Welcome to a blog post in our “Our Story” series. This series of posts tells the story of a wedding day – from the Bride and Groom themselves.
As a Yorkshire wedding photographer Wakefield, we love hearing all the details from a couple ….. here is the story of Amanda and Andy who got married at Rogerthorpe Manor in Pontefract on 6th May 2012
Brides Name Amanda
Grooms Name Andy
Wedding Date 06/05/2012
Ceremony Location Rogerthorpe Manor Hotel
Reception Location Rogerthorpe Manor Hotel
Beginning Andy and I met in a nightclub in Wakefield. He caught my eye across the dance floor and then came over to chat me up. After 5 minutes, I asked him if he wanted a drink, we proceeded to the bar where I ordered double bacardi and coke and then just stood and looked at him waiting for him to pay. Like a true gent he did despite it being me that suggested it. We went on our first date the next day which was the 6/5/2006, and exactly 6 years later we said ‘I do’.
Planning We chose Rogerthorpe Manor because we had been to a wedding there and it was so perfect and everything went so smoothly that we just knew it was a good choice. Not to mention the stunning grounds. The original colour scheme was lime green and silver because Andy had a problem with pink, but he gave in in the end and let me have pink, because he is really nice like that. Andy chose the suits with a bit of my help…
The Day Mandy: I woke up at about 5:15 on the morning of the wedding and panicked a little (a LOT) but somehow managed to go back to sleep. The next time i woke up it was half past 6 at which point i gave in and got up. I found myself more excited than nervous. Getting ready for me was so relaxed because i had given my bridesmaids itineraries the night before (bit bridezilla but it worked) so everyone knew where they had to be and when. I gave myself plenty of time for things to go wrong but luckily nothing did. I think i started to get a bit nervous when I knew that Mark had arrived because it suddenly felt really real, but he totally put me at ease as if there was nothing for me to worry about and i turns out there wasn’t. I was emotional when my dad arrived to collect me from the hotel room, all I could think was don’t make me cry and ruin my make up! We ended up being a bit late for the ceremony although I’m not sure why as I had been ready for what seemed like ages and I was only up one flight of stairs from where the ceremony was being held. I was really nervous about walking down the aisle and me and my dad had been practising our walk the night before (with me humming the tune, however about a second before we walked in the room my dad turned to me and said ‘just walk normally’ so we ended up doing a weird shuffle thing but I think my dress hid most of what my feet were doing. The ceremony was really emotional too, it all went so quickly but i remember one of us not being able to get the ring on and having a bit of a giggle about it. The photos seemed to fly by too, I was expecting to be fed up of having my photo taken but Mark and his team made it so much fun that it was actually one of my favourite parts of the day – especially the ones of just me and Andy because we got to spend some time together which i knew could be a problem when everybody wants to talk to one of you or both of you. Then we got announced it the room and ‘the new Mr and Mrs Plues’ which was perfect and everybody cheered and clapped. My dad did his speech first which was really lovely and he made it clear that he loved me and had come to love my husband too. Then Andy spoke and parts of his speech made me laugh out loud while other parts made me want to cry (in a good way). then my brother the best man-made his ‘inappropriate speech of the week’ which wasn’t all that inappropriate luckily, it was heartfelt and sincere.
Andy: I woke up at 6, on the dot with no alarm. all was calm. The nerves I was expecting didn’t come?! I woke up 2 of my groomsmen who had stayed at our house the night before and we had coffee. We then went to start the transport, just to make sure. Now this is all well and good in a modern car but a 50-year-old camper van is a different story. it wouldn’t fire up and the clock was having a good old tick. I still remained calm but the boys were having kittens! so as the camper was borrowed from a friend, who was unable to attend the wedding due to working nights, we decided to wake him up and make him come and sort it out! he came down, tinkered for half an hour as we all got ourselves ready, the best man and my other groomsman arrived and it finally started. the old bus got us there early ish so the photo’s went smoothly, mark and the other guys were fantastic. there would have been no chance of us getting the button holes to go on the suits if they hadn’t been there too! all was fine up to press and then I had to go and speak to the registrar. all of a sudden everything became very real and the nerves hit me like a brick! After two or three large gullop of whiskey I made my way to the altar awaiting my bride.I knew the order of the waiting music so I knew at the end of what song to expect her arrival, however the music was on really quiet and I only managed to get them to turn it up half way into the second song so my prep time was pretty short. then she was late! which to be fair is to be expected of my Mrs so I wasn’t too worried. Mandy’s aisle music started and I though I was ok. 2 bridesmaids walked in with my son which brought a tremendous smile to my face, then I saw her. after all the manning up and ‘aaah i’ll be right’ I welled right up. amazing doesn’t even cut it. I tried my hardest to compose myself because if I didn’t I wouldn’t have been able to speak. what a sight she was (and obviously still is). 3 mins later I had a wife and I couldn’t be more smitten! The photo experience was brilliant. Everything went so well and was so organised. People were laughing and we got some amazing shots.
The whole photography team were amazing, considering that we messed up a bit with times of speeches etc everybody just got on with it and sorted stuff out. Simply fantastic and would be recommended 100 times over. The speeches were great. My father in law spoke first followed by me and then my best man. they both did a fantastic job and said some very sentimental things which will stay with me for the rest of my life. Chris (best man) especially considering how nervous he was about the public speaking did a wonderful job. And so after that it all became a whiskey infused blur. and the best part of the whole thing was sharing the love and laughs with most importantly my wife, but also everybody we both hold dear to us all in the same room at the same time for the same thing!
Honeymoon We honeymooned in a village called Ardales in Spain. We knew we wanted somewhere Spanish because the food is nice, the weather is hot and Andy is really only interested in whether or not he can get a beer! We flew three days after the wedding as we had asked for money towards the honeymoon instead of gifts so needed to sort out that before we went. It was perfect.
Suggestions Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Let people know what their responsibilities and tasks are. Ask around for people who might be able to help out. The florist we chose was a friend of ours who I think did an amazing job and it is something she can use in her portfolio so it’s win win. one phrase works wonders for future grooms. ‘yes dear.’……
Top Tip Bride Ebay! Whatever you can think of will be on there, especially table decorations like scatter crystals, petals, disposable cameras,favour bags… We actually bought our birdcage centerpieces from Ebay and they were perfect. Also make sure you take everything in because it goes so quickly. Time flies when you are having fun!
Top Tip Groom Learn the phrase ‘yes dear’ and use it!
Special Memory Mandy: The vows were the most important part for me. I didn’t want to cry but it was so emotional I couldn’t stop my eyes from welling up. Andy: Seeing Mandy walk down the aisle.
Final Thoughts Mark and his team were absolutely fantastic. Cannot fault them at all. They made everyone feel so comfortable and it shows in the pictures. We are so impressed and would definitely recommend him. Congratulations to Amanda & Andy. Below is a small slide show of images from their day. The images have been reduced in quality for web display and do not reflect the high quality of the printed image or the wedding album:
The images in this slide show are © Copyright 2012 Wakefield Wedding Photographer Yorkshire and Rogerthorpe Manor Wedding Photographer Mark Pearson Photography and may not be copied or duplicated in any manner without express written permission.
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