STORRS HALL | WEDDING story for Mavie & Andy

How did you both meet?

Four years ago, we met through friends at drinks. We hit it off pretty soon and could not seem to stop chatting. Later that night, we decided to go out for dinner together. Now, I (Mavis) have never got drunk before in my life, but that night we ate and chatted and kept drinking wine. By the time we finished, I was no longer perfectly sober but what I did realize was that I was happy and I enjoyed Andrew’s company. Well, it seems like it was the same for Andrew as I soon got a call from him the next day! From there, our amazing journey began.

Tell us about the proposal?

Andrew said he had something he had always wanted to do – try sailing, and so he had chartered a 40ft sailing boat called “Ni Ni” as a surprise! We sailed around the south side of Hong Kong and finished in Repulse Bay where we anchored in front of the beach. As I was taking pictures, I noticed that Andrew also taking pictures but was on one knee … and then he took out the ring! It all happened really quickly and I was a little speechless. I think it might have taken me a good few minutes before I came round. Finally, I said “YES!”. I was so happy.

Where did your wedding taking place and what made you choose that location?

As we both live in Hong Kong now, the UK may at first seem to be very far away for us to have our wedding, but it is where we feel at home and is where we met! We wanted a beautiful natural setting for our wedding and Andrew’s hometown in the Lake District was our choice. Our wedding took place in the gorgeous St Michael and All Angels Church in Hawkshead which was where Andrew’s late grandfather got married so has special meaning to us. The wedding reception took place in Storrs Hall in Windermere. When we settled on having our wedding in the Lake District, we both knew that we wanted to hold the reception somewhere next to a lake. Storrs Hall was surrounded by Lake Windermere and is full of character from the Georgian era. It was perfect.

What was your colour scheme or wedding theme?

Our wedding theme was “Georgian Vintage Meets An Elegant English Country Garden” with ivory and shades of purple, lilac and mauve colours. On the grounds next to Storrs Hall, we put up three giant tipi’s decorated with plenty of English country flowers for guests to enjoy the wedding breakfast and evening entertainment.

Tell us about your dress

The wedding dress was designed by Noel Chu, a designer in Hong Kong. She worked with me to custom design it from start to finish. It was made of ivory satin with special details including a v-shaped drop shoulder neckline, four loose pleats on each side and a long train. The dresses was decorated with combination of satin and embroidery lace with little 3D flowers sewed all around. The veil was lined with the same lace pattern as the dress. It was the dress I have been dreaming of since I was 4!

Did you have “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue”?

My something old and borrowed was the round pearl necklace which my mum lent me. My something new was the wedding dress and my something blue was a blue ribbon on the garter.

What was your favourite photograph and why did you like it?

They are all fantastic and I cannot choose a favourite! Andrew likes the picture of his Dad during the speech because he looks so happy and is a perfect composition inside the tipi!

What was your most useful source of wedding ideas and information?

We both had quite specific ideas about what we wanted for our wedding so it was mostly just bouncing different ideas off each other with the occasional use of Google search! We usually agree between ourselves very quickly. Some ideas we loved include the tipi’s as a marquee, vintage buses, little pots of herb for table names and guest favours, Polaroid film guestbook which quickly turned into an arts and craft session on the day, live music and personalised hand painted glasses for the wedding party.

Tell us about a supplier who provided a first class service.

All the suppliers we used were excellent. To name a few we were very impressed with – Reel Weddings for the video, Cumbria Classic Coaches for guest transport, Lucy Pearson for make up, BlackCat Bindery for our guest book, The Beat Collective for the band and of course Derwent Photography for the great photos!

Do you have any advice for future brides?

We were having such an awesome time that it felt like the day just went by in a snapshot. So to all future brides out there, make sure you enjoy and absorb all the things you have put in place on the day and don’t get bogged down in the tiny detail.

What was the best part of your wedding day?

The best part was seeing how much our families and friends care about us. We realized that most people who came to our wedding had to travel several hours to get there and many from overseas including the US, Canada and Hong Kong. We thought many would skip it due to the trouble but no, almost everyone we invited came. The families, friends, bridesmaids and groomsmen were all absolutely wonderful. They showed how much they love us and we would not ask for any more than to have them witness our special day. So thank you.

Was Steve at Derwent Photography the right photographer for you?

Absolutely yes. We both wanted a photographer who can report the wedding day back to us with natural, in the action and unposed photographs. Choosing Derwent was perhaps the quickest decision we made for our wedding, we knew it was for us in an instant. Steve was very discreet but amazed us with the shots that he  managed to capture. I feel absolutely comfortable to let Steve handle the whole photography aspect for us. We love our final album with these lifelong happy memories!

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My photography studio is in Keswick, in the heart of The Lakes. With ample parking it's only 20 mins off the M6 from Penrith,  20 Mins from Ambleside, or 30 mins from Windermere. For southern based clients wedding planning from a distance, we can arrange to meet at our other studio in Essex, Studio Rochford

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