This morning’s real wedding features a serious
dress crush
for us! Steph’s lace Pronovias gown is what wedding dreams are made of as far as we’re concerned, with its gorgeous detailing and elegant high-neck.There’s lots more stunning features to this classic wedding too including the venue, styling and groom’s attire, all picked to stand the test of time. Mission accomplished we say!
With images by Focal Point Photography.
steph says:
We got engaged at The Samling Hotel near Lake Windemere. We had stayed at a different location in the lakes for a couple of nights to celebrate Nick’s birthday. On the day I assumed we were leaving, we were about to pass The Samling and Nick turned in to its approach. The head concierge met us at the car and Nick explained we had a room booked, much to my surprise. We spent the afternoon exploring the grounds and had a picnic in the garden overlooking the lake. It was a lovely hot day. Later that evening, we had an amazing meal in the hotel restaurant. I didn’t know, but Nick could see the staff setting up the alcove where he had planned to propose. After the meal, I wanted a cup of tea but Nick suggested we go for a walk first. We got to the alcove and it was lit with candles and decorated with petals. Nick got down on one knee and asked me to marry him – and I said yes!We were married on the 25th July 2015. We chose that date as we wanted a summer wedding and it coincided with the start of the summer holidays as Nick is a teacher.
Our ceremony was held at St. Mary’s Church in Ponteland, which we chose as Nick’s family is from the area and we enjoy spending time there. We had our reception at Eshott Hall, just north of Morpeth. Eshott was the first venue we looked at and we immediately fell in love with it. It is a very intimate setting, surrounded by gorgeous grounds and we could instantly imagine our friends and family liking it too.
We had a classic theme as we felt it represented our tastes and fitted with Eshott Hall nicely. The colour scheme was champagne gold, to enhance the theme.
I wore the Alcanar dress by Pronovias, with a matching lace jacket. I purchased both from Mia Sposa in Newcastle. I knew I wanted a lace wedding dress as I wanted to go with a timeless and classic look and this dress was perfect.
Nick wore a tuxedo made by Ian Bone Tailoring and his groomsmen hired tuxes from Blades Formal Menswear.
My bridesmaids meanwhile wore bespoke champagne gold dresses made by Eve and Adam, in Newcastle.
For our transport on the day of the wedding we hired a chauffeur-driven Mercedes from Autograph Chauffeurs.
Our photographers were David and Paul from Focal Point Photography. We couldn’t recommend them highly enough. They added to our day and we enjoyed having them around. We are so happy with our photographs and the album they produced.
For my wedding flowers I had a bouquet of peach and cream roses while my bridesmaids carried bouquets of peach roses, all supplied by Flowers by Dawn.
As decoration at the venue we had candelabra with cream rose petals and flower heads as centre-pieces, which were provided by Flawless in Morpeth.
We made our own favours of Jack Daniels jelly shots for the men and the ladies had cosmopolitan jelly shots, which went down well!
Our cake was cream in colour with gold flowers and was made by my Auntie Margaret. As another sweet treat for our guests we hired an ice cream bike from The Parlour at the Blagdon Estate.
Following a prosecco drinks reception we had a wedding breakfast of tomato and red pepper soup with crème fraiche to start, followed by marinated chump of lamb in red wine jus and vegetables then chocolate orange cheesecake to finish.
To provide some musical entertainment during the drinks reception we hired Ashleigh Humble who sang whilst playing her keyboard or guitar. For later in the evening we hired wedding band Grace Under Pressure. We found both of these acts through AMV Live.
Following our wedding we would most certainly recommend Eshott Hall to other couples. The venue, service and atmosphere were as wonderful as we could have hoped for. The grounds and intimate feeling that Eshott Hall has is special and we feel so lucky to have had our close friends and family share it with us.
Looking back it’s almost impossible to choose one favourite part of the wedding, but the atmosphere and feeling that we had throughout the day can only be described as dream-like. Watching our guests enjoy themselves added to our own enjoyment.
As we have a young son, we booked ourselves a little honeymoon to Seaham Hall for a long weekend. On our arrival, they upgraded us to the penthouse, which was an unexpected surprise! We spent the time relaxing, having spa treatments and reflecting on our special day. The hotel staff made us feel very special. A week later, after our son’s first birthday, we went on a family holiday to Majorca, which was as equally special to us.
My top tip to other Brides Up North would be to try not to get stressed out with the planning and small details – and remember why you’re getting married. On the day, you’re too wrapped up in happiness to notice anything that might not be perfect.
