25

Jul

2013

Lauren and Neil’s ‘Happiest Day of Our Lives’ Leeds City Center Wedding. By Tux and Tales

When a bride and groom have smiles on their faces like today’s wedding, you know that they have had a good day, a great day in fact, or as Lauren and Neil describe it, ‘the happiest day of our lives’. My very good friends Jaye and Matt from Tux and Tales have captured this wedding perfectly, set in Leeds city centre, it is full of clean, crisp photography, along with a whole load of fun, smiles and good times. Check out the shots of Lauren dancing at the end, my word she can move!

‘It was the happiest day of our lives…… I can’t think of any other way to describe it!!’

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Lauren and Neil were married on 18th May 2013 at Leeds Town Hall and The Lounge Bar and Grill. ‘We both really wanted to get married in the city. It’s our home town so most of our family and friends live here. The Lounge also had a late licence which was one of our main requirements! We didn’t want 11.30pm last orders!! We had 80 guests for the ceremony and reception, then about another 30 in the evening. We got engaged on 27th January 2012. (The 28th of January would have been 10 years together so Neil wanted to coincide with that but give the proposal its own date) We set a date within the week!’

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How they met
We met at school and had been together for 10 years when Neil proposed. Neil is 2 years older than me and I just thought he was so cool! He left sixth form to go to Uni when I left at 16 and we used to get the same bus into Leeds. January 28th was the day I said ‘’So, people keep asking if we’re going out and I don’t know what to say’’ He said ‘’Just say Yes then’’ and that was it…. romance innit?!!!

The proposal
I had been in London for work and Neil collected me from the station on Friday evening. We were in the process of doing up our new home and he said he had to show me the colour he’d used in the dining room while I’d been away, so we had to call round there before we went home. He went in first and when I walked into the dining room he had painted the wall with a big love heart, a swallow and dice adding up ten and the words ‘’Will you marry me?’’ I was absolutely stunned. So shocked and happy and overwhelmed. It was amazing!!

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Why did you choose your photographer?
I saw some of Jaye and Matt’s work online and loved their clean, crisp style. So many wedding pictures have the hazy, sepia, dreamy look and that’s just not my thing. I wanted bright, clear images and candid moments. When I spoke to Jaye on the phone she totally got what I meant so it was a very easy decision!!

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The dress
The label in the dress says ‘Viva’ but it looked completely different when I bought it and was reworked by an incredible seamstress called Julie who also works for Northern Ballet. I had the underskirt and netting removed, the length shortened, the belt removed, the neckline changed and the jacket flipped round and sewn onto the front to make the lace panel on my chest. My daytime shoes came from Karen Millen and at night I wore Vans. Accessory wise I wore Thomas Sabo skull earrings and my late Grandma’s gold watch. I also wore the garter my Mam wore on her wedding day! I had the best fun shopping for my outfit! We didn’t go down the bridal shop route but instead had Mam and daughter shopping trips in London, Leeds, York and Leicester.

The suit and bridesmaids
Neil’s suit came from Topman and my gorgeous bridesmaids all wore different navy dresses that they chose themselves. Amy C and Rachel both wore French Connection and Amy B wore Coast. I wanted my bridesmaids to look like themselves and feel comfortable. Me, the girls and my Mam had a really fun shopping/lunch/wine day choosing those!! We didn’t have ushers or anything like that so Neil and the best man chose their own suits too. We wanted everyone to be comfortable and relaxed.

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Theme or colour scheme
No we didn’t have a theme but on the morning of the wedding, Neil chose to wear his Dad’s red tie to match my bouquet. I was expecting open collar so I thought that was so cute! It looks nice on the pictures too!

Decoration
The table’s had multicoloured glass jars with mixed gerberas in and the place name cards were cut into heart shapes, handwritten and held on the glass by a little ladybird clip. The room had bunting of various types and I decorated a cardboard L & N. On the balcony we had little coloured lantern fairy lights. The table plan was handwritten on chalkboard.

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Food
We had a choice of-
Starter- Tomato and mozzarella salad / bbq ribs and chicken wings
Main- Roast beef sandwich and chips / chicken in white wine sauce / goats cheese flatbread
Dessert- Belgian chocolate cheesecake / cheeseboard

Entertainment
Just plenty of booze and my amazing dancefloor skills!!

Flowers
Gerberas. My bouquet and Neil’s button hole were red. The bridesmaids, best man and male family members had yellow and female family members had cream. The tables had every possible colour!!

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Personal / DIY touches
Neil drew our invitations. They had us in cartoon form! We had one for the daytime and then one of us partying for night time. I absolutely love them and I’m going to frame them. He’s doing our thank you cards in the same way and we’ll be wearing Japanese Kimonos (we honeymooned in Japan). He drew the cartoons on the guest book and the table plan too. My Dad arranged for his work colleague to make us a secure postbox for the cards so I hand painted that, It looked erm….. great from a distance!! I love the idea of crafting but in reality I’m rubbish at it so everything else was bought! Our friends surprised us with an awesome banner after the ceremony! It said ‘’Just Married XXL and Ginger Balls’’ and the date. It was amazing!!

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Special moments
It is so hard to choose as the whole day was so wonderful! When I woke up on Saturday morning, Neil had left a gift and card with my bridesmaids for me to open. It said how much he was looking forward to marrying me and that he loved me. I’ll never forget how I felt seeing that beautiful locket necklace and reading his card. I couldn’t wait to see him and become his wife. We said our own personal vows at the ceremony too. Saying those words to each other after 11 years and in front of our family and friends was so emotional and so perfect. That has to be the biggest highlight!

Advice
The idea is that you only do it once, so do it your way! Think about how you want to feel on that special day and keep it in mind throughout. If there are traditional or expected elements (or guests for that matter!) that you don’t want, then just don’t have them! We didn’t have a cake or table favours…no-one cares! They are there to see the happiness on your faces and share your big day! Relax, take your time and enjoy the process.
Also, dance like a maniac all night!! It’s the best party you’ll ever attend and it’s all for YOU TWO!

Biggest surprise
People’s generosity. We knew we had amazing people in our lives but they absolutely blindsided us with their love and kindness that day!! We are very, very lucky people.

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Supplier Shout Outs

  • The lounge Bar and Grill – www.loungebarandgrill.com – Alan O’Neill and the team were exceptional! Every single detail was perfect and they were so accommodating to everyone’s needs. They even got my Grandad a special soup on the day! I honestly think everyone should have their wedding here! They absolutely kicked wedding venue arse that day!!
  • Randy Robinson – [email protected]  –  Our DJ Randy was booked through the lounge but is freelance. He was amazing!! He played everything we asked for plus any requests on the night. No cheesy DJ chat just a super friendly guy!!
  • Tux and Tales photography  www.tuxandtalesphoto.co.uk – Completely awesome! You can see for yourself from the photos! We did the 13 hour package and both Jaye and Matt were brilliant! We hardly noticed them during the ceremony and speeches so they got some brilliant candid shots. I would recommend them to everyone! They are even doing 2 of my bridesmaids’ weddings!
  • Unfortunately I don’t have a website for the seamstress or florist as they both work privately from home. They were ace though!

 

Fore more information on Jaye and Matt’s work go to

www.tuxandtalesphoto.co.uk
www.tuxandtalesphoto.co.uk/blog/
[email protected]
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
Tel / Txt: 07590410102

 

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Comments

    shelly

    Awww they look like they had a whale of a time. Fun, fun, fun and ace dancing shots too. Excellent work from Jaye and Matt there. Brill.

    Reply
    Jaye Cole | Tux & Tales Photography

    Thanks so much for featuring our work!

    It is so freeking fantastic to work with such a fun couple. Seriously – with some clients it isn’t even like work at all. We had a fab day at Lauren’s wedding (and her bridesmaid Amy’s wedding just a few weeks ago!).

    I now insist they renew their vows so I can photograph them again.

    Reply
    Zoe

    ooohhh, heehehee, these are so much fun, which is what its all about – love it! Congratulations to the newly weds xxxx

    Reply
    Andree K.

    I can’t believe how cute their “how we started dating” story was. Dear couple, sell that to Hollywood because that is some cinematic stuff.

    Reply
    George & Jill

    As parents of the bride, we are proud that Lauren & Neil made it a their special day and everyone had a great time. We have never danced so much since 1976 xx

    Reply
    Amy Wormwell

    I was one of Lauren’s bridesmaids and it was such a beautiful day! Lots of fun, they are the perfect couple! And I recommend Tux & Tales photography to everyone!!

    Reply

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