Wedding Blog

We said no to Blackpool. We were keen to do something unique and memorable for our honeymoon that we would be unlikely to do again. Being the busy active kind of people we are, we thought sunny and fun. Route 66 was suggested, which when you drive as much as Chris, doesn’t sound like much of a holiday! We looked at a safari but was a little cost prohibitive on top of paying for a wedding. Vicky dearly wanted to go to Giraffe Manor in Nairobi which looks amazing but has for some reason been taken off Virgin and Kuoni’s holiday lists.
The reason we were looking at those companies was because they are reputable companies specialising in honeymoons and offer a gift list. Having lived together for so long, we didn’t need pots & pans, but do need to force ourselves to stop and have some much needed rest and relaxation.

After getting some travel advice with Virgin, we decided to go for something a bit different and place ourselves on an island far away from anything. This particular island is Kanafushi in the Maldives, and is accessible via a short sea plane flight from the Maldivian capital Malé.

Now what we didn’t know when we booked the holiday is the Maldives is a 100% Muslim country, which with Vickys short dresses, Chris’s Mankini and both being wine connoisseurs, could pose some problems, but as it transpires we also go just after Ramadan begins.

As a honeymoon destination we both thought, not drinking water in 30 degree heat, share a glass of wine, being able to hold hands or share a kiss on the beach, or wear a bikini was a bit odd, certainly not to be flagged up by the holiday rep. But we are assured on the resort, we can do all of those things, so we will see what happens when we get there.

It does look gorgeous though, and we’re a little bit giddy to spend the first of our married days there. If you’re interested, here’s a short video we found on the web:
https://youtu.be/jL0cAUSfIsg

If you would like to contribute to our honeymoon, our gift list can be found at: 
https://giftlist.virginholidays.co.uk/contribute/aa7e0a8c6b/vicky-and-chris-honeymoon

Umm pretty much sums it up really. “I’ve got a great idea” Chris thought, I’m going to go to Trafford Centre on Black Friday.

Anyway to be fair it wasn’t all bad, I found some very smart shoes in TopMan of all places which were very affordable so I bought them all. Except two sizes were out of stock so I then had to go to the Manchester store for them…

Vicky on the other hand managed to get some beautiful wedding shoes, the last pair in the country to be precise, but they had a slight fault. So they’ve been sent back to Italy for repair. In the meantime she’s freaking out about when she will get them back and if they will be right. Oh and wants them to try wedding dresses on with them. Nobody mentioned this getting married malarkey was stressful!

I tend to go pants first tbh. Oh you mean? Wow is that really a thing? Thankfully Vickys dad tipped me off about that, it seems he must have had experience!
The suit fittings had to be done in two stages, one with Sam, Dan Brennan, Louis (with Jim who had been cramping the poor freshers style and staying over in his student halls the night before… harsh!) and Greg.

My best man Dan Lead, Vickys dad Ray and my dad were unable to make it for various reasons but getting half of the Groomsmen team together wasn’t a bad effort and I would at least get a consensus as to if people liked the suits and the tailored cut fitted right on us. This was all a fairly new experience to me.

The last suit I bought was my engagement suit in Paris just before taking Vicky to dinner in the Eiffel Tower. It actually made us quite late for dinner, but I realised I needed a suit and ultimately Vickys help to pin the bottom of the trousers up with her theatrical dress making skills. I digress.
The second session involved getting my hilarious best friend together with my also hilarious father outlaw. I heard a thing the other week that said professional comedians hate playing Liverpool, because they get heckled from an entire audience made up people who think they are funnier. I think the same may also apply to Hull, so between the two of them it was “ding ding, all aboard the banter bus”.
They did get on really well though even though it was strangely the first time they had met. So the speeches should be errm let’s say interesting.

They were both very helpful and made the suit fitting session very easy. My dad however struggling with mobility issues, was a slightly different story, and three suits later after completely fictitious measurements he gave us, we got him fitted.

So the good news is everyone seems to like the suit, and gents you look sharp! We need to figure out two things now, whether we are matching the tie to the bridesmaids dresses which is a beautiful colour but not easy to match, and what happened to Greg’s other shoe?…

So we decided to ask Belle, Chris’ youngest niece, to be my flower girl at the wedding.

She was running around at the hospital, so I grabbed her, sat her on my knee facing me and said: 

“So monkey, you know how me and Uncle Chris are getting married?”

“Like a wedding with a princess dress?” she said.

“Yes” I replied, “so I’m going to need a flower girl, someone like you to walk down the aisle in front of me in a pretty dress, will you be a flower girl for me?”

“Ummmm” she said, “can I have a headband?”

“Yes you can have a headband” I said. “If I get you a headband will you be our flower girl?”

“And a heart necklace?” said Belle.

“Yes, you can have a headband and a heart necklace” I said. “If I get you a headband and a heart necklace will you be a flower girl and wear a pretty dress?”

“Will it have buttons, and a zip?” She asked.

“Ok’ I said ‘so if I get you a headband and heart necklace, will you be a flower girl and wear a pretty dress that has buttons and a zip?”

She then turned to Chris with a massive grin on her face and said..

“I’m going to be a flower girl!”

She’s three…

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I’m still slightly in shock. I had taken up the traditional wedding hobby of Pinterest and got an idea of what I was looking for, and so dragged my bride-to-be with me with me to get some ideas.
Little did I know that in an outlet in Salford Quays, we would meet the most tentative sales assistant Scott. Within seconds of describing what I was looking for, he came straight to me with it.

I tried it on, and it looked so sharp, that was it, there was literally no point continuing looking. Someone who Vicky worked wit gave us the best piece of wedding advice “when you know, you know”, and this was one of those occasions, especially when we realised the suit was over half price and was only a bit more than the cost of hiring them.

I wasn’t really expecting to get my suit with Vicky, but hey at least she likes it! Though I have been told I can’t go dress shopping with her which is a shame, I like Prosecco.

Next job, to see if the Groomsmen like the suits and get them fitted out.

Scott in Suits Direct Salford Quays, also said if anyone needs anything for the wedding, to give him a shout and he will offer a discount if you say we referred you. There are some great deals there so do have a look!

On the way out of the Lowry Designer Outlet Vicky was given some candy floss, that’s Vicky happy fiancée right there that is then!

Ladies & Gentlemen, we would like to formally announce that our wedding reception will be held on Friday 18th May 2018 at Knowsley Hall.

The venue is magnificent and is the estate is home to Lord & Lady Derby. We had been looking for a sophisticated and stately style venue that had a wow factor as you went up the drive. Knowsley ticks all the boxes, and is as beautifully kept on the inside as it’s spectacular estate.

Some interesting facts about Knowsley Hall which includes the famous Knowsley Safari Park on the estate. William Shakespeare has stayed there. Queen Elizabeth II has visited, Clare Balding is related to Lord & Lady Derby, Hollyoaks had a mini bus crash there, Gary Barlow surprised a couple by turning up to sing at their wedding and Maria & Eva had a fight in the fountain on Coronation Street whilst Tyrone looked on confused as usual.

We’ve been to Knowsley Hall a couple of times now after I stumbled across it on the internet. I think it’s one of the North Wests hidden gem wedding venues. There are limited days for weddings each year and 2018 is already fully booked so we’ve been really lucky to secure it.

The deposits paid, contracts signed and posted and it’s going to be one heck of a party! The only thing we now need to decide is where we are having the wedding, and whether we should invite Gary Barlow or if he will turn up unannounced again…

It’s T minus 9 months to the big day, and so far we’ve booked the venue, some of the transport, and sooo much entertainment I promise you won’t get bored.

And yes, there is a band, obviously! We would love to know what songs are guaranteed to get you dancing so please comment below and we’ll be sure to get the requests in.

Next stop: Decide where we’re having the ceremony…