A Fairytale Castle Wedding: Jason & Joanna

Jason and Joanna Jones

Where: Ceremony and reception at Peckforton Castle

Photography: Lesley and Shaun Meredith

Where did your wedding planning begin?
Finding the perfect venue was the starting point for our wedding. Jason said he wanted a full weekend style wedding with all our friends and family attending at a castle, so the hunt began and finally we found Peckforton Castle in Tarporley.

How did you know when you'd found 'the dress'?
Once the date was set it was time to find a fairytale dress. I finally found it at Fairytale Brides in Whitchurch. I felt like a princess! I now needed a florist to help me dress the castle with elegance and bling. Enter Mat Hepplestone from Red Floral Architecture. He is every bride’s dream. His designs and attention to detail is absolutely breathtaking. He created the look that I only dreamed of.

What came next?
With an image in my mind of how our day would look I needed to find the perfect photographers. I quickly realised that Lesley and Shaun Meredith were ‘the ones’ and chose Unforgettable Memories to video our day. Having a video is amazing. It gives you the opportunity to look back again and again and re-live your day.

Tell us about the day of the wedding.
Nothing could prepare me for how I would feel on the morning of our wedding. When I woke at 5am feeling ill all I wanted to do was go back to sleep and shut out the rest of the world but I couldn’t as my hairdresser, make-up artist and bridesmaids were due to arrive.

Soon it was time to get into my beautiful dress and I was finally ready to say ‘I do’. I walked down the long staircase, carefully holding my bouquet of ivory roses with Swarovski crystal detail.

Jason’s face was an absolute picture. He kept repeating the words ‘you look amazing’, and ‘how fantastic is that dress’, all very clear to hear on the wedding video as he was wearing a microphone on his lapel. The vows were my favourite part of the day; so sincere, honest and romantic.

What did you feed your guests?
The wedding breakfast took place in the Drawing Room. None of our guests were aware that we had booked a surprise act, Elegant Entertainment. They rudely ‘interrupted’ the proceedings and went into a rendition of Nessun Dorma among other favourites.

How did the day conclude?
As the evening reception began I finally started to feel much better. Let the party begin, I thought. The music played in the Great Hall and the mood was perfectly created by lighting and lasers by Hipswing. A white LED dancefloor was waiting for us as we performed our first dance to ‘Without You’ by Usher. We danced the night away and simply had the best time ever with our friends and family together.

Steal their Style:

Photography: Lesley Meredith Photography, 01270 829191, lesleymeredith.co.uk

Venue: Peckforton Castle, Tarporley, 01829 260930, peckfortoncastle.co.uk

Flowers: Red Floral Architecture, Hyde, 07739 709400, redfloral.co.uk

Videographer: Unforgettable Memories, Manchester, 0845 013 3273, unforgettablememories.co.uk

Toastmaster: Stephen Sanders, Atherton, 01942 879569, toastmastermc.co.uk

Entertainment: Elegant Entertainment, 01483 722125, elegant-entertainment.com

Lighting: Hipswing, Sandbach, 01270 759339, hipswing.co.uk

To see more of Jason and Joanna’s wedding album see our online gallery or the 2013 issue of Cheshire and Lancashire BRIDE