Nicola McGuinness-Bell

14th April 2023

My proposal story

Myself and my boyfriend bought a house together in November 2019 which we were renovating to be our forever home. We finalised all the documents in Feb 2020 and just so happened to be receiving the keys on the 2nd March 2020, my 23rd Birthday. Harvey told me he was going to work that day and we would both go to collect the keys after he finished work to go and see the house. He actually spent all day cleaning and arranging the house ready for his proposal later on. Id had a lovely day off work with family, and Harvey then picked me up from my parents house, drove me to our new home and we had a little look around. He then got down on one knee and proposed to me. Its lovely that these memories are tied in with our beautiful home that is now complete.

Wedding style

It was quite rustic in style, with our wedding being in a barn-type room within a renovated farm house. It was very modernly decorated so hardly a barn, but it still gave those rustic vibes with lots of wooden beams on view and an old fireplace decorated with a fairylight wall either side.

Shopping experience

Shopping for my wedding dress was a great experience. I brought my mother and my future mother-in-law with me and showed Alice a montage of photographs I had put together. She then pulled about 3 dresses for me and helped me to try these on. We pulled a few more (maybe 6 in total) and I found my dream dress.

How did you choose 'The One'?

My dream dress was about the 4th one I tried on, and I kept having to go back to it whilst also trying other on as I knew deep down it was the one but im not a very good decision maker! I always worry theres something else out there. But everyone could see my smile when I put that dress back on and we decided it was clearly the one for me.

Tell us about your experience at Emma Louise Bridal

Emma Louise Bridal could not have been more helpful and attentive if they tried. I loved the whole experience and every visit, from finding my dress to trying it on once delivered, went perfectly.

What are your favourite memories from your wedding day?

The best memory is walking through the doors of our ceremony room and seeing my husbands massive smile as he stood at the end of the isle waiting for me.
My parents also secretly booked singing waiters for our wedding which no-one else knew about, they were amazing and it was such a surprise, it really got everyone in the party mood!
Our guests also lined up and lit sparklers for us to walk between which was an amazing experience and resulted in some of our favourite photographs (I would recommend this to everyone!).
We also played a Mr & Mrs type game which was so funny and all our guests loved it.

If you have a honeymoon planned - where are you going?

Wed had a few holidays abroad that year and my sister hadnt long got married in portugal, so we fancied a little UK tour instead. We took ourselves off to Cornwall and stayed around St Ives for 5 days.

Do you have any advise for other couples planning their wedding?

For the bride, please make sure you start looking for your dress with about 12 months to the date, you dont want this adding to the stress!
Book your vendors well in advance, theres still a backlog of weddings from the 2 years of no weddings due to covid and i know vendors who are booked up until 2025!!
Dont let anything ruin your day, if something/someone annoys you on the day or something is going wrong, tell your bridesmaid/groomsman, this is your day so they can deal with the problem for one day for you. Dont get caught up in any other business and just enjoy yourself with your new wife/husband.

Venue
Charnock Farm

Photographer
Anthony Ives

Entertainment
Resident DJ and singing waiters

Florist
Sorrel and Sage

Hair stylist
Four sisters Salon - Leah

Make up
Hannah Grace Bridal Makeup

Suits
Marc Darcy

Venue dresser/stationary
Amore Events stylist