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\u201cTry not to worry.\u201d That\u2019s the advice of this month\u2019s featured bride, Melissa Hull reflecting on the secret to planning a really successful wedding.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s good advice too, because some things just fall into place and work out for the best. Take the weather, for example. for the week running up to Melissa and fianc\u00e9 Aaron\u2019s wedding, thunderstorms were forecast, and fingernails were nibbled worrying about whether the weather would capitulate.<\/p>\n
The couple needn\u2019t have worried. Far from bringing thunderstorms, the couple\u2019s wedding day brought baking hot temperatures of 32\u00b0c when they married in July in Exton at Fort Henry.<\/p>\n
Melissa is from Rutland whilst Aaron is from Peterborough. The two met in the sixth form of King\u2019s School as young sweethearts and have been together ever since. Melissa is a motion capture engineer and Aaron works as a chemical engineer in the oil and gas industry. His work has seen him travel all over the UK before he was finally able to base himself permanently in Rutland.<\/p>\n
The couple got the keys to their first house shortly before Christmas and Melissa remarked that it would be nicer if they were engaged before moving in. The couple went away skiing in the new year and Aaron had planned a romantic mountainside proposal.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, that was scuppered when Melissa accidentally found the ring. Of course, she kept quiet about her discovery but a guilty face gave it away and Aaron guessed she\u2019d sussed out his plan! It didn\u2019t matter; on the final night of the holiday Aaron still managed to pull a phenomenal proposal out of the bag with a sparkly ring and breath-taking views over Mont Blanc!<\/p>\n
Wedding planning began in earnest and though Melissa and Aaron had never discussed potential wedding venues, both were familiar with the Exton Estate, where Melissa in particular had enjoyed many family dog walks and fun days out.<\/p>\n
Fort Henry, the estate\u2019s lakeside fishing folly, is managed by the adjacent Barnsdale Lodge hotel, and Melissa describes this as a marriage made in heaven. The hotel\u2019s staff, she says, can\u2019t do enough for their guests, with service that\u2019s professional and second to none. In the baking heat and with the couple having opted for an outside ceremony, the hotel ensured a plentiful supply of water and ice to keep guests cool.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first decision we made though was the photographer,\u201d says Melissa. \u201cRebekah was amazing and has captured some really lovely photographs of us all… not just the day itself but the atmosphere and the expressions and feel of our wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe decided we wanted her, and Fort Henry with a reception at Barnsdale Lodge, and from there we liaised with both to find a date that suited everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melissa found her dress, a fit-and-flare column gown by Essence, at RS Bridal Collection in Melton Mowbray. The groomsmen wore light grey which proved a sensible choice in the heat. Aaron\u2019s mum and dad were also conscious of the climate as they battled on to create a wonderful \u2018naked\u2019 wedding cake decorated with flowers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted an elegant but understated, wedding, classical but not too traditional, and above all, we wanted a really happy day celebrating with our friends and family.\u201d<\/p>\n
The couple followed their outdoor ceremony with a champagne and canap\u00e9 reception in the courtyard of Barnsdale Lodge, which would also be the reception venue.<\/p>\n
Following the wedding breakfast the guests enjoyed a party in the hotel\u2019s barn, with dance and am dram fan Melissa\u2019s friend Sarah Bell working secretly to create a flashmob dance at the reception to entertain guests.<\/p>\n
The couple\u2019s wedding flowers were by Colsterworth\u2019s Clare Banks, and included cream and red roses, dahlias, eucalyptus and herbs to provide a gentle scent in the bride\u2019s trailing bouquet. \u201cAaron and I are both in agreement that the best thing about the day was that first glimpse we caught of each other as I\u2008began to walk down the aisle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ceremony was absolutely perfect, we exchanged personal vows and as we did so there were butterflies fluttering all around the flowers, it was like something out of a movie; very magical!\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, magical should be a word that every couple uses to describe their day. Rather less magical, though, was the weather when the energetic couple opted to tackle the Three Peaks Challenge on their honeymoon.<\/p>\n
At Snowdon,\u00a0 Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis wind and rain made an energetic endeavour even more exhausting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll tackle it again for our first anniversary,\u201d says Melissa. \u201cAnd this time we hope we have better weather… though not as warm as it was on our wedding day…!\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Melissa and Aaron\u2019s Wedding Suppliers:<\/h3>\n
Wedding Ceremony & Reception:\u00a0<\/strong>Fort Henry and Barnsdale Lodge, Exton 01572 724678, www.barnsdalelodge.co.uk.<\/p>\n Wedding Dress:\u00a0<\/strong>RS Bridal, Melton Mowbray, 01664 668076.<\/p>\n Groom\u2019s Suits: <\/strong>Moss Bros, 0333 3206677, www.mossbroshire.co.uk.<\/p>\n Wedding Photographer:\u00a0<\/strong>Rebekah Robert Luxury Fine Art Photography, 07736 931496, www.rebekahrobert.com.<\/p>\n Wedding Video:\u00a0<\/strong>Zade Film, 07545 270496, www.zadefilm.co.uk.<\/p>\n Wedding Styling\/Accessories:\u00a0<\/strong>Lola Rose, 07944 655995, lolarose-venuedressing.co.uk<\/p>\n Flowers:\u00a0<\/strong>Clare Banks, 07816 028434, www.claresweddingflowers.co.uk.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This month\u2019s featured bride and groom were hoping the rain would hold off for their special day… and it did….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[88,86,51,87],"class_list":["post-374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-photography","tag-rebekah-robert","tag-wedding","tag-wedding-photograph"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=374"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":377,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374\/revisions\/377"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}