CHARLOTTE AND SHANNON'S HARRY POTTER & UNICORN QUIRKY WEDDING

Do you like Harry Potter and unicorns? And gorgeous rainbow petticoat dresses? Keep scrolling then!

TELL US THE STORY OF HOW YOU MET

We both knew of each other 7 years ago through a mutual friend, then 3 years ago our paths crossed over social media and we started chatting and things took off from there.

NOW ABOUT THE BIG DAY! WHAT WAS THE THEME AND INSPIRATION?

Our big day! Well we didn’t really have a theme in mind we just found random things we liked and threw them together, we knew we wanted to include Harry Potter and unicorn themes are they are things we really love, we also knew we wanted to have it a bit quirky and against the grain. The day was simple, we opted for a later wedding so we could have a lie in, we had a 50/50 mix of DIY and hiring people to provide things.

TELL US ABOUT THE CEREMONY AND RECEPTION LOCATIONS. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THE VENUE AND WHAT DID YOU LIKE ABOUT IT?

We chose the location as it was close to where we live, also when we met with the wedding organiser at the hotel she was so enthusiastic about our wedding and so enthusiastic about Gay rights ETC we felt really welcome there. We could also take pictures on the roof of the building which was a massive selling point.

YOUR OUTFITS

I (Charlotte) chose Legend Bridal Design for my dress after going round several dress shops and struggling to find the right dress. Then as soon as I walked in and saw a curvy tattooed bright colour haired lady and knew I was in the right place. I chose to get a dress made from scratch incorporating sparkles and unicorn colours. We also chose some traditional decorations and flowers so we had a nice mixture of traditional, vintage and unique twists, with colourful blue Irregular Choice heels.

Shannon wore a more understated Burgundy suit from Marc Darcy, with matching Burgundy shoes from red or dead.

Our bridesmaids wore navy velvet dresses from M&S with little black pumps and odd socks, and our main men then wore matching navy suits.

FLOWERS, DECORATIONS, DID YOU DO ANY DIY?

Charlotte got a beautiful vintage bouquet with brooches on in, and Shannon got orange button hole with a small Harry Potter emblem on it. We wanted to keep them simple and autumnal. Our bridesmaids had matching autumnal bouquets which we made ourselves.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER

We met our photographer at a wedding fair and he seemed really chilled and laid back. We wanted the day to be nice and relaxed and he seemed like he would just blend into the background and not be too noticeable. He also had a really great idea about pictures and keeping everything natural and in the moment pictures.

STATIONERY

Our wedding stationery we made ourselves – spent an entire afternoon gluing and sticking buttons onto bags with glitter, we made sure every single bag was different the stuffed them full of sweeties. We also used buttons on our place cards for everyone.

We also had a table for our family members who had passed away this was really important that we could have them there on our special day.

CAKE

Our cake was one of our favourite ideas, we had an amazing mash up of unicorns and Harry Potter and it also tasted amazing which was a bonus.

WHAT WAS THE ENTERTAINMENT?

We got our DJ through the wedding venue as part of our package. We had lots of song suggestions and they were very good at involving everyone and trying to get people up dancing. We also had song suggestion cards on the night so everyone could make recommendations of their own.

WHAT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT AND MOST FUN PART FOR YOU? WOULD YOU HAVE ANY PIECE OF ADVICE FOR COUPLES PLANNING THEIR WEDDING?

Our advice for any couple would be to get a good spreadsheet and get organised, have everything in one place and have a plan for when everything needs to be paid. This will take away so many potential stresses in the process, so then you can both enjoy the process of planning your wedding.

Our important part was to make sure we both had our say and that we could include everything from our family.

SUPPLIERS

Venue: McDonald Hotel Manchester
Celebrant: Manchester council
Photography: Craig Probert Photography
Dress: Legend Bridal Design LTD
Suit: Marc Darcy
Bridesmaid dresses: M&S
Shoes: Irregular Choice, Red or Dead
Accessories: Tiara was made by a family friend, pearl neckless was Charlotte’s Grandma’s,
Hair: Jodie Bennet
Make up: Emma Smith
Flowers: Bides bouquet by Love is Vintage, Bridesmaids bouquet was DIY.
Decorations: DIY
Stationery: DIY
Cake: Sweet Chic
Wedding rings: H.M Samuels