Today’s second helping of real wedding inspiration sees two different themes brought together – vintage and bling!
In keeping with the barn setting of their big day, Ashleigh and Shaun chose to incorporate pretty vintage touches and natural blooms into their décor before adding a little sprinkling of bling. After all, what’s a wedding without some
added sparkle
?With images by Pixies in the Cellar.
ashleigh says:
Shaun proposed to me when we got the keys to our first house, in 2011. He did it in the living room of our new home.We set the date for 15th August 2015, as we wanted a summer wedding and it was around the date we first staring seeing each other.Our chosen venue was Browsholme Hall. We wanted something different and quirky, but with a modern twist – it ticked all the boxes
For our theme we tried to fit in with the style of the barn but also have some bling; we called it ‘vintage bling’. Other elements included bare wooden chairs with bows and brooches on but no covers. Our guest book and table plan were also wooden. We had flock drapes but with fairy lights, and the cake was flock too, but with a bit of bling.
To fit alongside the theme we picked a purple colour scheme. We both like the colour and it went perfectly with the venue too.
I had a strapless corset lace dress. It was Detalle by La Sposa, from Ava Rose Hamilton in Barrowford. My mum and I went to have a look at the boutique, just to get ideas two years before the wedding date and I ended up falling in love with this dress and ordering it. I loved everything about it, which surprised me as it was the complete opposite of the style of dress that I thought I wanted.
Shaun wore a three piece grey suit, with a purple tie from Grooms in Manchester. The groomsmen wore the same.
My bridesmaids had their dresses made by Wendy from Tie The Knot Bridal Boutique, in Blackburn. They were a one-shouldered, floor-length design in purple with a belt.
It was a bit of a mad dash to the venue on the day of the wedding. I went by car, an Audi A6, and Shaun ended up going in the best man’s mum’s car last minute, as the helicopter surprise I had planned fell through due to the air traffic control not giving permission, which threw the day’s timings off and we ended up being late.
Pixies in the Cellar were our photographers and I would most defiantly recommend them. Our pictures were stunning and better than we ever imagined. They captured all our special moments throughout the day and were just fantastic. They are such a lovely couple and make the perfect team! So glad we chose them.
We hired video cameras from Shoot it Yourself, to do a more relaxed wedding video, which turned out fantastic.
Flower Occasions in Blackburn supplied all our flowers, including the centre pieces, bridal bouquet, bridesmaid bouquets and button holes. The table centre pieces were tall vases filled with flowers on a glass plate. We used Flumpy Buttons for our coloured confetti.
We named the tables after our favourite chocolates and instead of a table name, we had jars of the chocolate on each table.
Creative Cover Hire provided our chair bows, sequin top table cloth, fairy light drapes, bay trees and hurricane lamps.
As our favours we had iced biscuits with the guests’ names on, which doubled up as their name place setting. These were from Sugar Butties, in Blackburn, who also supplied our wedding cake. It was a five-tiered design with different flavours of jam and cream and chocolate.
To supply our wedding breakfast we had With a Twist Catering. We wanted something different so we had a barbecue for our main meal, which was served outside by the chefs. We all sat down to a mixture of meats and sides, with chocolate brownie for dessert.
We split the speeches up in to three parts, which worked fantastic, and played a song to introduce my dad and best man, to stitch them up and break the ice – it went down a treat.
For after the meal, we hired a sparkly dancefloor and a DJ from Dancefloor Couture, called Adam. We also had a fun photo booth, complete with a ‘Facebook frame’ to take pictures in, and a candy table full of sweet treats. Our guest book was a drop top box where each guest signed a heart and dropped it into a large wooden frame.
Following our wedding we would most definitely recommend Browsholme Hall to other couples. It’s just stunning and quirky. The grounds are amazing. The groomsmen had pictures on the lake in boats and we went in to an abandoned barn for pictures too.
The day was perfect and we loved every minute, the atmosphere was brilliant, so relaxed, just what we wanted. It was our aim that the wedding reflect us as people, and I think it did as we aren’t very serious, only when we need to be. My favourite part was the speeches as I was in stitches with every one of them, especially the best man’s, he did an amazing job. He made a video which was played on a projector of his past with Shaun.
For our honeymoon we jetted off to the Hard Rock Hotel, Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic. It was amazing – pure paradise! We had such a fab time, the hotel was out of this world, the staff were the friendliest people we have ever met and the beach was breath taking!
My top tip to other Brides Up North would be to try not to stress over little things. I’m a perfectionist and spent weeks making everything perfect, but on the day there were hiccups and some things weren’t right. I was having such a great time though I didn’t even notice and it was only after when we were discussing it I became aware of things. I regret stressing so much over little things so I say just have fun – it goes by so quick!
