By Emma Morley

Last updated at 14:35, Thursday, 10 April 2008

When cake-maker Anne Todd got married it was inevitable that the wedding cake would have to be her own creation, but she left it to fiancé Mark Thompson to come up with the details.

Let us eat cake! Clockwise from top left, Mark, left, and his brother and best man Stuart are in trouble after moving the cake made by Anne; Anne and Mark sign the register; the guests smile for the camera outside Moresby Hall

Anne, 39, and Mark, 29, got married at Moresby Hall, near Whitehaven, on November 3, 2007 followed by an evening reception at Lowca Rugby Club.

Anne runs Holly Anne’s Cakes while Mark is manager of Aldi in Workington. The pair, who live in Parton, first met as friends, becoming a couple in 2001.

They got engaged in 2003, but it wasn’t until last August that they decided to set a date for the big day.

It was seeing a wedding outfit for a child at a wedding fair that prompted Anne to start thinking about her own wedding. Mark’s brother Simon, who lives in Australia, was due to come over for a visit in November so Anne thought this would be the ideal time.

Anne, originally from Parton, said: “I saw a little suit and I thought it would be perfect for my two-year-old son Max.

“We knew Simon was coming over so we thought it would be a good time to get married.

“We wanted to get married quickly and Mark wanted Simon to be his best man – he hadn’t been over for four years.”

They chose Moresby Hall near Whitehaven as the venue.

Anne said: “It is an old building and we fell in love with it as soon as we saw it. It is close to where we live as well so it was handy.

“It is known locally as a haunted house but we didn’t experience anything unusual while we were there.”

The ceremony and wedding breakfast was an intimate affair, with 32 guests and eight children attending, with Jane Saxon, of Moresby Hall, serving up a traditional fare.

Sons Max, two, and Luke, 16, walked down the aisle in front of Anne, who was given away by her father Cecil.

The wedding cake was made by Anne, who set up Holly Anne’s Cakes last year, and she asked Mark, originally from Egremont, to decide on the design. He chose a six-tier, black and white cake, putting Anne’s cake-making skills to the test.

“It was a grand cake and the flowers on it gave it a velvety appearance,” said Anne. “There was a lot of work involved but I think the final result was worth the hard work.

“As a joke, when the speeches were being made, Mark’s best friend John Johnston gave him a piece of paper and said it was the bill for the cake. It was actually the notes for his speech.”

Anne wore a halter-neck, Victorian-style dress from Dresses and Dreams in Workington.

Rachael Parry, of Angel Soo, provided the wedding invitations, table names, favours and guest book.

Anne’s bouquet incorporated her late mother’s pearls, which were tied round it.

Following the ceremony, guests enjoyed a glass of mulled wine followed by champagne.

“Even though it was November we had good weather on the day,” said Anne. “Everything just seemed to fall into place.”

Friend Michelle Gilmore had organised a special present for Anne and Mark. Anne said: “We have appeared in local papers quite a few times and so she had a front cover of a newspaper created for us. It had stories about our wedding and my business. It was a real surprise and made us laugh.”

The couple spent their honeymoon in London.

First published at 21:19, Wednesday, 09 April 2008
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk