Today’s groom Mark certainly made Amy feel like a princess when he popped the question in front of Cinderella’s Castle in the heart of Disneyland – is there anywhere more
magical
?Having put a ring on it, the pair began organising their vintage themed wedding at the stunning Newton Hall. They’d originally planned to wed indoors but at the last minute switched to an outdoor wedding owing to a rather unusual burst of warm British weather. Hurrah!
And the rays kept coming after the big day when Amy and Mark jetted off to the sunny state of California for their honeymoon. Having travelled this area of the US myself I totally understand the couple’s desire to return for more fun in the sun!
With images by Lee Scullion.
amy says:
We got engaged on 12th May 2013 in front of the Cinderella Castle in the Disney Magic Kingdom, Florida. We had been enjoying a lazy Sunday at the Magic Kingdom after a couple of days in Miami. Mark was slowing up near the end of the day as we walked past the wishing well next to the Cinderella Castle. We carried on walking along round the front of the castle and then Mark shouted me back, saying he has something to give me. I shouted “I hope it is some sparkly Minnie Mouse ears”. To my surprise I was presented with a diamond ring and Mark asked me to marry him.
Our wedding day was on 29th September 2014. We wanted an after summer wedding with the chance of having nice weather and this date fitted perfectly with the time we wanted.
Our chosen venue was Newton Hall, Newton by Sea. We instantly fell in love with the building and all of the gardens. The quirky interior and rooms just felt right and knew it was the place to get married.
Vintage was the style of wedding we went for, choosing decorations and flowers that would fit in with this. It was just something that appealed to myself and mark while discussing and organising the day. In terms of colour we kept the scheme quite neutral.
My dress was from Mia Sposa Bridal. It was Justin Alexander’s 8641. I fell in love with it when I tried it on. I knew it was the dress.
Mark wore a brown speckled suit which was from ASOS with a fitted white shirt, brown bow tie, braces, navy and camouflage Ask The Missus shoes, handmade bird skull cufflinks from California and a handmade deer head flower pin from also from California.
The bridesmaids wore dresses from Debenhams, they were a vintage rose pink in colour. The younger bridesmaids wore full length and the older ones wore a shorter length dress.
The groomsmen wore matching brown speckled trousers with white shirts and skinny ties and vintage brown brogues, all from ASOS.
Lee Scullion was our photographer and we would highly recommend him. He made us feel totally relaxed and went about his business. He was great fun and felt more of a guest at our day than a photographer doing their job. The photos we have are amazing and we could not have asked for more from Lee. He is special.
I carried a large vintage style bouquet which was made up vintage coloured roses.The bridesmaids all carried smaller versions of my vintage bouquet which were provided by The Finishing Touch Company.
To decorate we had a selection of roses in various shades to give a vintage feel. These were displayed in bottles and jars on the tables and hanging jars on the chairs with lace bows. We had centrepieces made of books, jars, bottles and roses.
The top table had a hessian runner and flowers displayed along the front of table in jars and milk bottles. The Finishing Touch Company provided and set up the decoration and flowers.A ‘true love’ banner was also displayed which was given to us by Poptastic as a gift for us to use on the day.
I had brought vintage suitcases to be used for the cards and gifts to be deposited in. I also created my own seating plan display using a vintage case, twine, pegs and pearls.
The favours for the younger guests were jars of sweets with vintage cloth and twine as decoration. These were all made by me.The older guests received a jar of chutney which was handmade by The Master Cakesmith. These also had been decorated with vintage cloth and twine.
We chose a single tier cake which was vanilla cream and jam. It was finished with butter cream and decorated with twine, hessian and mini ‘Mr & Mrs’ bunting.We also had individual cupcakes for every guest, the fillings were cookies and cream, millionaire shortbread, salted caramel and vanilla strawberry. Again these were provided by The Master Cakesmith.
After the ceremony the ladies were provided with a strawberry and ginger mojito, the men were provided with a beer from a local brewery. Non-drinkers were provided with a mocktail.Canapés of Thai fish cakes, cheese frittatas with tomato chutney and smoked chicken and mustard tarts, were also served.
For the main meal we had a hot fork buffet which we chose as it gave the wedding a more relaxed feel with guests being up and about mingling with each other, rather than the usual ‘sit at table and don’t move till it is over’ type affair.
We hired a DJ through AMV Live Music for the evening entertainment so that a good variation of music would be played and enjoyed by all during the reception.
The most special thing about our wedding day was the weather – it was bright sunshine and red hot. At the last minute we decided on an outdoor wedding which made the day. It was lovely to be outside.
Other special touches that we added to the day ourselves was a popcorn machine, large sweet table selection in glass jars on handmade wooden boxes from reclaimed wood. Surprise gifts for the bridesmaids and the best man were also special and we gave them some careful thought. The Wild Bunch supplied the bouquets which were given to the mothers and grans of the wedding party.
We also supplied our own prop box and Polaroid cameras for guests to use on the evening.
We would definitely recommend Newton Hall to other couples. The venue is spectacular and the staff are fantastic, they will do anything you ask of them through the day and into the evening. John the MC is a fantastic man who really made the day great and flow. Everything about Newton Hall as a venue is just amazing. When we first visited the venue it was pouring with rain and the place still looked spectacular, it will be a great choice of venue no matter what time of year.
I wouldn’t say I have a favourite part of the day, the whole day was special. Getting to spend it with all of our family and closest friends in a fantastic venue with gorgeous weather was great.
For our honeymoon we travelled to Las Vegas for three nights and then toured California by road. We visited San Diego, Hollywood, Marina Del Ray, Venice, Santa Monica, Valencia, Malibu, Santa Barbara, Cambria, San Francisco, Oakland and then made our way back to Las Vegas for three more nights before flying home.
It was a trip of a lifetime and we saw some unbelievable sights while making our way between destinations, from the street performers in the Gaslamp District to the elephant seals just outside of Cambria. There was just so much to see and do and we felt as if we did not even scratched the surface. We would love to return in future and see more of what California has offer.
My top tip for other Brides Up North would be – try to take a minute, relax and take it all in as it goes so fast.
