Kate and Michael first met at their local church in Bradford after Michael moved over from Bolton to be a youth intern. A few years later they started to become closer, and 18 months ago, the best of friends, they realised just how much they loved each other.

The Proposal

Kate and Michael got engaged in August 2012. Kate likes the band Train and had played their song 'Marry Me' to Michael. Unbeknown to Kate, over the next six months Michael learned the song, found a ring maker and came up with a plan for a proposal. With a month to go it was all planned; Michael's friend had recorded a backing track for the song, and Michael was going to take Kate to her favourite restaurant in Leeds, have friends hidden in the restaurant, with more at another restaurant around the corner waiting for the text message. However, there were complications. The ring was not finished and the time was getting later. Luckily the ring was ready for collection on the day of the meal at 6pm (the meal was at 7.20pm!).

After a great meal Michael excused himself, and while Michael was 'in the bathroom' Kate heard the intro to the song start playing. Everyone went quiet and she heard Michael's voice singing over the sound system. Michael came in singing 'Marry Me' in front of the whole restaurant, closely followed by 15 of their close friends and family. Towards the end of the song Michael got down on one knee, pulled the ring out of his pocket and asked Kate to marry him. An emotional Kate said yes and the whole restaurant erupted. You can see a video of the proposal here.

The Hen and Stag Parties

Kate had a Disney themed hen party. It started off with slumber party with 3 of her closest friends, where they wore Disney pyjamas, ate Chinese food and watched chick flicks. The next day Kate's bridesmaids had organised a Disney themed tea party. They dressed Kate as Tinker Bell and her friends also wore Disney outfits including Belle, Ursula and Pocahontas. They then went to a spa where they sat in the Jacuzzi for a couple of hours, followed by a trip to a Champagne bar in Leeds and a Thai meal.

Michael's friends arranged a night of poker before the stag day, during which snow was falling outside. After a couple of games the lads decided to go out and play in the snow, which ended up with Michael being naked. The next day they got up early, put Michael in a leopard print onesie, then made him walk down the street smoking his favourite cigar. They then paraded him through the city centre making him do as many embarrassing things they could. One of the challenges was to sing 'Eye of the Tiger' in the middle of a packed Primark! Later on they went for a session of go karting and a meal.

The Wedding Theme

Kate and Michael wanted a wedding that was modern, classy and individual, with a stately home/ 'castley' looking venue, and an expensive feel without the price tag. When they found Carlton Towers they fell in love with it instantly. As they were having a winter wedding and the venue was a little dark inside, they wanted colours that would stand out in the pictures. They finally settled on a jade, silver and light grey colour scheme, with a subtle theme of butterflies.

The Bride and Groom's Outfits

Kate wanted a wedding dress that really suited her shape, was 'a little unique and different', and had the 'wow' factor. She chose 'Stardust' by Ian Stuart, which she bought from a sample sale at Ava Rose Hamilton in Silsden.

"I cried as soon as I got into it. The girls in the shop said it was a 'daring' dress, but I was worried it was a little safe! I felt so unique and special in it; it was the perfect dress for me."

Michael wanted a custom, handmade suit, and after searching the internet for styles decided he wanted a grey three piece suit, with an Ascot tie to bring a bit of London gentleman to the look. The suit was made by Kate and Michael's friends Heather and Danny Greig, who have been making suits for over 10 years.

"I picked the material myself. I loved the uniqueness and fit; it felt like my body was in a glove. The material felt especially nice - I couldn't stop stroking it!"

The Bridal Party

There were four bridesmaids, four groomsmen, a best man and four year old twins who were dressed up as a mini bride and groom. The bridesmaids wore dresses bought from truebride.co.uk. Because Kate's dress was so big and unique she needed to find bridesmaid dresses that would complement and look right next to it, and these dresses 'seemed to have something unique about them'.

The groomsmen's suits were hired from Carl Stuart in Wakefield, which they wore with Ascot ties in the same colour as the bridesmaids' dresses, and Heather and Danny Greig made the 'little bride's' dress. The 'mini groom' wore a top hat to finish his look off.

The Wedding Flowers

The flowers were arranged by Kate and Michael's 'friend of a friend'. She designed four big flower arrangements on pillars which they placed at either end of the aisle, bouquets for the bride, all the bridesmaids bouquets and buttonholes for the groomsmen. They also had centrepiece arrangements for each table at the wedding breakfast and a large arrangement for the top table.

The Wedding Rings

As Michael had designed Kate's engagement ring he also wanted to design the wedding rings. They met a ring designer called Ged, from Gladstone Jewellers, and Michael sketched the designs, emailed them to Ged and he set to work. Both rings are made from palladium with a similar pattern, Kate's has 3 diamonds, and each has an engraving on the inside. Michael's says 'Love is friendship' and Kate's says 'Set on fire'.

The Wedding Ceremony and Reception

The whole wedding day took place at Carlton Towers, which Kate and Michael chose because, not only was it a stunning venue, it was able to accommodate large numbers throughout the day. Kate and Michael wanted a really pretty venue, but also wanted the freedom to mention God and sing Christian songs. They found there are many restrictions as to what you can and can't say in a 'non-religious' venue, so to get around this problem they got married legally at their local registry office a few days before the wedding. All the legalities had been taken care of and therefore technically they were then having a 'blessing'. The legal part was not the important part for them, it was the vows they were making to each other and in-keeping with their beliefs. Around 150 guests attended the ceremony, plus 80 via live internet stream from all over the world, from Sydney to New York. 75 guests then attended the wedding breakfast, with 100 guests for the evening reception.

The Wedding Cake

Kate and Michael weren't going to have a cake as neither of them eat it, and they thought it would be a bit of a waste of time. There was a bit of an outcry when they mentioned this to friends and family, so they gave in and had cupcakes with a giant cupcake on top. The cupcakes were made by Zarina's House of Cakes, who came up with a design in-keeping with the colour scheme and theme of hearts and butterflies.

The Wedding Photographer

Kate and Michael chose Sean Casey Photography as their wedding photographer. They felt Sean was very reasonably priced and included a lot in his packages. They also liked the fact Sean provides two photographers and stays all day, as this meant every special moment of the day was captured and taken from more than one angle.

The Wedding Details

Because the venue was so stunning on its own Kate and Michael didn't have to decorate it much. They didn't feel the need to have anything like chair covers as they would take away from the gorgeous ceremony room, with its gold walls, high ceilings and large fireplaces. They doubled up the cupcakes as wedding favours, so after they cut the cake, they went around their guests at the wedding breakfast and handed out a cupcake personally to each guest. This meant they also had an opportunity for a little chat with each of their guests.

The Honeymoon

Kate and Michael wanted to go somewhere exotic but not so remote that there was nothing to do, so went to Thailand for a month. They spent the first two weeks in a 5 star resort, Rawi Warin in Koh Lanta, where they could relax on the beach and take in the stunning views, and then the second two weeks in a 5 star resort in Phuket, where they could get out and sightsee a little more.

Memories

"We had looked forward to this day for a very long time and what we loved the most was that we were each marrying our best friend. Our favourite quote for our relationship has become 'Love is friendship set on fire'. We believe our relationship is so special because we have built such a strong friendship first, and our day was a reflection of this friendship. We were so thrilled to have the people we loved the most all in the same room,  sharing and enjoying the day that we designed so intrinsically together. It went so perfectly; exactly as we'd planned. One of the best parts was our first dance, that was actually a duet. We sang 'I Won't Give Up' by Jason Mraz. This was really special and also a song sung from our hearts.

The Wedding Community

"The wedding advice articles were good to read, to gain ideas and confirm we were doing something unique. The wedding website with RSVP function we found the most helpful. It generated excitement amongst our guests before the wedding and made it easier to get RSVPs."

Tips and Ideas

"1. Brainstorm! Write down everything you each want in your dream wedding and bring your ideas together. Make it personal to the two of you and don't be pressured by other people's opinions.

"2. Utilise your bridal party! I drew up a very detailed itinerary and a list of bridal party duties. Each had their own copy and it meant every job was taken care of, including who was going to collect and clean up what at the end of the night, so we didn't have to do a thing. We just got on and enjoyed our wedding. They were all so great and if anything went wrong at all, we didn't hear about it.

"3. Book the big things first - honeymoon, venue, catering - then the rest really just falls into place a lot easier.

"4. Use the internet! It is massive and every decent wedding company has a good website."

Bride's Top Tips

"Try on all styles and shapes of dresses; the dress you think will suit you the most may flatter you the least. Get the opinions of people you know have the best eye and your best interests at heart. Don't go to too many shops though and try on 50+ dresses; you'll just get confused and no dress will be good enough. The more dresses I tried on the harder the decision was."

Groom's Top Tips

"Be involved in as much as you can, it makes the day more poignant. Your wife-to-be will have some ideas you didn't think about and you will have ideas she didn't think about. It makes for a good marriage building block running up to the wedding, and your memories of the day will have more meaning."

Best Buy

"It has to be my dress. Sample sales generally only happen once per year at bridal boutiques or at the end of the season. Many dresses are discontinued so the samples have to be sold or they are useless to the shop. 'Stardust' had just been discontinued and so instead of its original £3000 price tag I managed to get it for £1500. The shop also included all the fittings and adjustments in the price."

Money Saving Ideas

"1. Haggle! We haggled on the price of pretty much everything for our wedding and received a discount for just about everything too! Don't show emotions when doing this, keep it matter of fact but with a keen interest - 'I really like this but I need it for this price'. If the person thinks you aren't desperate and will go elsewhere they are more likely to budge on price. We managed to get our bridesmaid dresses almost half price by calling around several shops about the same dress and played them against each other.

"2. Look for your own tailors. Bridal shops make huge profits on dress alterations, but you are not obligated by most shops to use them for the alterations, so find a local tailor who will do just as good a job but much cheaper.

"3. Don't get carried away on things you don't need and won't even remember on the day. There were plenty of things we thought about doing or buying that our budget didn't cover and then didn't miss at all on the day. You won't remember half the things you spent ages fussing about beforehand.

"4. Find resources in your relationships. We are very blessed to have many talented friends and family. Our friend is a hair dresser and offered to do all the hair, and of course he was our first choice. Our wedding band 'Absolute Funk' is run by another friend at Absolute Music Agency. They have some of the most talented musicians we've seen. Ask around your friends and family to see if they know people who can do or provide what you need. This usually means they can recommend based on first-hand knowledge."

Bride's Beauty Tips

"1. Eat a good diet and drink lots of water in the lead up to your wedding.

"2. Get into a routine of cleansing, toning and moisturising. I find Temple Spa products to be the best for all skin types; they are all natural products and paraben free.

"3. Find a good make-up artist. Emma Hampton did mine and all the girls' make-up. Emma is a freelance make-up artist from Leeds, as well as working for Mac Make-up in Harvey Nichols. I wanted to look natural but vintage; I hate thick, cheap looking make-up. Emma used the perfect foundation on my skin which felt so natural and stayed on all day; I hardly felt like I was wearing foundation at all. Emma found the perfect balance of long lasting, natural but definite make-up, the perfect amount for real life as well as photos. It looked so brilliant, the only thing I had to touch-up was my lips. All the bridesmaids were also very happy with their make-up."

See more stunning pictures from this wedding by viewing the 'A Modern, Classy Wedding in a Stately Home' post on The Wedding Community blog.

Photography: Sean Casey Photography

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