside under the Victorian arches, I really fell in love with the idea of an outdoor wedding and thanks to the English weather being kind we had our dream. The staff were amazing and our day was perfect.

I'm incredibly lucky that my friend Sarah Elliot is also the best hair and make up artist around and worked her magic on us girls. The Bridesmaids had loose side do's with smoky eyes and my hair looked perfect with soft tumbling curls and pretty eyes. Being a guest as well, Sarah was always on hand for touch ups.

I had my dress made as I found most dresses were strapless with rigid corsets and I'd always wanted something more vintage looking, with a feel of a bygone era. I sourced a brooch that was added to the front and blended with the jewelled neckline that I can remove and keep - I'm very sentimental and love keepsakes. The bodice was covered in an antique lace with tiny sparkling beads added and a full lace skirt over silk with a long train that felt amazing to swish about in. The lace edged sleeves finished the dress leaving it very traditional looking. My final alterations were made by Stitches in Manchester city centre.

Sparkly tiaras seemed to get lost in my hair, and although I liked the look of floral halos I was worried it would look too bohemian or the flowers would wilt. Due to the outdoor wedding I really wanted to stay with the enchanted feel. When I approached Laura, my florist, with a mix of ideas for a silk flower head dress which still incorporated some sparkle and had a antique look, she brought everything together and made the most beautiful head dress! I keep it displayed in a cake stand in my kitchen - it's so pretty.

My bridesmaids gave me some beautiful earrings and a bracelet on my wedding day that matched my dress perfectly, and are lovely to keep. Also from my husband-to-be I received a Clogau heart shape pendant necklace which opened up and had a tiny key inside - this was perfect because of the keys on our table plan.

Wedding shoes were harder to find as some are quite dated with sensible heels and I knew mine would have to be high and glam, so when I found my Jimmy Choo with silk and a lace peep toe I knew they were perfect. Gifts for the mothers and bridesmaids had to be something to keep, so I chose matching blue robes for the girls and a white one for myself from Silk & More on Etsy.

Craig really knows what he like in terms of style so it was always the case of leaving his suit for him to choose. There were a few nervous moments when he went for a electric blue 3 piece suit from Reiss, but he looked fantastic in it. The suit was complemented with a white shirt and ivory tie from Flannels in Manchester, and the look was finished with bright striped Duchamp socks and burgundy shoes.

We found some fantastic charcoal gray suits from Slaters in Manchester, white shirts and pink ties from BHS that looked great on the dads, best man, and 11 ushers! Thanks to our friend Laura for getting all the right sizes arranged and ordered.

I wanted my sister and two best friends to feel fantastic in their dresses and after seeing some really dull and dated ones we were thrilled to find the jasmine ones from Bespoke Brides of Chester which had a lace front and low back in a lovely pink that complimented their skin tones, and showed of their fantastic legs as well! We choose some shoes from the Rainbow Club and had them dyed to match. We also added shoe clips to give them a vintage feel.

I would describe the overall feel of our day as something from a bygone era. We didn't set out with a certain colour, theme or look. I love sentimental old items, such as the 1930s typewriter Craig bought me as a wedding present that we used as a guest book - we loved taking all the sheets of paper with us and reading them the next night! Everyone had fun typing, including the younger ones who had never seen one.

Having an outdoor wedding meant we could create a beautiful enchanted feel and Laura our florist created it perfectly. We bought the iron archway, which was covered in flowers, to get married under. We wanted something we could keep, and it's now in our garden. Lanterns, flowers, hearts and glass globes surrounded the ceremony area, and the tree lined reception garden looked like a fairy tale. Craig's Dad built our white swing bench with had our names and wedding date inscribed on it. Our guests enjoyed swinging on it and we also now have it in our garden.

The floral archway we married under was so beautiful filled with fresh flowers and dangling crystals. We used lots of gypsophila, as it's so romantic and soft. We used it in pew ends and mixed with roses and jewels in my tear drop bouquet. I had seen glass globes and I loved that they could either hold a tea light or rose and we had them dangling everywhere. When we came down into the main hall the following day, all our flowers had been gathered together for us, I presumed half were for the next day's wedding - I couldn't believe they were all ours! I don't know how the lovely Laura produced them all.

Our wedding was made all the more heart felt and special as before our original wedding date Craig received terrible injuries resulting in 3 fractures to his skull, a blood clot and damage that has left him permanently deaf in one ear. It really made us realise what is truly important in life, at a time pre-wedding nerves make you worry about the little details. We are still blown away by the love and support from our friends and family as having to cancel our wedding four days before the date meant that guests lost hotel bookings and work holidays.

Everyone was so understanding and every one of our suppliers, from the venue to the caterers, florist and photographers were so fantastic at such a upsetting time and pulled together to help us rebook our wedding when Craig was able enough. Our ceremony was emotional and very personal to us. I took readings and changed and tinkered with them to suit the reader: my nephew Ellis read one about how everything you need to know about marriage is learnt in the class room, my good friend Claire read one based on 'Today You Marry Your Best Friend,' and Craig's mother read one. It took time to find and change the readings but I'm so glad I did as every line was perfect and special.

We had our friend Gaz perform the song 'Grow Old With You' (from the Wedding Singer) on his guitar which brought some fun and laughter. We didn't want to get carried away with being all gushy. Finally, Craig's cousin Joel preformed a song that I always try to get Craig to dance with me in the kitchen to when we're cooking, and that was also our first dance song.

Our flower girl Romilly looked beautiful throwing petals down the aisle and my two young nephews gave us our rings in boxes we had made together - we painted them and covered them in lace and sparkles as they thought ring cushions were girlie.

When we said our vows we had our Mums stand along side us which they thought was a really nice touch. We only decided to have our ceremony filmed at the last minute and out friend Raith stepped in and did an amazing job. It's not professionally edited but I love it and it feels more real and true - not glossed over.

Having a live band was always top of our wish list and we went to view potential bands performing live at venues which was a perfect excuse for date nights and was so much fun! After seeing Groovy Revolution perform, we knew we had found a band with charisma that would keep the party going all night.

Many couples worry about the first dance and beforehand I'd been hoping that, as I'm not great dancer, we would at least get a half decent untangled twirl - but we knew that wouldn't have been possible. Although not very thrilling for the guests, I spent the whole song with my arms around Craig, swaying and looking into his eyes, taking in the whole moment. I wouldn't change anything about that time.

Straight after the wedding guest were led to the beautiful tree lined gardens where we were served mojitos, prosecco with raspberries, and bottles of Peroni. Michelle and her team from Barrett's Catering insured the drinks were always topped up and the canapés were flowing. They even had a tray sent to us when we were having our photos so we didn't miss out.

We choose our wedding breakfast based on our favourite foods. The goat's cheese and hazelnut crust was Craig's recipe, followed by confit of lamb. For a cute twist, we served separate desserts for the ladies (a selection of mini deserts in shot glasses) and the gentlemen (sticky toffee pudding) we chose Campo Viejo wine to tie in with my parents living in Spain. It's also a nice thought to remember pregnant guests and those who don't drink, so we served them sparkling elderflower for the toasts so they didn't miss out!

For favours we gave the ladies a glass globe, which I'd fallen in love with, with a silk rose our florist sourced, finished with a strip of ribbon with our names and wedding date. The globe can be used to hold candles of even hung from a Christmas tree. My sister stayed up late to add the ribbons and it wasn't until the last one we realised we'd used the old ribbon with our old wedding date and had to start again!

Our cake was a 'naked' Victoria Sponge which is Craig's favourite, with the same lace from my dress edging it to give it a elegant look. Instead of having to have it cut the cake up that night (we had it the next day at our post wedding BBQ), Craig at Secret Garden Catering also made us the cutest little cake in a jar with a little wooden spoon attached (and more wedding lace!) - they went down a storm.

After going to many weddings where the order of service was used as a fan for hot guests, I thought it would be ideal to design them as a fan. When fanned out they still had all our ceremony info printed on the inside. We searched online and found Glorimar from One Love Paperie who for around $19 produced the templates for me to print out. She was fantastic at helping me with my total lack of printing knowledge, and she also produced the templates for our menu/thank you message on the table.

A word of caution to DIY brides check and double check the card will go through your printer. I originally wanted iridescent card and found Paper Cutz to be a fraction of the price of anywhere else but on arrival it just wouldn't feed through the printer, lucky for me they are based locally and were fantastic at accommodating my card swaps on my trips back and forth to find a card that would finally print.

We rebooked the wedding as soon as Craig was able. We were told many times to wait six months or even a year so Craig could really enjoy the party. But to us, we realised all that was important is that we wanted to get married. Craig had been working so hard and it felt like it had been taken away from us. It did mean that Craig couldn't drink, but he said that it made him take in the day more. We also had to get married earlier in the day, but this gave us more time to relax and enjoy everything at our own pace.

We cannot recommend Pete and Laura Lawson, our photographers, enough. Having them there from morning to the dancing has given us some truly treasured photos, and seeing your guests enjoy the day in the pictures it feels like you didn't miss a moment. We had our couple photos done throughout the day in brief sections so it wouldn't be too tiring. This gave us time to spend with our guests and amazing photos with different light, the evening ones are perfect. Having a natural style of photography really make you feel like you were there and I love the ones of Craig getting ready and all the hustle and bustle of the morning - it's all the little moments that can be overlooked.

My wedding ring I saw when we bought my engagement ring in a antique shop in York. It was so usual and delicate I knew it was the one. Craig's was made all the more special as it was given to him by his mum when she could no longer wear it and she was overjoyed he has used it as his wedding ring.

Our table plan was made by Craig's Dad ([email protected]) and I love it. It's hanging on our wall with just the bride and groom keys left. I'd loved all the cute keys with luggage tags I'd seen on Pinterest but wasn't sure how to hang them without them looking scruffy and cluttered. He made the board with brass hooks and I sourced the keys and tags of eBay and Craig's Auntie did the calligraphy. It looked fantastic and the guests loved finding their names, seeing their table numbers on the back, and finding out through out the day who they were sitting with. Many guests kept them as keep sakes and key rings. One even tried to get in his room with one after to many vinos!!

Photography by Lawson Photography
Shoes Jimmy Choo | Dress Alterations Stitches | Bridesmaids Bespoke Brides Of Chester | Robes Silk & More | Hair & Make Up Sarah Louise Elliot | Groom Reiss & Edwards Of Manchester | Venue Thornton Manor | Florist Laurel Weddings | Catering Secret Garden Catering & Barretts Event Caterers | Band Groovy Revolution | Stationery One Love Paperie

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