What is your first name?
Emma
What is your last name?
Winstanley
What is your maiden name?
Wilkinson
What is the name of your groom?
Andrew
When was your wedding?
Saturday 20th November 2010
What is your email address?
Would you like other brides to be able to email you?
yes
How and when did you meet?
We meet 9 years, in our local pub. His chat up line was “did you go to my school” and he walked me and my friend home and swapped numbers. Our first date was at the TC on the world cup final!
How old are you both?
Iam 24 and Andrew is 27
Where, when and how did he (or you!) propose?
Andrew asked me on christmas morning 2005,
Did you have hen and stag celebrations? If so, what did you do?
Andrew went to Magaluf for 4 days with his large group of friends. I was very boring and didnt do anything, me and Andrew have two little boys (Archie and Freddie). Andrew wouldnt have coped if i went away for that long! Me and the children had a mini hen party.
How did your groom help with the wedding planning?
Andrew was brill with the wedding plans, helping with seating plans, childminding and getting his suits ordered. He even helped with venue dressing!!!!
Did you buy any confetti products for your wedding? If so, did you visit a store, buy online or by mail order?
We ordered some of your lovely products online. We had a vintage theme with birdcage table arrangements and used the bird placecards (which our guests loved!)
Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it
My dress was by coco couture, it was a full princess dress in red. It had beaded details on the bodice with a tie back. I had a black underskirt made and wore black satin shoes.
Did you have bridesmaids? If so, who did you choose and what did they wear?
I had 3 adult bridesmaid, my best friend Hazel, my sister Sarah and Andrews niece Lauren. I also had my cousin, Grace as my lovely flowergirl
Who did your groom choose for his best man and ushers, and what did they wear?
Andrew asked best friend, Alex to be his bestman. They have been friends since they where 3 years old. Ushers we had Jack my brother, Gary Andrews brother and Robbie Andrews nephew. The boys all wore matching suits with black and silver waistcoats with plain black silk neck ties, Andrew had a red neck tie to match my dress. Archie and Freddie (mine and Andrews children) wore suits and ties matching Andrew.
Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?
We had a civil ceremony. We asked my sister and Andrews brother to do readings.
Where did you hold your ceremony?
We had our ceremony at Worsley Marriott golf and country club in Manchester.
Where did you hold your reception?
We held our reception at Worsley Marriott same as our ceremony. As we have the boys it was easier to have everything in one place.
Did you have any special wedding transport?
No, as we got ready at the hotel so there was no need for wedding transport and was staying there that night
How many guests did you invite to your wedding, and did you have a separate evening guest list?
We had 75 people during the day and around 120 at night.
Did your reception have a particular theme in terms of colour or style?
We had a vintage theme, using red and black with a hint of silver.
How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?
Iam a florist (9 years) so i did all the venue dressing. We had large birdcages, sat on a grouped ‘posy pad’ arrangement. I used lots of fruit, grand prix roses, shamrocks and berries. I tied black vintage lace bows on the birdcages and pinned on vintage brooches. We had bird placecards and black tealight holder, we also had pearls and black beads on the tables.
Did you give your guests favours?
No, we had casino tables at our reception instead.
Describe your flowers (bouquets and table decorations). Who was your florist?
I made all our wedding flowers the day before the wedding. My wedding bq was made up using grand prix roses and black callas. I started by making a frame using black wire and had a large handtie of roses in the center. I wrapped the callas with ivy around the frame and had it tailing to the floor. I glued vintage brooches in the bq. My bridesmaid had red/green hydrangeas with rolled leaves and my flowergirl had black callas. Andrew had a calla with hydrangea flower heads, the rest of the groomsmen had grandprix roses.
What did you choose to have on your menu? Did you have an outside caterer or did your venue handle the catering?
We had a ham hock terrine to start, beef and then Worsley sticky toffee pudding.
What did you choose for your wedding cake, and who made it?
We got our cake from M&S and i added some touches!
Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?
We had a string quartet during our ceremony and drinks reception (manchester string quartet) they played ‘manchester music’. We asked them to play oasis etc, and a dj from bwfc at our reception.
Did you have a gift list? If so, who did you have your list with?
No we asked for money, because we have been together for many years and already have our house we didnt need anything.
Where did you spend your first night and honeymoon? Who did you book your honeymoon with?
We stayed at our venue the night of the wedding. We havent planned our honeymoon yet.
What was your most memorable moment of the day?
Walking into the ceremony and seeing Andrew.
Did you experience any “nightmare” moments in the run up to your wedding or on the day?
Yes, way to many to list!!!
Is there anything you would do differently, or any advice you would give to other brides?
Yeah, if your a florist dont do you own flowers. It was so stressful, trying to run the shop with my aunty and trying to get anything done in time.
