Real Weddings Hull: Samantha and Max’s Autumnal Celebration

Three cakes, a bride in wellies and plenty of music, games and dancing were the magic ingredients for this big day. Our WED2B Real Weddings Hull feature reveals more:

Samantha and Max met via a dating app and chatted for a few weeks before deciding to meet up. “We had our first date in a restaurant in the countryside, which was lovely and relaxed,” says Samantha. “Max proposed on Christmas Eve in 2015, when we were at home with our two young sons. They had each opened a present when Max said that I should open one too. As I turned to accept it I realised he was down on one knee! I couldn’t believe it, I was so surprised. And obviously, I said yes!”

Finding the dress…

Samantha already had a dress but couldn’t get WED2B’s Sophia dress out of her head. “When I told Max he insisted I go to the Hull store to try it on,” she smiles. “So off I went eight weeks before the wedding with my step mum. After trying on Sophia and realising it wasn’t me, I tried on strapless Constance, which was completely different to the look I’d imagined, and fell in love! I genuinely found The One. A strapless dress was never something I had envisioned myself in but Constance just fitted like a glove. I wore it along with the Kensington lace jacket, as I’d always wanted sleeves, and the jacket made me feel very elegant and classy. The jacket was perfect for the ceremony and daytime reception and then I took it off for the evening. It felt like I had two dresses in one. The whole shopping experience was fab. I felt so relaxed and welcomed by the staff. WED2B really is unlike any other bridal store.”

An amazing venue

The wedding was held at the Humber Royal Hotel in Grimsby. “We’d looked at a few places but when we found the Humber Royal we knew it was perfect for us,” says Samantha. “The wedding coordinator was fab and took care of our every need. We got married on Saturday 4^th November 2017 and the colours in the room suited our autumnal wedding theme perfectly too.”

Walking down the aisle

The ceremony was held at the hotel and the room was decorated with romantic ivory petals, sprinkled either side of the aisle, lace-covered jars and ivory rose light trees. There was also a beautiful floral arch. “Max is very thoughtful when it comes to music, so I suggested he choose all the music and surprise me,” says Samantha. “So I didn’t even know what song I was walking in to, what songs would be played as we signed the register or what song we were walking out to! I walked in with my Dad to Elvis’s ‘I Can’t Help Falling in Love’, which is special to us. When I stood next to Max we both giggled while welling up with happiness. We had written some of our own vows too, which was a lovely touch. George Ezra played as we signed the register and then we walked out to ‘If I Were a Carpenter’ by Johnny Cash and June Carter.”

In memory of absent loved ones…

“My Granddad passed away two weeks before the wedding and I placed his buttonhole on a chair at the front of the aisle so he took pride of place. I also cut a heart shape out of one of his shirts and stitched it inside my dress, close to my heart.”

Bringing the outside in

After the ceremony guests enjoyed a drinks reception before sitting down to a roast dinner for the wedding breakfast. The reception room was decorated with autumnal oranges, reds and browns with touches of ivory. “The room overlooked the golf course and a huge woodland area, so it felt like we brought the outside in,” says Samantha. Each table had an oak log slice with homemade jars of lace, twine and ribbon as centrepieces. There were also orange and red flowers and scattered artificial autumn leaves. Favours were candles for the ladies, a Jaeger shot for the men and orange fidget spinners for the children. “Max is a joiner and he also made a long oak slice for the top table, which had our names on it in ivory wooden letters, and there was also the wooden heart he’d carved for me on our first Valentine’s Day,”  says Samantha.

Cakes and games aplenty

There were three wedding cakes, including a triple-layered chocolate brownie cake, a traditional-style ivory iced vanilla cake and a homemade rustic style lemon cake. “We also set a table out for the children with wooden crates holding sweets, lots of blow up guitars, microphones and also glow-in-the-dark bracelets, which went down well,” says Samantha. “We’d hired some indoor games for the children too, as seeing them having fun makes a wedding that bit more special.”

Dancing the night away

“At 4 pm we had a singer come and play to us along with his guitar,” says Samantha. “We wanted a relaxed wedding where we could spend time speaking to our guests, so having the singer in the background was perfect.  At 6 pm we all headed into the main bar while our room was changed around ready for the evening, then the evening guests started arriving at 7 pm. When we got in it looked like a different room again, it was perfect. Guests danced and drank and ate and laughed, and we had an amazing day with people we love.”

If we could do it all over again…

“… we wouldn’t change a thing!” laughs Samantha. “And I’m so glad my photographer suggested wellies for our outdoor shots.  You can’t team a wedding dress with wellies and not feel amazing!”

Did your wedding have the wow factor like our Real Weddings Hull feature? If you would like to be a part of our real weddings feature send your favourite photo to info@wed2b.co.uk and we’ll be in touch!