Roaring success

Stephen and Maggie surprised their guests by arriving at the reception in the groom’s racing car

Stephen Nuttall and Maggie Epstein

Where: Ceremony at St Michael’s Church, Marbury, followed by reception at Wrenbury Hall, Nantwich, Cheshire

Photography: Lesley Meredith

I received a pair of beautiful diamond earrings and a card from Steve on the day of the wedding and spent a lovely morning getting pampered by the amazing team at Flossy and Leigh (hair and make-up) and drinking champagne with my mum and bridesmaids.

We tried to stick to a colour scheme of ivory and gold to complement the décor at

Wrenbury Hall and all our stationery incorporated this theme. We chose Wrenbury Hall because exclusivity was important to us and we had the place to ourselves.

It was a bit of a surprise for my mum and bridesmaids to see me in my wedding dress because the one I originally bought with them was not the one I wore! In a last minute decision I bought an Essense of Australia dress without telling anyone. It arrived a week before the wedding.

Any nerves I had while standing outside the church waiting for the string quartet to start playing vanished as I saw Steve smiling at me. We exited to U2’s Beautiful Day.

While our guests were enjoying champagne and canapés on the lawn we made our grand entrance in Steve’s racing car, a Caterham 7, with me perched on the back. It proved a bit of a challenge fitting my dress in the car but everyone loved it and it was a real talking point. We named all our guest tables after circuits Steve has raced on. Our wedding favours were donations to Cancer Research and Alzheimer’s charities which are close to both families’ hearts.

The Orangery, where the wedding breakfast was held, was decorated magnificently by Red Floral Architecture and the huge centrepieces looked breathtaking. Guests were entertained by a harpist during the wonderful four-course meal. Then it was time for the speeches. All of them were excellent and guests said that they alone were worth coming for.

Our first dance was to Paul Weller’s You Do Something To Me. The basket of flip flops I had left at the side of the dance floor was appreciated by many.

WHO DID WHAT

Photography: Lesley and Shaun Meredith, Crewe, 01270 829191, www.lesleymeredith.co.uk

Venue: Wrenbury Hall, Wrenbury, 01270 781198, www.wrenburyhall.co.uk

Dress: Fairytale Brides, Whitefield, Manchester, 0161 766 3000, www.fairytalebridesltd.co.uk

Accessories: Eleventh Heaven, Manchester, 07790 455365, www.eleventhheaven.com

Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Fairytale Occasions, Whitefield, 0161 766 3002,

www.fairytalebridesltd.co.uk

Hair & make-up: Flossy and Leigh, Barrowford, Lancashire, 07769 650141,

www.flossyandleigh.com

Groom’s outfit: Groom, Manchester, 0161 236 9959, www.groomhire.co.uk

Stationery: Birchwood Handcrafted Invitations, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, 07540 730080, www.birchwood-invitations.co.uk

Flowers: (venue flowers) Red Floral Architecture, Hyde, Cheshire, 07739 709400,

www.redfloral.co.uk; (bouquets and buttonholes) Dreamweavers, Middlewich, Cheshire, 07887 731010, www.dreamweaversweddings.co.uk;

Cake: Slattery’s, Manchester, 0161 7679303, www.slattery.co.uk

Catering: Wrenbury Hall (as above)

Venue Dresser: Red Floral Architecture (as above)

Transport: People to Places, Altrincham, 0161 637 2263, www.ptpuk.biz

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

Entertainment: String quartet, Carlton Ensemble, 0161 428 4765, www.carltonensemble.co.uk; harpist, Meredith McCracken, www.absoluteharp.com