The One Where Anna Gets Married

You’re in for a treat… think orchids by the hundred, a dusting of snow, ski suits, a bright red gondola and enough cheese to keep an Alpine village going for the winter. But amongst all the fun are some incredibly special details too, including beautiful nods to Anna’s Mam woven throughout the celebrations.

Anna, you’re one of a kind, and it shows in every corner of this wedding. Huge congratulations to you both from all of us, and thank you for sharing your story.

…well, this is an easy answer.

Thicket Priory has not only been a place of work for me over the last eight years, but it has also been our home, my safe place and my family.

If I’m completely honest, I never thought I would get married where I worked, mainly because I worried I wouldn’t be able to switch off and simply be a bride. But when you have a team as good as the one at Thicket Priory, I realised it was actually the only venue where I could completely switch off, knowing they would make it the most incredible weekend of our lives. And boy, did they!

To mirror words from my Pops (Father of the Bride)… “I’d like to thank Bruce for giving Anna the opportunity of a lifetime – must be serendipity, I reckon! It’s such a beautiful place, and the dedication and passion shine through. I know Anna and the Team get a huge buzz from giving couples and their families a truly memorable and happy wedding experience. Your attention to detail is amazing, Bruce, with so many interesting nooks and crannies to explore and all the various projects you take on! I don’t know how many bulbs you’ve planted, but it must be thousands. More recently, I’d like to thank you for the care and support you gave Anna during her cancer journey – It’s so valuable during such a difficult time, so thank you so much.”

There was no way I was only having one look as a bride after working in the industry for 20 years!! So we had a Friday dress, a Saturday dress and a ski suit for good measure!!

Friday’s look was expertly guided by the lovely Lauren at LV Bridal Studio, who was herself a Thicket Priory bride back in May 2022! I never dreamed I could pull off the two-piece (well three piece) look by designer Halfpenny London. As a 5ft 2 and a bit of a shorty, I expected to need a lot more height to own this look… but the corset, skirt, and the scarf delivered a classic bridal look that I LOVED! We felt like Hollywood stars taking on the city of York.

John’s look was styled by yours truly, taken straight out of an M&S and Hawes & Curtis catalogue! We asked our guests to simply dress for ‘date night’!

Saturday at Thicket Priory needed a style change, and my wedding dress shopping plans went in only one direction! Straight to my beautiful friend and industry superstar Zoe at Treasured Brides. The experience and journey I took (alongside my Maid of Honour Susan) to find THE dress exceeded all expectations! To know how this feels, you need to experience it to believe it! The appointment led me to a dress by designer Angela Bianca, which Zoe actually chose, complemented by a gorgeous veil by Richard Designs.

My Mam’s wedding dress was turned into several different pieces, so I felt as though she was there throughout the celebrations. Our flower girl Priya’s skirt was made from the skirt of her dress, and each morning I stitched a little heart from the fabric inside my own dresses, close to my heart. We also used the fabric to create hearts for handkerchiefs, my garter and the bridesmaids’ bouquets, while her veil was displayed on the cake table.

We just wanted to have lots of fun with our friends and family, and wanted it to scream US! Skiing is our big love, so a winter wedding was the perfect plan… and we actually had the thickest of frosts and a dusting of the white stuff the morning of the wedding! Pure magic! Someone was looking out for us that day!

John lovingly made the mountains, the ski rack and our fab insulated cups escort table plan… find your cup, then find your table!

The ski theme well and truly kicked in for the evening – snow, skis, a big red gondola, a chairlift, ski maps and, of course, some rather colourful ski suits! Everyone did us proud with their outfit changes and face paint, and the disco was transformed to match the party. We had a live band, DJ and sax, with plenty of dance tunes thrown in for good measure!

Jo from The Rainflorist created our flowers – another wonderful industry expert and friend who I just knew would smash the brief. And wow, did she! Orchids were the brief, and orchids were delivered. They were my Mam’s favourite flower, and I have never seen orchids quite like the ones at our wedding!

One thing we chose to do was use plants rather than solely cut flowers, which meant we had 24 beautiful orchid plants to gift at the end of the celebrations. Eco-friendly flowers and gifting – definitely the way to go! Jo still laughs about the fact that I managed to lift my Saturday bouquet above my head during the celebrations because it was soooo heavy!

We had a French-inspired menu… the food you’d get in the mountains! One of John’s ultimate favourites: Tartiflette! Cheese Galore! Apologies were made during his speech to all those with dairy intolerances!

We finished with cake and Macarons by the talented Dominque at Poppy Pickering Cakes. Jellycat was the inspo for the macarons that topped our beautiful cakes! We may have also had a stack of Yorkshire Cheese… and a stack of Pork Pies. We LOVE food!

There was never a doubt as to who we wanted behind the camera(s) for our wedding celebrations. Between Carla (Carla Whittingham) and Craig (Hello There Films), they were essentially friends with a job to do over the weekend. They joined us for the celebrations on Friday and Saturday, dined with us, and were invited to be part of the celebrations.

We cannot put into words how tirelessly they worked to capture the most amazing imagery and footage of our weekend, which is helping us stay in the wedding bubble even 8 months on. They are both masters in their art, and we are so very grateful we had them there as a team for our celebrations!

We also had Lil & Jess from In Your Favour capturing content over our weekend, which was a lovely touch, especially since they are friends and colleagues.

John has shockingly admitted that, after his fear of being the centre of attention and the general fear of just how overwhelming a wedding can be, his favourite part of the weekend was when he was giving his speech! I was so surprised to hear this come out of his mouth, but I also have to admit that I feel the speeches were up there as far as favourite memories from the wedding too.

But I would say my favourite part was the time John and I spent walking through York, going to our first date bar for a cocktail and to Greggs for a sausage roll (say you’re from the North East without saying you’re from the North East)… all before we arrived at the registry office for our legal ceremony on the Friday!

Put as much of your personality into your wedding day as possible. The celebrations are yours, and it’s so lovely to hear your guests raving about all the personal touches and details over the weekend… these will be memories not only for us, but for our friends and family too!