It all happened a year later than originally planned, but Maxine and David finally got their festive themed dream wedding day with family & friends at Wortley Hall on 19th December 2021.
Maxine and David Harrison live with their two children, Kaden aged 10 and Dollie aged 5 in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.
The pair both met when they were out with friends as teenagers; David openly admitted to following Maxine and her friends (totally innocent) while out with his friends. He finally plucked up the courage to ask her out and the pair have been in each others’ pockets ever since.
It was in 2016 on a babymoon to Waterton Park Hotel that David asked Maxine to marry him. ‘We went to La Fortezza for dinner and he proposed back at the hotel that night. I started crying and asked if he was joking because he always is’, Maxine recalls.
Obviously she said yes!
With busy work lives, and then the arrival of their daughter Dollie, the wedding planning took a back seat for a little while.
However in August 2019, Maxine and David made a start on their wedding planning and booked Wortley Hall Hotel in Sheffield for a winter wedding in December 2020.
‘When we visited Wortley Hall, it was beautiful and grand and had the exact style we were looking for’, Maxine said.
At the start of 2020, almost everything was booked and paid for, but the pandemic put a strain on things and the couple had to postpone their special day by a year to get the wedding they’d dreamed of.
‘I was worried about postponing, but the pandemic showed no signs of large gatherings being allowed, so I just viewed it as an opportunity to have more time planning what we wanted and luckily our venue and all our suppliers accommodated the date change.’
So with a new date of 19th December 2021, everything was ready, new invites had been sent out and Maxine and David just had to wait.
David had gotten particularly close to Maxine’s dad throughout their relationship, building on a common interest in cooking and they would spend hours putting the world to rights into the early hours.
So when Maxine’s dad passed away in early 2019, it knocked the family for six.
So as a special heartwarming touch, Maxine asked her uncle Afi (her dad’s younger brother) to walk her down the aisle in her dad’s place. Of course he said yes and was over joyed to be doing this in memory of his brother.
As the wedding was around Christmas time, the theme was very festive, with accents such as christmas tree aisle runners, pinecone table names and winter foliage in the bouquets. The colour scheme was Burgundy and Rose Gold, which fit with the festive theme.
The night before the wedding, Maxine, her mum and her bridesmaids all stayed together at Wortley Hall and had a McDonalds dinner washed down with prosecco and lots of laughter.
Then it was an early 6am start the next morning for hair and makeup on six bridesmaids, the mother of the bride and of course the bride herself. David also dropped their daughter Dollie off so she could get ready with Maxine for the wedding.
Bridesmaids wore flowing burgundy gowns with burgundy accents in their bouquets and the bride wore a stunning gown with crystal embroidered bodice and satin A-line skirt, complete with diamante tiara supplied by Rubys Adorables.
The couple had their ceremony and then sat down to a three course wedding breakfast with all their guests. The meal was a tomato soup starter, beef dinner and strawberry cheesecake for dessert, with ice cream for the children.
During the speeches, bridesmaids received beautiful gifts of Pandora Bauble Charms and Groomsmen received personalised hip flasks of whisky/vodka and cigars.
A particularly wonderful gift was a crystal engraved ornament from Crystal Amaze in Meadowhall which Maxine and David gave to Afi. The laser engraving was an image of Afi with Maxine’s dad in a brotherly embrace and was a truly touching moment for everyone.
The evening wedding reception featured some fabulous additional scent including a sweet cart, blanket box and toy treasure chest to keep the children entertained.
‘There had been lots of lockdown babies, so we made sure to cater for the children’, Maxine remembers.
The couple also had a Magic Mirror from Snap Your Moment which went down really well with the guests.
As some of Maxine’s ice of the family are Pakistani, the music was a big deal at the reception. Helped by some of the guests and Spotify, the DJ played bhangra for most of the night and everyone got up dancing together, creating a real party atmosphere.
The morning after Maxine remembers saying to everyone, ‘That was easily the best day of my life’.
It was certainly a day worth waiting for, and we wish Maxine and David and Eternity of happiness.
Featured Suppliers
Venue: Wortley Hall
Photography, Videography & LOVE Letters: Flash Photography
Magic Mirror: Snap Your Moment
Stairs Dressing & Ceremony & dining Chair Covers, uplighters for Ballroom: Glamourpuss Weddings
Evening Chair Covers: Chappel2Venues
Makeup Artist: Lauren Vickers Makeup
Cake: Danielle Grange – Cakes by Danielle
Bridal bouquet and Cake flowers: Andrea Grantham at Fabulous Flowers, Barnsley
On the Day Stationery: Wilson Design House, Barnsley
Grooms Suits: Moss Bros
Hair: Hair by Becca B at Bentleys Hair Salon and Hannah Spearing Hair at Rapunzels Hair in Crowle
Bridesmaid Gifts: Pandora
Bridesmaid Dressing Gowns: Occasion Gifts and Accessories
Wedding Rings: Groom – family heirloom, Bride – H Samuel
Décor: Done by Mother of the Bride
Wedding Singer: Thomas Sealey Music
DJ: Wortley Hall’s own DJ
Wedding Dress: §
Bridal Tiara and Jewellery: Ruby’s Adorables
Seamstress for alterations: Gail Preece