Richard Shields and Lynsey O’Donnell were married at Burn Hall.

Photographer
Paul Eddom of Visual Image Photographic Services, with Keith Meadley as second camera.

How did you meet?
We met at secondary school, but lost touch with each other as Richard went to university. Six years after leaving school, we got back in touch through Friends Re-united when I was living and working in Portugal. In 2007, I returned to York and it didn’t take long for our friendship to progress.

What attracted you to him?
Rich and I were always very good friends at school. I still remember the first time I saw him when we got back in touch thinking, “Wow he’s changed!”, as he had matured into a tall, dark, good-looking guy. He has a fantastic sense of humor and always makes me feel special.

Where did he propose?
We had a barbecue with friends and family and later when we were alone, he asked me not to cry. I responded with, “Why, what film have you put on?”, expecting to hear that he had chosen the weepy DVD I had bought the day before. I turned around to find him on one knee, ring in hand. He proposed there and then in our home. Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep my promise of not crying.

The dress
Designed by Hilary Morgan from Perfect Day Bridal, in Malton (Formerly Sandra’s). The dress was a strapless ivory with a cathedral length train with sequins to give a bit of sparkle. I also wore an ivory faux fur shrug, which was hired from Perfect Day. My tiara, necklace and earrings were also bought from Perfect Day. My bridesmaids arranged for two bracelets which matched my necklace to be made as a surprise.

The Groom
Dark Blue Prince Edward suit with ivory waistcoat. The groom and best man wore ivory ruches, and the fathers of the bride and groom, ushers and page boy wore blue ruches from York Hire Wear.

Bridesmaids
My two bridesmaids, who were both old school friends, wore blue halter neck dresses with ivory faux fur jackets, all from Debenhams. Our niece and goddaughter wore dresses from the BHS wedding range.

Flowers
All the flowers at the wedding were a very realistic artificial option. My bouquet was bought from Country Baskets. It began as a simple tear drop arrangement of ivory roses, yet by the time my mum had worked her magic it had grown in size and had blue calla lilies, ivy and grasses. The bridesmaids’ ivory rose bouquets were also from Country Baskets. All bouquets also had clear and blue crystals and pearls to give them a little shine and blue ribbon to continue with the theme.

Transport
We had a fabulous Beauford to take me from my parents home to Burn Hall. Richard and I also went for a little drive after the ceremony. We also had a beautiful blue Jaguar XJ6 for my mum and the bridesmaids. Both cars were from Blue Sky Wedding travel.

Table décor
and favours Vases of ivory roses in blue water. Organza circles with traditional sugared almonds for the adults and organza bags filled with dolly mixture for the children. Perfect Day made both the three-tier fruit cake and two-tier chocolate sponge cakes.

Entertainment
A very good friend of ours is a member of the band Scooby, who played a variety of hits ranging from Bon Jovi to U2, Nickelback to AC/DC and Foo Fighters to Queen. They certainly rocked the evening and were enjoyed by all of our guests. Our first dance was a Bon Jovi song, You Had Me From Hello – we felt the lyrics suited us perfectly.

Honeymoon
We treated ourselves to ten days all-inclusive at the five-star Grand Palladium Riviera Resort and Spa on the Riviera Maya, Mexico.