Avril and Tyler’s Christmas wedding

Avril and Tyler first met when they went to Alton Towers together with mutual friends. “A few months later we started talking and decided to go on a date,” says Avril. “Tyler surprised me with ice skating, which I was really bad at, and we still laugh about it now!”

The icing on the cake

The couple had been together for two years when Tyler proposed. “We had bought a house, got a dog and had our beautiful daughter, so Tyler decided to make me a Murphy too,” says Avril. “He got down on one knee with our daughter on Christmas Eve. Afterwards we went out to celebrate with our friends and family.”

Bridal shops Stoke-on-Trent 

Avril discovered WED2B on social media. “I decided to visit the Stoke-on-Trent store to try on some of the beautiful dresses,” she says. “The staff were so helpful and I eventually found Courtney, my dream dress. My mum picked it out for me. When I tried it on it felt like exactly what I’d been looking for. I fell in love with it!” (For similar styles try Maud, Fia or Vanessa)

A waterside venue

“We already had a venue booked when we found Aston Marina, in Staffordshire,” says Avril. “We decided to have a little look anyway and decided it was perfect for us, and we were so right! The wedding date was 27th December 2021, after we postponed for a year due to the pandemic."

The big day

“The night before the wedding I stayed at my parents’ house, with my daughter and bridesmaids,” says Avril. “We all got ready there in the morning. The weather was a little drizzly but nothing too bad. We were just glad it didn’t snow and cause us more problems!"

"My dad walked me down the aisle and one of the hymns was the ‘Lord of the Dance’ which got everyone dancing and singing. It was one of the best moments. My brother also did a reading for us, which was a nice moment, too.”

Drinks, photos and dancing

After the ceremony everyone went straight to the venue for a drinks reception. “We all caught up and had some photos,” says Avril. “Our first dance was to ‘The Power of Love’ by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, because we’ve always loved it. We’ve sung it together on road trips but it’s also a sort of Christmas song, which suited our Christmassy wedding.”

“Our theme was winter/Christmas but also Isle of Man tartan, as that’s where Tyler is from,” says Avril. “We had light blue and silver to match the tartan and to be Christmassy."

"Everyone had a turkey Christmas dinner and we had a massive wedding cake that my grandma’s friend made. We didn’t realise how big the cake was going to be, so it was a challenge to get it to the venue, but it looked and tasted delicious!" 

“The favours were chocolates in Christmas crackers and there were activity packs for the kids too,” says Avril. “Later we had a DJ/singer who was amazing, everyone loved them!”

So many happy memories

“All of it was absolutely amazing,” says Avril. “But we did love dancing with our daughter and our family and friends. It was also great seeing everyone having the best time together after a tough couple of years.”

My top tips…

“Try not to stress too much and let as many people as possible help,” says Avril. “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself for it to be perfect either. The main thing is to enjoy the day with the people you love and the person you’ll spend the rest of your life with. When the day comes, relax and enjoy every moment.”

Avril’s Dream Team 

Photographer: Trio Stories

Venue: Aston Marina

Bridal shops: WED2B

Singer: James Barlow the Wedding Singer 

Hair: Kimberley at Spires Hairdressing

If you would like your big day to be one of our real weddings please click here to share your story and photos with us and we’ll be in touch. Or click here for more details about WED2B’s bridal shops Stoke-on-Trent