We were delighted to photograph Aqua and Dom’s gorgeous Lancashire wedding at the Olde England Kiosk in Darwen last Autumn.
We asked Aqua and Dom to share with us their wedding planning wisdom and supplier recommendations to help you plan your perfect Lancashire wedding!
Tell us your engagement story
We met in 2013 through a mutual friend. We got engaged in 2018, we were on holiday in Bulgaria at the time. Dom had planned the entire thing, booked us into a lovely restaurant on our second night there where we had some incredible Bulgarian food. After that we went for a walk down the jetty, I was looking back on the shoreline which was lit up beautifully at night and when I turned around, Dom was down on one knee! Definitely the most romantic moment in my life (wedding day aside!) Dom’s top tip for anyone wanting to hide an engagement ring, wear cargo shorts, lots of pockets!
Where did you start with planning your Lancashire wedding?
We got engaged in June and booked our date in August and started planning pretty much straight away! I already had an idea in mind of what I wanted and after discussing it with Dom we agreed that we wanted a small rustic wedding so we went from there!
How did you organise your wedding planning? Are there any apps or planners you used or any other tips or tricks you can share? Did you both take an active role?
I used A LOT of excel spreadsheets! From tracking our spending, budget, final balances and then used them for guest lists, menu choices, addresses and contact details etc. I did sign up to a couple of planning apps including Bridebook and UK Bride. They all come with great features, templates and countdowns too! I took more of the active role, I think Dom was happy to just go along with it and let me take the lead, we did joke that he just had to turn up on the day and I would do the rest!
What was your wedding theme and where did you get your inspiration?
We wanted a small and intimate rustic wedding, with our closest friends and family there to witness our big day. We found our woodland venue and it was just so beautiful that the vision came to life.
Who were your Lancashire wedding suppliers, how did you find each of them and what made you pick them?
I wanted to keep my wedding flowers afterwards so I found Emily at Flowers for Keeps who is a florist in Lancashire specialising in artificial wedding flowers. Emily was fantastic, she let me send her loads of inspiration and kept in touch with regular updates.
Jen My MUA was make up artist for the day. She was so relaxed and brought such a calming energy to the morning, I was appreciative of that. She even offered to muck in with the kids to get them ready!
Our venue was The Olde England Kiosk, we actually found out about it as it’s around the corner from where I work. We went down on an open day and just fell in love with the place so I emailed Donna and we set a date! Everything was included in our package including the DJ and food which saved us having to organise lots of different vendors. If I ever needed Donna (often late at night!) she was always available, she handled everything for us and set the venue out so perfectly.
I always knew I wanted Finch Bakery to do our cake so we booked in with them as soon as possible! The girls there were fantastic, nothing was too much trouble for them, they were so down to earth and friendly and really got involved with the cake ideas we had.
Our original car was booked through Warrens Vintage VWs, they are fantastic and although they couldn’t do our third date due to another booking, they stayed in touch, sent their well wishes to us and even popped around with a card and a bottle of fizz at Christmas! We actually used Coach House Limousines who were FANTASTIC! The driver was really friendly, put me and my bridal party at ease before we left and even took me and Dom out for a drive after we were married to give us 10 minutes alone! Such a wonderful company, I highly recommend them.
Photographers! We can’t thank you and Andrew enough. The photos we have received are incredible. You were so helpful from booking with you originally, to moving our dates and being so supportive about it. Andrew even helped entertain the kids on the day, pushed them on the swings and mucked in! You were so stealthy on the day, we actually didn’t even realise you were there for most of it! We can’t thank you or recommend you enough!
What did you love most about your wedding day?
Finally getting our chance to get married! Having re-arranged 3 times thanks to Covid, we were just so determined to have the best day possible when it finally arrived that nothing could have spoilt it! We had an incredible day from start to finish. Best moment for me would be seeing Dom tear up as I walked down the aisle. I just knew in that moment that everything would be alright (and I couldn’t stop smiling!)
What advice would you give to other Lancashire couples about how to make the most of and enjoy their day?
Just take it all in, every single second of it! Go with the flow as you only do it once, even if something goes wrong that becomes part of your day and the story you will tell! We had a lot of worry with Covid, having to rearrange our dates 3 times caused a lot of stress but in hindsight, I think we all appreciated the day more than we ever would have before and I definitely think our guests felt that way too.
Top Lancashire wedding suppliers:
Venue: The Olde England Kiosk, Darwen
Dress: Amelia’s Bridal Boutique
MUA: Jen My MUA
Cars: Coach House Limousines
Cake: Finch Bakery
Photographers: Natalie Rawding Photography
