.
.
.
When Richard Wynn Davies told me that he had a Real Wedding based on the bride’s love of Merlin to share with me, my mind boggled, but Leonnie and Mark’s big day is as far from themed as possible.
.
Instead of wizard hats and swords in stones (which actually could have been cool too, but perhaps not in keeping with the grand setting!) the bride drew influences from the things that she loves to put together an altogether classy and elegant wedding in the heart of North Yorkshire. Fit for a Knight and his Lady, wouldn’t you agree?
.
.
.
.
Let’s hear from Leonnie: We got engaged at Chester Zoo, on a cold rainy September day back in 2010, and were married on 19th November 2011 at Crathorne Hall Hotel, Yarm.
.
.
.
.
.
.
We chose Crathorne Hall after a long search of many other lovely venues. We chose the venue due to the lovely gardens and setting it provided for the day. We had 70 guests for the wedding breakfast, and spacious rooms Crathorne Hall had to offer was ideal for us to spend the whole day in the same place. We also had 21 rooms booked for our guests!
.
.
.
.
I’m a bit of a Merlin nut so the table plan was set up in a “Knights of the Round Table” style. Our colour theme was purple.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I carried a bouquet of flowers, white and purple, based on Lisianthus. We asked our florist – Greenhouse Florist, Ripon – for a ‘wild, garden picked’ style. They were lovely!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
My dress was from Confetti and Lace in Harrogate. It had a sweetheart neckline with some detail and corset body with an a-line skirt. (beautiful!). My bridesmaids wore purple sweetheart neckline fitted dresses from Debenhams, (ideal, and a bargain!). The boys’ suits were hired from Yorkshire Menswear.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
We had a live jazz band playing during the day, who played ‘Make you feel my love’ whilst we walked down the aisle. Later on in the day, we had a live band playing who kept the dance floor full all night!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Our cake was a 3 tier stacked madeira cake decorated with purple trim, spots and large white bows, from Sugarcrafted in Ripon.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Apart from the service itself, our favourite bit was dancing along to the live band – Sunshine Daze – with all our family and friends. It was a brilliant end to an amazing, special day.
.
.
.
.
.
.
After the wedding, we headed off to sunnier climes – Costa Teguise, Lanzarote.
.
.
.
.
My top tip for other Brides Up North would be to plan early. It’s amazing how quickly time goes by and you soon end up having to rush around making last minute arrangements. It’s also important to pick a great wedding photographer (we did!) as the photos are very precious memories of the day. We would also say make sure you take time during the day to stop, and have a few minutes to yourself to take it all in. You easily get caught up in the whirlwind of day and wonder where the day has gone. But above all, enjoy it!
.
.
Congratulations Leonnie & Mark! 
.
.
Want to share your Real Wedding memories with Brides Up North? Contact me
.
.
Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2012 Richard Wynn Davies
Richard Wynn Davies is a Brides Up North Featured Supplier, but this is not a sponsored post
Contact Brides Up North to submit your business as a Featured Supplier
.
.
