Today’s real wedding couple are such fans of the north of England that they chose to tie the knot in Sheffield where their family roots lie rather than in the South of France where they currently live.
James and Ruth’s
dreamy day
says glamour and romance and is captured beautifully by Jon Dennis of S6 Photography – we particularly love the moody countryside shots!We’re also huge fans of the ladies’ faux fur jackets, Ruth’s gorgeous lace bolero and those incredible blooms!
ruth says:
We got engaged in Barcelona in a beautiful hotel called Gran hotel La Florida overlooking Barcelona up on Mount Tibidabo. I had no idea as we had just returned from a trip to Dubai and I thought we were taking a connecting flight back to France (where we live). James had other ideas! It was very romantic with champagne and a stunning suite. He got down on one knee to pop the question and of course, I said yes!
We had a Valentine’s Day wedding. Although we don’t really celebrate it, we didn’t want a long engagement so we decided to take advantage of my work holidays (I work in an international school) and get married during the half term. The date worked, so we booked it!
We were married at Christ Church Gleadless in Sheffield and our reception was held at Whirlowbrook Hall, Whirlow. We chose the church as it is the church where James’ parents and grandparents were married. We chose the reception venue because we loved the setting, grounds and the rooms there. As soon as we visited it we knew it was right because the Whirlowbrook team were so welcoming and helpful. Nothing was too much trouble.
There was no specific theme, although navy blue was the colour of the bridesmaid dresses and boys’ cravats. The flowers and decorations were a little rustic and my dress had a slight vintage feel.
I’d say the colour scheme was navy blue and white. James is a Sheffield Wednesday fan and they are the colours of his team so it worked quite well!
My dress was a simple evening gown with a long sleeved lace bolero jacket over the top. It had a slight train at the back and was an A line shape. I chose it because I wanted something simple and elegant that I wouldn’t struggle to move around in.
James wore the Royal Ascot morning suit from Moss Bros in grey and black with the navy cravat.
The best men wore the same as James and the bridesmaids wore long navy blue evening gowns with lace and beading around the neck line.
I travelled in a Rolls Royce Phantom III Wraith which we hired from Cupid Carriages in Wales Bar.
Jon Dennis from S6 Photography was our photographer and he was just perfect. I would highly recommend him to anyone for their wedding as he is so friendly and professional and the photos he took were stunning.
Jon took us out towards Derbyshire for some photos in the countryside on the day which was a great idea and really added to the photos. It was special because the area was a big part of both mine and James’ childhoods so it felt important to include that in our wedding shots.
I carried a bouquet of seasonal flowers and berries in blues, purples and greens. It had ivy trailing down and a fabulous succulent that we named Stanley! The succulent is now growing in a pot at my sister’s house. The bridesmaids had bouquets of gypsophila and some in the hair too. All of the flowers were provided by the lovely Tracey Campbell of Campbell’s Flowers in Sheffield. She was an absolute dream and I couldn’t have been happier with everything that she created for us.
Tracey also provided the flowers for the centre pieces which were candelabras with a wreath of gypsophila. The top table had a wreath of gypsophila at each end around lots of candles. It was very elegant and simple, exactly what we hoped for. She also proved a beautiful garland to go down the staircase at Whirlowbrook Hall and few extra vases of gypsophila.
Favours were three macaroons in a box. We wanted to have a little nod to our French life so it seemed the perfect choice.
We chose a three tier cake; one tier of chocolate, one of sponge and a top fruit tier. It was made by a wonderful friend called Sarah Axe who makes cakes and just asks for donations to her charity; Memories from Isla which creates memory boxes for grieving parents who have lost babies early on. The cake was delicious and was decorated with white icing and white cake lace with navy ribbons. Tracey the florist added some gypsophila for the top of the cake.
For our wedding meal we went for the Whirlowbrook gala buffet which included lots of delicious meats and salads. A whole poached salmon and lamb. There was also a curry and everything was delicious! We wanted to keep it reasonably informal and allow people a huge choice. We chose a white French wine; Colombard Ugni Blanc, Richelieu and a red Rioja Tempranillo as we used to live in Spain and it’s one of our favourite wines.
We chose a band called Downtown Underground to provide the entertainment who were a soul/funk seven piece band that we found online. They were fantastic and the dance floor was full all night.
We also had a photo booth from Meridian Entertainment which was so much fun and everyone stuck a copy of their photos in a photo album for us so we had a lot of laughs looking at the photos after the wedding.
We would absolutely recommend our venue to other couples. It was beautiful inside and out and the whole day ran smoothly due to the professional team there. We didn’t have to worry about anything from the planning, to the setup, to the running of the day. They took care of everything and were so friendly and fun.
For me my favourite part of the day was saying our vows in front of all of our family and friends. It’s something I will never forget and was so special. James loved having a big party with everyone – we love and watching me walk down the aisle to him!
We went to Budapest and Vienna on our honeymoon. We had tonnes of fun – eating, drinking and exploring the cities. We love city breaks and as we only had a week due to our work commitments it was the perfect ‘mini-moon’. In Budapest we went to the Thermal spas and food markets and did a walking tour. In Vienna we went to beautiful restaurants and took in the sights of the city.
My top tip to other Brides Up North is organise your budget early on and try to stick to it. Invest in a great photographer. On the day, relax! It’s so much fun if you take it as one big party and celebration. The day goes so fast so make the most of every second!
