After a chance meeting at their local pub 10 years ago, Barnsley couple Nicole and Dale hit it off and got married on 9th July at Rogerthorpe Manor Hotel.
Nicole says, ‘I took the mickey out of him as he’s a body builder, I pretended to blow my arms up’. Dale obviously took a liking to Nicole as he bought her a drink and the pair got together soon after.
After a few years together, in 2018 when Dale had left the army, the couple went on the holiday of a lifetime to Las Vegas and stayed in the famous Bellagio hotel. This would be the backdrop for Dale’s romantic proposal.
‘He’s not the romantic type of person and you’re lucky if you get more than a few words out of him’, Nicole says. So when she found out Dale had booked out the whole top terrace of the Bellagio, and timed his proposal to happen when the famous water fountains went up, was amazing. Nicole said yes immediately and later found out that Dale had lost the engagement ring leading up to the proposal, but luckily found it just in time.
After their engagement, the couple began planning their wedding as soon as they got back from holiday.
After visiting Rogerthorpe Manor at one of their wedding fayres, Nicole and Dale quickly decided it was the venue for them and booked it for 28th August 2021. However thanks to covid, the wedding was postponed to 9th July 2022.
‘Dale was made redundant just as lockdown happened, and we didn’t want guests to wear masks, so we swapped it to the following year’, Nicole says.
With the venue booked, it was time to find the wedding dress. After an unfortunate shopping experience with another bridal retailer, Nicole visited Shelley at Tickled Pink Bridal who saved the day.
‘I’d already got all my bridesmaid dresses from Shelley, and she swapped my wedding dress for one in the right size and colour with the correct hoop. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know what I’d have done’, Nicole remembers.
She goes on to say, ‘My wedding wouldn’t have been how it was without Shelley at Tickled Pink; she helped me out massively with my dress. I can’t thank her enough.’
For the wedding theme, Nicole and Dale chose classical colours of creams and whites blended together.
The planning went pretty much without issue, aside from when the cake supplier told Nicole she was going bust 6 weeks before the wedding. However, a further 2 weeks later she’d managed to recover, and the couple had wedding cake pops instead of a traditional cake. Flavours included cherry bakewell, chocolate orange and chocolate fudge cake all arranged in a tiered style just like a wedding cake.
Nicole recalls a funny moment the night before the wedding involving her cousin. All nine bridesmaids were staying together in one of Rogerthorpe’s large pamper rooms, including Nicola’s cousin.
‘She does this singing thing in fake Spanish to make people laugh, so we’d be trying to go to sleep and all of a sudden she’d burst into song with a bit of opera’.
Finally the wedding day arrived and it all ran smoothly; ‘I was expecting everything to go wrong’, Nicole says, but it was a perfect day.
Nicole and Dale had an outdoor ceremony on a beautiful sunny day, with silk floral decorations in cream and white, matching with their classical colour scheme.
The couple were glad they chose not to get married abroad, as it meant both their grandparents could attend and be there for their special day.
When asked what advice she’d give other couples, Nicole said, ‘Enjoy the whole process; I was stressed most of the time but now the days come, it’s all panned out and not worth getting stressed over.’
We wish Nicole and Dale all the best and a wonderful happy marriage.
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Photographer: Hayley Kirk Photography
Dress: Tickled Pink
Bridesmaids dresses: Tickled Pink
Venue: Rogerthorpe Manor
Hairdresser: Kelly Collier and Ellie Arnold
Mua: Fiona Lockwood
Rings: Pandora and Warren James
Stationary: Debbie Barstow
Decor: Rogerthorpe Manor sorted
Groomsmen: Tickled Pink Entertainment: Amazing Live Singing Waiters
Cake: Mini Couture Cakes