Shana & Alex’s Wedding

Shana & Alex's Wedding Story

Shana and Alex's wedding morning began with everyone getting ready (separately of course) at The Stamford before heading off to say their I DO's at Southport Town Hall on Lord Street, a quick trip down to a very windy Marine Lake for a few relaxed couple portraits and then jumping back in the VW campervan off to Birkdale Sports Club to re-join their guests for the wedding reception.

A bit about the proposal... I finished work one day and my work was opposite Hesketh park so we walked round there for a bit, then we got back to our flat which was also opposite Hesketh park, we got in and then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Alex had the day or so before had a walked round the park and chosen the perfect place he was going to propose but when it came to it there were kids on bikes so he proposed in the flat instead. 

How long did it take you to choose your venue?

We got engaged during lockdown in April 2020, so our plans were on hold for a little while, viewed a few venues before getting pregnant with our son in 2021. Then once we where settled with our newborn we viewed a few more before deciding in October 2022 we where happy with a town hall wedding then back to Southport and Birkdale Sports club.

Who supplied the men’s suits and was there a particular style you were looking for?

Mens reputation supplied our men's suits, Alex knew he wanted a blue suit with a grey waistcoat, when we went in, it was a new in stock suit so was on the front of a magazine, was pretty easy and painless to be honest. 

What did your Bridesmaids wear? 

I let my bridesmaids choose their dresses, I just told them to wear either navy blue or dusty pink and they just happened to all choose navy blue and it just all looked perfect. 

Saying yes to the dress, how long did it take to find “THE ONE”?

It took me a good few tries on to choose my dress, and even the dress I picked, I was pretty certain I wanted it but because I'd tried on so many that day, I needed a clear head and come back another day, which with the dress shop being over an hour away meant I had to wait. But once I re tried it on, I knew it was the one, definitely a bit to long for town hall, but for that 1 day I felt beautiful. 

Please tell me about your wedding flowers and the floral arrangements on your wedding day, what did you choose and why did?

I had fake flowers for my bouquet as we both suffer from hayfever, I picked some flower stems up from Dunelm had some help from my mother in law arranging them and then gave them to a florist to add a few stems to the mix and tie them together, seeing them on the wedding day they where absolutely perfect. One of the flowers I'd picked to go in my bouquet was a daisy, as a nod to my grandma who's called Daisy who wasn't able to be with us on the day as she has dementia and is in a care home. The Groomsmen's button holes, where admittedly a very last minute add on as I wasn't sure what I wanted with them, wasn't sure if I wanted real or fake, in the end the florist I went with did real flowers for them and matched them perfectly with my bouquet. The bridesmaids flowers where also fake, this was partly down to cost, but also The Range where selling a bouquet colour which was exactly what I wanted.

Was there a particular theme you wanted for your wedding and how did you incorporate it on the day?

As we had 4 years to plan the wedding I had so many different theme ideas I wanted, in the end we just went with personalised things. So places we've been to on holiday together as our table names and pictures of us in those places. Colour wise, my favourite colour is pink, I wanted this to be subtle as not everyone likes pink. The colour scheme was also blue as that's what colour Alex's suit was. 

You picked the Southport & Birkdale Sports Club for your Wedding Reception, what made this the ideal venue for you?

We chose Southport and Birkdale Sports club as it was the perfect size, not to big not to small, nicely decorated, some of these big venues you go to look stunning on the outside, but then have god awful looking carpet where you have your function. But this was nice and simple and wouldn't clash with the ideas I had in my head. We loved the big windows looking out on to the cricket green. 

What song did you choose for your first dance and why that one?

We chose what would i do without you. We chose this as it's our song. It's a song from how I met your mother a programme we both love to watch over and over again. Alex one day said I like this song because it reminds me of you. 

From your gallery, which photograph made you smile the most and do you have a favourite from the day?

We love them all. The shot that makes us both smile the most are all of the confetti shots and they are some of our favourites

What advice or tips would you give couples planning their wedding?

We had a sweetheart table which was lovely we had our son sat in between us but it was still nice to watch everyone happily eating their food, whilst not having the pressure of a big table with lots of other people. 

Every wedding day has those unforgettable moments, what were your most memorable and best moments?

Getting to marry my best friend, walking in feeling the most beautiful I ever have, getting to see him again after spending the night away from each other, only communicating through our son running backwards and forwards between our rooms. 

How did you go about finding your suppliers for the day?

Our caters are based at Southport and Birkdale Sports club and we'd already looked at them for another venue we looked into so it seemed like a no brainier to go with them and they where amazing.

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