Lily and Matthew had an elegant winter wedding in East Yorkshire at Rise Hall, it was a beautiful day.
Lily and Matt’s wedding was held in late February and was a celebration of family. Staying at Rise Hall during their wedding made it so relaxed and this is reflective in the memories captured. Also the black and white colour scheme was classic and elegant. They had so much fun during their day!
Kate and Sam James’s stunningly romantic Spring wedding at Notley Abbey was simple yet unique. What makes this wedding special? We love the boho styling and romance that is shown so clearly in the photos.
Photographer: Samuel Docker
Florist: Daisy Ellen | Catering: Harper Weddings | Wedding Dress Designer: Jenny Packham | Bridesmaid Dress Provider: ASOS | Music: Guitarist – Park Life
Naomi and James had a beautifully rustic Spring wedding at Cain Manor. A firm favourite with the team who loved the rustic details and simple, but breathtaking style of photography at this wedding.
Florist: Allora Creations and Daisy Chain | Catering: Harper Weddings | Wedding Dress Designer: Stella York | Hairdresser: Charlotte Elizabeth | Music: Guitarist – John James Newman & Evening – Harper DJ| Entertainment: Magician – Rob James
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Clare and Natalie were still able to plan the wedding of their dreams. Their special day was a romantic elopement at Berwick Lodge in Bristol, a year after their engagement:
“We always dreamed that our wedding day would be intimate and cosy… Covid gave us a great excuse to achieve that by eloping!”
While the couple eloped just a year after their engagement, they met for the first time many years before:
“Clare was actually the one to propose, even though we’d openly chatted about it. THe day started with a mystery trip out, during which we visited various places we’d lived together… With the final stop being outside the school gates where we’d first met!”
“We wanted a venue with plenty of character, beautiful gardens and scrummy food… A quick search on Google for “elopement weddings” during lockdown found us this gem of a place!
“The simplicity of eloping was so appealing to us and the elopement package at Berwick Lodge included everything we wanted, making it stress-free!”
Finding dresses to suit the natural, elegant style they were after didn’t mean breaking the bank either. Instead of going bespoke, Clare and Natalie hit the highstreet — and ended up looking absolutely fantastic!
“We always knew we weren’t going to go for traditional white wedding dresses so hitting the high street was perfect for us. As it turns out, we were spoilt for choice so we would definitely recommend doing the same to others!”
Holding beautiful bouquets of white flowers picked from Berwick Lodge‘s very own gardens, the newly married couple walked out with beaming smiles.
Clare and Natalie were thrilled with Berwick Lodge, which “provided such a beautiful backdrop for [their] photographs.” They gave special thanks to their hair and makeup artist, Maria Lucas MUA, and their photographer, Christy Blanch Photography: “We absolutely love the photos by Christy! We’re so pleased with them – they’re amazing!”
So what advice do Clare and Natalie have for couples planning a wedding during a pandemic?
“Remind yourselves that it’s all about just the two of you. We found it easiest to focus solely on us and to choose the things that were important to us. Local suppliers were great as it was easy and quicker to make decisions.”
There’s one more thing Clare and Natalie would recommend to any couples in the South West (pandemic or no pandemic!):
“One big tip – choose an elopement package at Berwick Lodge!”
Faye Hughes, the Head of Oxleaze Barn wedding venue recently got married, COVID-19 style. Here is Faye’s story about her wonderful COVID-19 style wedding.
7 days – What shall we do? A bottle of Moet for two.
A wedding planner planning their own wedding – simple? Yes, until the unplannable happens. Having to re-think your wedding an uncountable amount of times the week before due to a global pandemic slowly shutting everything down around you!
We had a romantic unexpected (for me!) proposal at the confetti fields in Pershore in June 2019 (the height of wedding season – that’s how to catch a wedding planner off guard!). Plans quickly started coming together (the guest list was written that same afternoon!) and like all excited newly engaged couples they started to pay deposits and book in their suppliers, Pinterest boards and amazon ordering a plenty!
Nothing unusual until the week before our wedding in March 2020. Like something from a Craig David song it went like this:
Honeymoon cancelled on Sunday
International friends cancelled on Monday
High risk family cancelled on Tuesday
We were down to 20 by Wednesday
Even less on Thursday and Friday were down to 5
But we married on SATURDAY!
From 120 guests attending a church ceremony followed by a reception at Oxleaze Barn to 5 guests (including us and the vicar) how is anyone supposed to choose between parents? Having had things slowly stripped away we had numerous conversations after Boris’ 5pm briefing – do we just pull the plug?
For us, it became clear it wasn’t about the party anymore or guests lining the pathway from the church launching confetti. It was about us marrying. We had accepted by Wednesday evening that this wasn’t going to be the wedding we had planned. Any there was nobody to blame for this, it’s simply bad luck. So, at this point what felt important was taking control.
One of the biggest parts of getting married for me was having my dad give me away, for Adam’s best man, Will stepped in so he didn’t have to choose between parents. So, that was our 5.
Once you’ve accepted it and taken control you have to enjoy it! There was no point in going ahead if we were going to mope around so in comes Georgie of Georgina Rose Events to help us test lots of apps and services for live streaming the ceremony to our guests. Georgie went of a secret mission to deliver our wedding champagne to as many local people as possible and we wrote to everyone encouraging them to put their gladrags on and celebrate with us – virtually!
I’ve always worried that the professional photography aspect of our wedding would make it feel more staged, but instead – it made our marriage a wedding! Marcus made us feel like every other couple he has photographed, like nothing was different even though our couples photos were in a public park and he wasn’t allowed in the church unless the best man was out of it!
After our photos, Adam had surprised me buy hiring a Tesla to drive off to the countryside in. We had 2 peaceful days at Thyme before lockdown hit. Our wedding evening was spent video calling our family, drinking lots of champagne and refusing to take off our wedding outfits!
Our Wedding Advice to couples
Our advice to couples deciding whether to change their plans now for weddings this year… Have an honest conversation between you and your fiancé, what is important to you?
There are a number of scenarios depending on the type of ceremony and the type of venue that you were planning for. You have to accept that your wedding won’t be the same, you may have to compromise on your wedding date which in turn means your bridesmaids dresses might not be normal for that season – OH WELL! Does this really matter?
At your fingertips there are hundreds of suppliers who are itching to express their creativity and have tricks and tips on how to adapt things affordably. If you are determined to have a summer wedding, this may cost more and that’s where only you know what matters to you as a couple. If It’s worth the money, do it and enjoy it but it’s ok to decide that a cheaper February wedding would still have the same meaning for you.
Take advice from your suppliers and accept that you aren’t going to be able to cast blame on this situation, but you will have one heck of a story at the end of it!
With huge thanks to the suppliers who made us feel like a Bride and Groom:
Flowers: corkyandprince
Photography: Bigeyephoto
Wedding coordination: Georgina.rose.events
Makeup: amyhickeymakeup
Hair: rhysjoneshair
Church: St Mary’s Church Charlton Kings
Couples photo location: Pittville Park, Cheltenham
Have a look at some more beautiful real weddings here:
Yasmine and Matt held their gorgeous wedding at the enchanting Cantley House Hotel in Berkshire. The intimate ceremony was followed by photos in the lush green grounds and dancing until the early hours. A truly wonderful day!
South East | Berkshire | Wokingham | Spring | Rustic | DIY | Vintage | Pink | Cream | Country House
Congratulations to Yasmine and Matt on your gorgeous country wedding and a massive thank you to Ivory Haze for sharing your beautiful artistic shots from the day.
Kerry and Chris said their vows in a gorgeous rustic barn in Leicestershire, decorated with petals and wild flowers in glass jars. The ceremony was followed by a movie-themed wedding breakfast with pick and mix favours in old-fashioned paper bags, a truly quirky touch.
Midlands | Leicestershire | Spring | Rustic | Country | Pink | Barn
A huge congratulations to Kerry and Chris on your beautiful wedding day and a massive thank you to Kayleigh Pope for sharing your beautiful photographs from the day.
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More beautiful wedding inspiration:
Gemma & Andy in Yorkshire (Converse + Garden Games)
A truly stunning spring wedding set in the rolling countryside surrounding Belfast. Stacey and Stephen had a rustic theme to their big day with decorated bicycles, floral umbrellas and wooden place names. It was a wonderfully individual from start to finish.
A massive congratulations to Stacey and Stephen on your gorgeous rustic country wedding and a huge thank you to Denise Leacock for sharing your stunning photos.
This whimsical couple knows how to throw a great party! With the bride in a Native-American headdress, and David Hasselhoff on the table decorations, this was sure to be a memorable wedding for all headpiece-wearing guests in attendance!
South West | Devon | Hittisleigh | Spring | Boho | DIY | Outdoor | White | Orange | Barn
Notes from the photographer:
“Emer and Adam celebrated in style at The Oak Barn, Hittisleigh, in Devon. Headwear was compulsory, with guests wearing a fantastic variety of decoration, including antlers, a party hat, a sombrero and a fez. It was a wonderful, fun-filled day, and I loved the big white balloons decorating the venue, inside and out. Emer wore a stunning vintage Pierre Cardin dress, along with a range of different headwear throughout the day. I think my favourite part was when Adam and Emer donned their crowns during the meal! The Oak Barn was the perfect setting for the relaxed celebrations, with everyone enjoying the sunshine through the beautiful gardens, paper lanterns hanging from the oak tree and a bell tent for the children to use.”
Congratulations Emer & Adam and thank you Helen Lisk Photography for letting us share these beautiful photographs.
Moo met Mengyuan while travelling through China, and love quickly started to work its magic… A little while later, Mengyuan decided to move over the UK to be with Moo – and they’ve never looked back! Just a few years later, Moo and Mengyuan married at the wonderful Matara Centre, “a place of beauty and tranquility.”
Mengyuan’s family made the long journey from China to the UK for the wedding, where they met Moo’s family for the first time. On the day, Moo and Mengyuan fused English and Chinese wedding traditions in a ceremony that reflected both their cultures. Not only did Mengyuan handmake hundreds of paper cranes, but a traditional Chinese tea ceremony was performed shortly after the western ceremony. The bride and groom presented tea to both sets of parents in exchange for small gifts, welcoming their new in-laws into their family.
Congratulations, Moo & Mengyuan! And thank you, Boy Called Ben Photography, for letting us share these beautiful photographs to help remember a very special day!
A wedding set in the beautiful surroundings of Poole Harbour, Latifah and Ryan said their nuptials outside in front of their nearest and dearest. The ceremony was followed by the reception at Salterns Harbourside Hotel which was decorated with classic navy blue and white details.
South West | Dorset | Poole | Spring | Coastal | Classic | Navy | White | Hotel
Congratulations to Latifah and Ryan on your recent wedding and a massive thank you to Jennie Franklin for capturing the day so beautifully and sharing your photos with us.
Love was the in the air and on the dance floor at this beautiful wedding! We loved the vibrant blue and orange running throughout from the groom’s suits to the table decorations. Such a creative couple!
Season: Spring | Styles: Classic, DIY | Colours: Blue, Orange
Words from the couple:
“Our wedding day was on the 18th April at Holdsworth House, a beautiful Jacobean Manor House in Halifax. We chose the venue because it had a great reputation for food and the setting and the grounds were really pretty. We had everything crossed in the run up to the big day for sunshine, luckily it turned out to be one of the warmest days of the year so we were able to have our drinks reception outside and our guests played croquet on the lawn whilst we had out photos taken.
We knew that photography and our choice of photographer would be one of the most important decisions we had to make, Andy and I both work in the the creative industry and had a very strong idea of the photography style we wanted, James and Lianne’s relaxed style matched what we were looking for perfectly and the photos were more amazing than we could have asked for.
After trying on what felt like 1000 dresses-but was actually more like 30-I finally found ‘the one’-Francesca by Maggie Sottero. The lovely ladies at Angel Brides persuaded me to try it on. Initially I wasn’t sure about it because it wasn’t what I pictured in my head, how wrong I was! Before the dress was fastened properly I knew that I couldn’t get married in any other dress it was so beautiful! I accessorised with a Richard Designs headdress and wrist cuff, Kurt Geiger heels for the day and in the evening I changed into my customised Converse trainers. My hair and makeup on the day was done by Kathyrn Hurl. I knew that I wanted a relaxed loose bun so that I could have my hair up off my back to show off my dress but without feeling too ‘done’-Kathryn knew exactly what I wanted and also managed to hide the fact that I had about 3 hours sleep the night before!
Andy tends to wear jeans and trainers to work so he really wanted a tailored suit with some unique design touches, but something he could still wear again. We went to Michelsberg Tailoring in the Leeds Victoria Quarter and James truly delivered on Andy’s brief, the suit was beautifully made and fitted with all the individual touches that Andy wanted. He wore it with Oliver Sweeney shoes and a Paul Smith pocket square.
Our adult bridesmaids wore coral gowns from the Dessy collection and the men wore suits from Next in a matching colour material to Andy’s suit. Our flowergirl wore a dress from BHS and out page boy had a suite from Matalan and a Ted Baker tie- they absolutely stole the show!
A lot of our decorations were home-made. Andy is a graphic designer so he designed all of our stationery and organised the printing. We made our table plan and photoboards from old picture frames, a friend made the bunting and I spent weeks decorating jam jars and luggage tags for our tables, it was a lot of hard work but it was totally worth it to have a day that really felt like our own. Lynne from Stem Designs filled my jam jars with beautiful white blooms and created relaxed hand-tied bouquets for me and the bridesmaids. We say Typical Type’s Big Love at a wedding fayre very early in the planning stages and I fell in love with it and decided there and then that whatever our wedding looked like, that would be a big part of it. In the end we built our wedding around it and it looked great both during the ceremony and at the evening reception!
The whole day was everything that we’d wanted it to be and more-planning it together meant that we had a day that reflected both of our personalities- I still look at the photos at least once a week and wish we could go back and do it all again!”
Congratulations Gemma & Andy and thank you James & Lianne Photography for letting us share these beautiful photographs to help remember their wedding l day!
