"He was working," says Stephanie. "The food was great and thus was the waiter! I kept moving in for meals until he eventually got the hint and inquired about out. Our first date was breakfast on Valentine's Day."

BY MUTUAL AGREEMENT…

"There was no proposal, we simply agreed at Christmas 2018 that people wanted to get married!" says Stephanie. "No big ceremony etc. He did buy me a lovely vintage diamond engagement ring from the 50s/60s. It's a Sri Lankan sapphire with small bead diamonds on each side that make the form of a bow."

BRIDAL SHOPS FEELTIMES

Stephanie bought her dress from FeelTimes wedding dresses online store. "I desired to try on a few different shapes, to make certain that I chose something which flattered me," she says. "Most everyone was expecting me to obtain a short 1950s style dress, as I wear vintage more often than not, but I wound up falling for that first dress I placed on - Jamie! It's an attractive fit 'n' flare using the perfect quantity of lace and shimmer. I didn't buy it immediately, I went back a second time and tried some more on to make sure that it was definitely The One."

A MEANINGFUL VENUE

Covid threw the couple's original plans into the window. "We wound up getting married with just my parents in September after which had a vow renewal and party on 29th July 2021," says Stephanie. "The venue with this was the restaurant where my hubby and I first met, Figo's Mediterranean Kitchen in West Kirby, Wirral. It just felt right. The food is amazing, the service great and when it wasn't for him working there we'd never have met!"

THE BIG DAY

"My dad walked me on the aisle to 'You to Me Are Everything' by The Real Thing," says Stephanie. "We were built with a celebrant who captured us to some tee. The ceremony was at 5 pm and, even though the bride is traditionally late, I was ten minutes early. Earlier than a few of the guests!"

"We then were built with a sit-down meal of Turkish food, in honour of my hubby's heritage," says Stephanie. "The theme was flowers, as my hubby calls me 'çiçeğim' meaning 'my flower' in Turkish. It meant there are a lot of colours, that is how I love my way through life. We had 12 various kinds of flowers on each table and my bouquet would be a riot of colours. The florist, Flourish Flowers, needed to make two trips in her van to obtain them all towards the venue!"

ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL

"The colour palette was based on my wedding shoes, a set of Manolo Blahnik heels which were a present from a very dear friend. I was built with a custom hair flower which was made to complement Pin Up Curl. My hair seemed to be coloured to complement the pinks, blues, greens, oranges and purples. My longtime hairdresser, Dani at Olivia James, was a lot more than up for that challenge! Carl Brown Hair came and did the updo. I've been likely to him for a long time and he is among the top vintage hairstylists in the UK. I knew he'd produce something gorgeous however it surpassed my expectations."

A HOMEMADE CAKE

"We made an arch while using shelving which was already in position at the restaurant, combined with lots of artificial ivy and wisteria," says Stephanie. "The cake would be a real family affair. The top tier was vegan, produced by my talented sister-in-law who's a vegan chef, after which my mum made over 100 cupcakes in chocolate banoffee, lemon and Turkish delight flavours. I added the fillings and iced all of them with buttercream roses along with a small rosebud/daisy. Everyone said how delicious these were without knowing who had made them or that I had spent four hours the prior night decorating all of them!"

"After the food came to the speeches, my dad's after which mine, as I'm the chattier one out of the relationship. We thanked everyone after we announced that people are expecting a baby at the start of the coming year! From then on we simply danced the nighttime away. The floor was filled through the night and people haven't stopped telling me what fun they'd had ever since!"

MY TOP TIPS…

"Have fun, have fun and try not to obtain too stressed," says Stephanie. "I was built with a mini-meltdown the morning from the big day because I was so concerned about it all being perfect and wanting everyone to like it. And it had been all for nothing because we were built with a great time!"

Article produced at: https://www.feeltimes.com/