Non-Traditional Celtic Manor Resort Wedding & Disney Decor

Ready for the beautiful Celtic Manor Resort wedding of Michael and James in South Wales? Yep thought so! Their day was colourful and non-traditional with a wonderfully relaxed vibe.

They chose to marry at Celtic Manor Resort as Michael is Head of Event Sales at the venue, so using his experience it was the perfect spot to say I do. Teamed with James being a graphic designer, you can imagine their day was planned (and styled) to perfection.

I love how they incorporated Disney decor, in a grown-up vibe as well as how stylish they both looked. Then of course there was the colourful confetti and smoke bomb fun, hooray!

A big thank you to Michelle Huggleston for sharing these vibrant and very happy photographs with us.

Celtic Manor Resort Wedding

The Proposal

ROME!

James POV: After several months of planning, booking the perfect hotel with a rooftop bar etc, the day finally arrived to travel. The engagement ring had been meticulously hidden in a pair of socks (where else would you hide an engagement ring, right?) and the bags had been packed.

I made my way up the stairs shortly before we were leaving to find Michael with that exact pair of socks in his hands as he was repacking the suitcase (apparently it needed redoing). Safe to say the stress levels hit hard, but the engagement ring was luckily not discovered.

We arrived in Rome, and headed straight to the hotel, where I had planned to propose on the rooftop with a glass of bubbles. We got spruced up, and after 10 minutes of convincing Michael to put on a shirt (“we’re on holiday!” was my reason) we headed up to the rooftop. We walked out of the lift to find that somebody had enjoyed hours of photoshopping the landmarks and skyline considerably nearer to the hotel than they were, and we enjoyed scenic views of the neighbours washing lines. As you can imagine, plan B was set into motion from thereon.

I suggested heading to the Trevi fountain and Michael agreed, so we left the hotel. With proposal destination two in mind, I held the engagement ring box in my pocket to avoid getting found out through the streets of Rome, at a rather warm 29 degrees! Not ideal hands in pockets weather, but all still fine.

We arrived at the fountain and found a place to sit along the railings, and I figured it would be nice to throw a coin in the fountain for good luck – after all, that would be the perfect moment to make a wish and propose, right? Not so right, as I asked Michael if he had a coin, to which he replied that we obviously didn’t have any coins because we’d not purchased anything yet! I swiftly answered, “Well I’d prefer you didn’t, but you can throw this in if you want” and presented the engagement ring – to which Michael melted, got teary eyed and swiftly placed the ring on his finger and hugged me.

To this day, I don’t think he’s said yes. We went on to get some beautiful Italian pizza and a very large glass of wine for me! Honestly, it was pretty perfect – and a very us way to start our engagement!

The Vision

We knew that our biggest priority was having all of our family and friends together, with James’ family and friends being from Derbyshire and Cheltenham and Michael’s from South Wales, making a day that we could enjoy with everyone was key!

We knew we wanted lots of colour, some rustic elements, Disney-inspired centrepieces and knew that our venue would be The Celtic Manor Resort. As Michael is Head of Event Sales there, this was his opportunity to use his years of experience in hospitality to create something special in the venue he knew so well!

Budget

There was no definitive budget, but with a two-year engagement (that grew to three years) we had plenty of time to save and buy elements gradually, rather than break the bank in one swoop!

There were plenty of areas that we saved money with the help of our parents who created beautiful handcrafted paper flowers, hessian decorated candle jars, our pyramid cake stand and wooden bases for our centrepieces.

We also saved some money from James being a graphic designer and designing all of the print work, and the generosity of Michael’s boss, who helped make the day extra special.

The Ceremony & Music

The ceremony was beautiful. The sun was shining (in October!), and we had decorated the Rooftop terrace with trees, chivari chairs, beautiful floral jars, a white aisle runner and light-up rustic M & J letters.

We arrived before our guests and watched as they walked into the room – neither of us fancied wandering down the aisle!

The Venue

The venue was The Celtic Manor Resort, South Wales. We knew this would be the perfect place for us to get married, as we’d spent many weekends enjoying the beautiful hotel, and it is honestly the best location to accommodate any type of wedding, with so many different areas of the resort to choose from.

We got married on the BBQ Rooftop Terrace, but originally booked a different place in the resort to have our reception. After two postponements, we decided to tackle any COVID restrictions that may arise by hiring a marquee that we could make an outdoor venue if needed (which ultimately was the best decision we made).

Your Outfits

James: My outfit was actually purchased in the Topman Xmas sales in 2020. I knew I wanted a red suit, but the colour wasn’t particularly in style at the time, so when I saw it and they had the right size, it was truly meant to be! All in for £60 was not too shabby at all!

Your Photographer

Our photographer was the wonderful Michelle Huggleston! We set out with a clear idea that we wanted to make sure that we had the right photographer for our day. Neither of us are particularly the biggest fan of being in front of the camera, and we knew that we 100% wanted candid shots of all of our guests so we could see their experience of the day too.

We honestly could not have asked for a better photographer and we both agree that Michelle was just phenomenal. We laughed, joked, took our opportunities in the sun (and rain) throughout the day and have so many wonderful memories captured because of her beautiful work.

All of our guests commented on how wonderful she was, and that they had no idea that she’d taken shots of them (the candids really are gorgeous). We couldn’t recommend her enough!

The Styling & Decor

Our styling was bespoke to us. We knew that we wanted to create centrepieces that were Disney-themed but not childish, so we and our families hunted in the charity shops to curate items that looked like they could’ve come from the stories (in a real-life setting).

We re-covered books as a lot of the stands for the pieces to tie in a colour theme and added colourful confetti to add an extra burst of colour. Our cake was a gorgeous geometric style, designed by Alison at Centre Stage Cakes and covered by our beautiful bespoke cake pyramid stand.

Our gorgeous florals were wildflowers which added the beautiful natural tones and colours that we wanted. As two men getting married, we didn’t want too many traditional ‘pretty’ flowers, which Jordan and the team nailed. The floral hoop was a standout feature behind our cake which we LOVED!

All of the signage was designed by James and kept consistent through the different invitations, signage (print and video) and favours. We also re-lined James’ grandparents’ old suitcase with new paper to tie it into the theme and use as our card box.

The Honeymoon

Our honeymoon, as the wedding, got shifted and changed as the pandemic evolved. The day after the wedding, we headed to The Watergate Bay Hotel in Newquay, Cornwall, where we spent three days relaxing in a suite with two baths no less, overlooking Watergate Bay. It was absolute bliss to stop and reflect on the amazing lead-up and day that we had.

We later that week headed to Disneyland in Paris via London to honour our original honeymoon plans that were set for Disney World, Florida, that we’re finally getting to do in April this year! A big shout out to the London Cocktail Club, Liverpool Street which really looked after us whilst we were in London and made some lovely cocktails!

Memorable Moments

So many to choose from! The meal in The Olive Tree and cocktails in The Mulberry Bar with our nearest and dearest the night before, setting up with our family and friends the day before as the sun shone through the marquee windows, the beautiful ceremony!

We’ll always giggle when we think of drinks on the lawn, as just when we were all to move inside, the heavens opened and everyone rushed in. The timing couldn’t be more perfect, and it made use of the colour umbrellas that we’d bought that week (just in case). James’ parents got stranded the other side of the lawn, but with the help of one of our wonderful guests Jenks, they were safely delivered to the marquee!

The speeches that our best men and woman prepared were funny and beautifully heartfelt in equal measure.

Finally, our favourite moment was doing ‘The Time Warp’ with all of our family, friends and little nieces. There’s no better feeling than being around everyone you love and having a laugh and a boogie!

Advice For Other Couples

It’s your day together, so stay together! That way, your experiences will be shared. If you separate, you’ll come together and have two different versions of the day. Inevitably, you’ll get separated to do the odd shot of tequila, but make it your mission to get back to each other. You won’t regret it!