A PIZZA MY HEART

Thomas and Hannah had an intimate wedding full of personal touches

Images courtesy of Ufniak Wedding Photography

Thomas Courtney and Hannah White met when they were teenagers working part time in a local pizza shop, Sugar Ray’s in Doncaster. “After working together for a year or so, Tom asked me to go to a circuit class that he was helping out with,” recalls Hannah. “I was so embarrassed at the thought of exercising in front of him that I made up an excuse as to why I couldn’t make it. A few weeks after this he asked me to go to the cinema with him and this was the start of becoming official.”

During the summer of 2015, Tom proposed to Hannah at her family home with her mum and sister present. “He had kept it a secret from everyone and I arrived home from work one day to him suited and booted, our song playing in the background, candles lit and him on one knee!” shares Hannah. “I also dropped to my knee in sheer disbelief. I could not believe that he was asking me. All I remember was asking him over and over ‘Me? Are you sure?’.”

The wedding date was set for 18th October, 2018, with Cusworth Hall providing the ceremony backdrop and the reception venue was The Old Brewhouse within the estate’s grounds. Here, Hannah tells us more about their day...

We would often go to Cusworth Hall when we were dating and would sit on the hill for hours getting to know each other. There are a number of different areas within the grounds of Cusworth Hall such as the courtyard area, the garden, the museum and the top of the hill which all make for great photography spots.

The Old Brewhouse is quaint and rustic and serves ale direct from the 1086 brewery. As we wanted an intimate wedding, it felt right to celebrate in a smaller venue.

Tom’s buttonhole was slightly different to the groomsmen with regards to colour and the bridesmaids’ flowers were a smaller version of my bouquet. We were adamant that Harvey (our cocker spaniel) was there for the day and both venues were more than happy to accommodate him, so everything was perfect.

Tom and the groomsmen wore Ben Sherman blue, slim-fit suits. REAL WEDDINGS

We decided to make donations to two charities that were significant to us;

Alzheimer’s Society and Cancer Research UK – our guests all received charity badges as favours.

Our centerpieces were supplied by The Old Brewhouse. They incorporated our colours into the flower centerpieces in the middle of the tables.

The flowers were supplied by Julia at Maisie Bloem. Our colour scheme was navy blue, burnt orange and yellow; Julia was amazing, extremely knowledgeable on different textures and colours to bring the palette all together.

I arrived in the Sugar Ray’s’ VW Beetle paying homage to where we both met. All of our loved ones waved us off as myself and Tom drove away to North Yorkshire where we started our five-day day minimoon right away!

We experienced a whole host of emotions. Nerves from the anticipation, excitement for our future together, relief that the day went smoothly. It’s a funny feeling when the day finally arrives because you’ve spent so much time organising that you almost forget that it is actually going to take place.

My dress was Francesca by Anna Soranno which I styled with a tulle veil, Loulou by Amixi, cream-coloured heels and then navy Converse for walking around the grounds.

LITTLE WHITE BOOK

Venues, Cusworth Hall www.cusworthhall.co.uk, The Old Brewhouse www.facebook.com/1086brewery; Photographer, Ufniak Photography, www.ufniak.co.uk; Dress, WED2B Rotherham, www.wed2b.com; Hair, Cuts and Co, www.facebook.com/CutsandCo; Make-up, Laura Emily Johns, www.facebook.com/LauraEmilyJohnsHairStylist; Bridesmaids’ dresses, House of Fraser, www.houseoffraser.co.uk; Groom’s suit, Suit Direct, www.suitdirect.co.uk/store-locator/doncaster; Flowers, Maisie Bloem, www.maisiebloem.co.uk; Transport, Sugar Ray’s, www.facebook.com/doncastersoriginalandbest; Groom’s ring, SI Craft Designs, https://sicraftdesigns.com The whole day was just perfect. The weather was incredible, the staff at The Old Brewhouse could not do enough for us and Michal, our photographer, made us feel so relaxed that our pictures perfectly reflect the day that we had. TOP TIP: “Invest in your photographer! The day will be over in a flash but your photographs will live on.” ‒ Hannah