The story of the international wedding of Wayne and Cindy which we recently managed at the beautiful Carlton Towers in Yorkshire is going to take us way back, that far back in fact that the story begins before P4 Events was even incorporated.

For those of you who don’t know, my career path started out in a very different direction when I started at Myerscough college in 2002 embarking on a National Diploma in motorsport. I’ve always had a passion for cars and racing and my dream at that stage of my life was to work in the motorsport industry, managing the logistics of racing teams and the glamorous hospitality that sits alongside the track. At Myerscough was where I met Wayne and together we planned my very first event, a modified car show in 2004.

At the end of my diploma I went on to work for a leading public sector event management company before setting up P4 in 2006, but Wayne stayed on and completed his degree before joining a global logistics company and heading out to Hong Kong, little did he know the Asian continent would be his home for the foreseeable future and the place where he was to meet his future wife.

A blind date at a crossroads led to a whirlwind romance and only 12-months later as I flew out to Shanghai for fashion week, Wayne popped the question and Cindy said yes! To fill you in on the ‘better half’ (Wayne won’t thank me for that). Cindy is a fashion designer who studied at F.I.T in New York before going on to work for Alexander McQueen and finally setting up her own fashion brand in Shanghai which now has 29 concessions and a flagship store opening this year, along with offices in Beijing and New York.

So as you can imagine planning a wedding from over 5,500 miles away was always going to be a challenge and that’s when it’s handy to have a best man who’s also a wedding planner! As I’m used to working on mainly marquee events or at large scale corporate venues, we googled the top 10 wedding venues and with so many guests flying in from all over the world the only main requirement was to be near a major airport. After much research we decided on Carlton Towers and luckily they had a Saturday free which also tied in with the lunar calendar which was important to Cindy and Chinese traditions.

After visiting and creating many wedding venues myself it takes a lot to impress me, but as I drove through the gates and up the long winding drive, the pure size and impact Carlton Towers has was something very special and before even entering the venue i knew this would be the one! A virtual tour was created of the venue to send over to Wayne and Cindy as the venues wedding planner showed me around the grand state rooms and extremely impressive Baroness Tower Bridal Suite and with that the venue was booked.

Over the next 12-months we worked with all our usual trusted suppliers to make sure every detail of Wayne and Cindy’s day was perfect. From a statement cake for the state room from Slaterys, picture perfect floristry from the beautiful bouquets to clear Orchid plinths down the isle from Margaret Mason and not forgetting our fabulous band iParty providing the sound track for the day.

One great service offered by Carlton Towers is that if the venue isn’t booked the evening before your wedding, as long as you book a minimum number of rooms you can have full exclusivity of the venue to not only allow you to set up but also enjoy a delicious Champagne Supper with all your close friends and family. This started the wedding weekend on a high with everyone getting to know each other and enjoying a traditional Yorkshire dish of bangers and mash reared on the Carlton Towers estate before the girls headed off with our make up artist Natalie for a spot of pampering.

On the morning of the wedding our make up Natalie and hair dresser Bal Set to work enhancing Cindy and her bridesmaids beauty as Wayne and I put the finishing touches to the venue. Then it was time for a very special ceremony put together by our celebrant Sue. This aspect of the day was very important to Wayne and Cindy, ensuring both traditions were included to make it personal to them and their lives. You can read more about bespoke ceremonies on our blog post here. After a delicious meal and dancing the evening finished off with a sparkling silent firework display by Pyro2000 set to Cold Plays Sky Full of Stars.

Thanks again to all our fabulous suppliers who help ensure all our events look and perform perfectly and of course the Carlton Towers team for all your support and patience over both the planning and execution on the day. On behalf of myself and all the team, we wish Wayne and Cindy much happiness for the years to come and look forward to sharing many more memories with you.