Lisa says: We got engaged in April 2011 at Alpsee Lake, Bavaria, Germany by the Neuschwanstein Castle. It is the castle that Disneyland’s Cinderella Castle is based on.
We had a Medieval themed wedding. All the wedding guests were invited to wear Medieval attire to suit the theme of the wedding.
Our wedding date was Saturday 20th July 2013. We got married at Escrick Park, Escrick, near York, using Papakata tents. We wanted an outdoor wedding and Escrick Park has a huge estate that we were able to book out for the full weekend for a really good price. We had plenty of land all to ourselves where children could run off and play safely while the adults could party. We were completely secluded, which we thought was important to immerse ourselves in the magic of the Middle Ages. Regardless of the theme, we thought it was nice to have the place to ourselves and we didn’t need to worry about noise or curfews
I wore a bespoke, handmade medieval style wedding dress designed and made by KMR Bridal. Kelly helped me with the design, choosing fabric and the details of the dress to help create exactly the dress I wanted. I really valued her knowledge and advice on which fabrics would suit the theme, wouldn’t crease and would hang beautifully. Her attention to details helped tie it all together, I was very happy with it.
Sylvia from White Gables Patchwork and Quilting helped made a fabulous embroidered trim for my dress
My bridesmaids wore medieval style dresses, also designed and made by KMR Bridal. Kelly helped me find the exact shade we wanted for the bridesmaids; all four dresses were perfect and created the medieval faerie feel we were looking for. The groomsmen all wore various medieval outfits, each one looking different.
I carried daises, white roses, other yellow and green flowers and lots of ivy. Fiona from Firenza Floral Design is used to working with Papakata and dressed the teepees beautifully. She made a crown of flowers for both of our heads (Mark’s was more of a bush really, which is just what he asked for). My bouquet and top table flowers were lovely.
We had a honeymoon teepee at the bottom end of the field, which I managed to sneak in to get changed. My bridesmaids, my parents and I were escorted from there by Paul from Trouvere, playing bagpipes. I didn’t want to make an extravagant entrance, I walked barefoot from the tent, it did feel quite dramatic on the day though, but lovely.
It was so exciting to emerge from the honeymoon teepee to the sound of bagpipes and drums and see a sea of colourful costumes and happy, excited faces. The whole ceremony was beautiful and very personal, we helped write the vows and made precisely the eternal promises that we wanted to.
Trouvere did us a beautiful hand fastening ceremony, medieval music and storytelling.
We designed and forged our own wedding rings under the guidance of a talented bespoke jeweller at Silver & Moor.
We had a great photographer, MH Visions Photography who dressed in medieval clothing so not to intrude on the day and took some lovely natural images
All our guests drank mead from our drinking horn on entering the tent. Crofts Kitchen did us an excellent medieval banquet.
Malcolm from Cotton Dreams helped to design a shield emblem and embroidered it on to around 120 napkins and the top table tablecloth.
The seating plan was painted and designed by Mark in the same style as the invitations. We painted the table names onto colourful stones that my mum found in France.
We have a carpenter friend who made candle holders from driftwood that we collected from various sites of significance to us.
We chose a lemon cake designed and made to look like a hog’s head. It looked great – Sarah from Sugar Monkey Cake Company did such a good job.
After the feast we had a ceilidh with Brassy Sharman’s Fancy Ceilidh Band. Mark, the best men and lots of our friends and family all played music later on.
For our honeymoon we travelled around Bali, Indonesia.
My top tip for other Brides Up North would be to do everything exactly the way you want to and try not to worry about anybody’s expectations. Even the more traditional members found it a memorable and special day.
Congratulations Lisa & Mark!
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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2014 MH Visions Photography
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