Georgia and Alex had a glamorous wedding at Woodhill Hall

A man and woman kissing in a light-filled room decorated with flowers

Georgia and Alex met at school. "I’d always known of him, the loud, confident lad two years above me," says Georgia. "I, on the other hand, was quiet and had a small group of friends, so I wasn't on his radar until September 2011 (or so I thought). We had a mutual friend who was celebrating their 18th birthday party and we were both invited. We started to speak for the first time that night and we shared a kiss! He made lots of effort after that to meet up and continue to see me, but I wasn't so keen to begin with. We started to speak properly again in February, and in March 2012, we became ‘official’ and have been together ever since. What I later found out was that Alex had noticed me a month or so before the party, and he’d been trying to look for me on Facebook or trying to describe me to his friends! So that night he saw me at the party; he was over the moon; he had finally ‘found’ me after having no luck. We have grown up together and are best friends."

Alex proposed in August 2020. "We had been living in our home for a couple of years and had spoken about getting married, but it was most definitely a surprise," shares the bride. "We’d had a bit of a rubbish year, as a lot of people had with COVID; we had lost grandparents and had a lot of uncertainty with jobs. So to finally have some good and happy news to share was so nice! He had told me he had put aside a bit of money from his new job to take us away for the night, and it was his treat. This wasn’t unusual for Alex to plan last-minute nights away or trips like this pre-COVID, so I just thought it was a lovely break for us and didn't think anything else of it! We arrived at the Lodore Falls Hotel & Spa in Keswick and spent the afternoon in their outdoor spa, which was amazing! We had plans to get ready, head into Keswick for a couple of drinks and then return to the hotel for our meal. We were staying in the amazing spa apartments directly above the spa pool. I remember thinking, Wow, this is posh! After getting ready, he called me into the sitting room to finish off our drinks so we could get going, but when I walked down the corridor and finally saw him, he was in the middle of the room on one knee! I can just remember everything being silent, and we kind of just stared at each other for a split second (my mouth on the floor), and he had already started tearing up! It was such an amazing, intimate moment that will live in my brain forever. It wasn’t recorded; no one knew he was doing it besides our parents, and after we had some time to take it all in, we started to call everyone to share our news! It was so special, and I just felt like I was in a complete bubble for days after!"

Read on to see some of Georgia's favourite moments from their big day...

Images courtesy of Lauren Stacey Photography

A bride and groom standing in front of a house with lots of windows

Everything about Woodhill Hall was magical. From the moment we slowly took the drive up the tree-lined driveway to exploring all of the different parts of the venue, we came away from it knowing it was the one for us. We wanted to make the most of our day with our closest friends and family, and we loved that at Woodhill Hall you could have exclusive access to the whole venue not only for the wedding day but also the afternoon and night before! All of our residential guests were able to settle in, and it gave everyone a chance to wind down in time for the next day!

A round table with a white table cloth and lots of flowers

We worried about favours being left on tables and being unappreciated, so we ended up giving each guest a classic Ferrero Rocher. All of them were eaten, and it cost us next to nothing!

For our centrepieces, we booked Made Simply Perfect and told them we wanted a simple and elegant look, and they did an amazing job listening to us and helping us. We ended up going for simple water-filled glass cylinders with tea lights, some green foliage, and brushed gold candle sticks.

A bride adn groom standing underneath a floral chandelier

Made Simply Perfect helped us create the perfect flowers. We wanted whites and natural colours that matched The Olive House's permanent foliage that hangs from its ceiling. We had my bouquet, the bridesmaids' posies, and the groomsmen's buttonholes matching. We also had a 5-foot and a 2-foot piece created from the same flowers and foliage for the mantle piece during the ceremony. We later reused these pieces to frame our top table. After the wedding, we split them and placed them on our grandparents graves which was a lovely touch after the wedding.

Bake for the Soul created our cake; they were amazing! We chose a two-tier simple white-frosted cake with pearl detail. The top tier was chocolate, and the bottom tier was vanilla sponge with raspberry jam - both our favorites! Once this was cut, we shared it out with our evening guests; it went down a complete treat! We bought our cake topper from Amazon; it was foliage in the shape of a heart, and it matched the foliage we'd used throughout the day. Milo, our little Jack Russell, also made an appearance, as we got a little figure of him standing by the cake!

I wore an Evie Young dress called Oakley. I purchased it from Sisters of Grace Bridal. I loved how simple and classy the style was, as well as having a bit of sparkle and glam! I was debating whether to have a veil, but my seamstress at Diva Designs for You suggested I have a cape made. I thought it sounded very dramatic at first, but when she showed me how delicate it could be and how I would be able to remove it at night to transform the dress, I just loved it! I paired this with sparkly earrings, a pendant necklace, and ivory shoes.

Several men in tuxes and women in dresses posing for the camera

Alex and his groomsmen wore tuxes from Moss and my bridesmaids all wore beautiful blue dresses from ASOS. They accessorised with silver and pearl accessories.

A bride and groom laughing together at the aisle

We hired Bride and Groove to provide music from the pre-ceremony all the way into the evening! We chose our playlists, and they did the rest.

A bride and groom dancing with their dog in between them

We added a saxophonist and a percussionist to play for the last part of the evening, which was amazing! We also hired the North East Magician, who was fantastic, and people were talking about him long after he stole their rings and watches from under their noses! AG Events Ltd. supplied our 360 video stand, selfie pod and accessories, which was amazing, and it let the guests put their pictures in a guest book for us!

A group of people doing the conga outside

One thing we did not expect at all was that, in between our mains and desserts, a poor waiter fell to the floor! Everyone helped him up, and before you knew it, he and another waiter started singing their heads off and had everyone waving napkins around their heads and doing the conga around the outside of the venue. We had absolutely no idea this was going to happen, and Alex's mam and dad had organised the singing waiters as a surprise! It got everyone in the mood for a good dance in the evening!

A bride and groom kissing while their friends throw confetti over them

I felt a bit nervous and was keen to get going in the morning! Our ceremony wasn't until 1pm but we had been up so early for the hairdresser and make-up artist! I couldn't even eat breakfast! But once I saw Alex walking down the aisle, I felt at ease and just took in every second! Alex was teary-eyed in the ceremony itself, and I'm always known as the emotional cryer of the friendship group, so I think everyone expected me to cry coming down the aisle, but I managed to hold back the tears until it was just me and him in the courtyard after the ceremony with our first drink!

A close up of a bride and groom kissing in the woods

Alex kept saying 'imperfection is perfection' which was so true because any little things that didn't go to plan just became part of the day and made it what it was! One of them was my cape getting stuck on the ground as we left their ceremony! It nearly gave me whiplash!

My uncle Tom, my auntie Moira's partner, has been in my life forever. He was very close friends with my dad, whom I unfortunately lost when I was young. Having been to friends' weddings and watching the special father-daughter moments, it was always something I'd come to terms with that I'd not have myself. I'd asked him to walk me down the aisle, but what I didn't expect at all was a speech, especially not the fantastic one my uncle Tom gave. He's quite quiet but does have a funny sense of humour and always comes out with one-liners, but wow. His speech had everyone in tears of laughter! He still managed to do all of this while giving a special mention to those who couldn't be with us, including my dad. It was such a special moment for me.

For our honeymoon, we travelled to Mexico for 10 nights. It was incredible! There were so many nice restaurants and wildlife. We also went to a zipline park and did that above the jungle, which was so good! It was the perfect way to relax after the busy few weeks!

A bride and groom holding a bottle of drink in front of a blue building

Our top tip for any couple about to get married is to take everything in; make sure you're spending time together and that you're not just off chatting to people all night and don't even see each other! It's your day! Imperfection is perfection! If something were to go wrong on the day, try not to dwell on it because life isn't always a Pinterest board! Just take it all in stride and enjoy everything!